FRANKLIN COUNTY — Mother Nature had a distinct impact on the local economy and left some recreational industries thriving. At the same time, a late start to winter conditions and an early exit left some businesses struggling in the area. It’s reported that the ski industry flourished this past winter season with record numbers, while business that relied on snowmobile traffic was flat.

Sugarloaf and Saddleback reported exceptionally strong seasons.

“We definitely had a great year,” said Sugarloaf communications manager Ethan Austin. With a strong April, Austin said, and they are finishing ahead of the previous year, which was a banner year in terms of skier visits, ticket sales and season passes.

After a slow start due to warm early season conditions, Sugarloaf had to play catch-up as it entered January. “Late January was a great turnaround for us,” Austin said. A January storm was followed by frigid temps which led to tremendous amounts of snowmaking.

Then a late February four-day storm brought nearly six feet of snow which lasted for months. When most of the valleys and lower elevations saw rain, Sugarloaf and Saddleback were buried in chest-high snow.

This led to an awesome end of February and a great March, Austin said. “April has been good, no doubt about it,” Austin said.

Skiing and riding remains open until May 2 on Maine’s second highest peak.

Saddleback’s season ended on April 11 and the staff and management were pleased at the resort’s performance.

“This was a great year for Saddleback,” said Warren Cook, CEO and general manager of Saddleback Maine in a recent press release. “In fact, this has been the best year ever. We had more guests visit Saddleback this year than any other year in our 49 years in operation.”

One Rangeley resident said that they’ve never seen Saddleback busier. Two or three consistent weekends packed every parking space in the lots and lined vehicles down the access road beyond the cross country touring center. It is reported that local businesses did very well those weekends with many first-time visitors arriving in Rangeley.

“We had a very good season at the Rangeley Lakes Trails Center,” said Carol Sullivan. “Day pass sales were up and we managed to hold on to the snow we had and groom it well all season long.”

The trail center added snowshoes to its rental line and offered dogsled rides which drew a great response.

“I think the Rangeley economy did just ‘OK’ this season… but it still didn’t make up for our wicked-bad summer of eight weeks of rain,” Sullivan said.

Sunday River also had a strong season which shows continued growth in the overall ski industry in Maine, according to sources.

Skiers and riders won’t have long to wait for the upcoming golf season thanks to the Sunday River Golf Club which announced its earliest opening ever — Friday, April 23.

At Sugarloaf, the golf course has emerged from the winter in such great shape that it’s opening up the back nine for the weekend of May 1 and 2, “one of the earliest openings ever in the course’s 25-year history. You’ll be able to make your last turns of the season on the hill, and play Sugarloaf’s fabled ‘String of Pearls’ all in the same day,” a news release stated.

“The timing couldn’t be more perfect,” said Dana Bullen, general manager for Sunday River. The last day of winter operations was Monday, April 19, “and now, our guests will only have to wait a matter of hours to take advantage of our award-winning golf course,” he said in a release on closing day.

Although the ski industry had a great year, some businesses that rely on the snowmobiling industry struggled.

“Our mountain businesses were good this season,” said multiple grocery store co-owner John Beaupre of Carrabassett Valley. “We had a fairly slow start with the lack of snow in November and December, but we came back strong in March after the big storm.”

Beaupre said that Ayotte’s and Anni’s markets were affected by the lack of snowmobiles which was soft compared to years past. “We only had a couple of strong weekends this season,” he added. Beaupre said that vacation weeks were good for each of their four businesses.

“I found it very busy during all vacation weeks,” said Rangeley Chamber of Commerce president Jim Jannace. “Weekends were good, but not up to normal,” he said regarding snowmobiling. The conditions for snowmaking were below average to start the season, he explained. “Skiing was a bright spot. The mountain kept the conditions good and people came in record numbers. In general people were moving around and doing winter activities. They were still a little nervous about spending on other things.”

This might also explain why some sectors did so well this past season and others struggled.

“Hopefully with the economy turning, it will be a great summer. Rental bookings are looking strong right now,” Jannace added.

“Percentage wise we’re coming off a couple of good years,” said Longfellow’s owner John Goldfrank of Kingfield, “but we’re down substantially to start the first quarter which is directly related to weather and the economy.”

Saddleback reports that revenue was up by 40 percent and skier visits were up by 15 percent over the previous year.

Both Cook and Austin said that specialty passes and creative marketing greatly added to their success. The Saddleback PEAK (Promoting Education and Activity for Kids) Pass program had a huge turnout.

“We were hoping that 500 students would earn a pass, but we had over 2,400 honor roll students earn a $49 PEAK Pass this year,” Cook said in a release.

Austin said that Sugarloaf restructured its Frequent Skier Pass which was a huge success this past season while season passes remained consistent with last year.

“The Frequent Skier Card was the biggest change this season and we had tremendous success selling the product,” Austin explained.

Sugarloaf needed a strong year for investor relations and other purposes before plunging into possible substantial mountain improvements ahead.

“It was a great year,” Austin said, “and we’re working on some really exciting things around here. We hope to make these announcements over the next couple of months,” he added.