Sunday River Ski Resort was founded in 1958 by a visionary group of Bethel, Maine residents who saw the resort's site as having tremendous potential for a large, first-class ski area. Sunday River opened for business in 1959 but showed only marginal profitability for over a decade. In 1972, the Sherburne Corporation, owner of Killington Ski Resort in Vermont, purchased it. Then in 1973, Leslie B. Otten, a 
graduate of Ithaca College and Killington's Management Training Program, was installed as Assistant to the Manager. He became General Manager in 1975.
Several bad snow years, an energy crisis, and the acquisition of the Mount Snow resort led Sherburne Corporation to focus its capital resources on its
Vermont
areas. Development at
Sunday
River,
which had been limited to modest snowmaking installations and two small condominium projects, came to a virtual standstill.
Otten, then 30 years old, had long recognized that the resort's potential far exceeded its performance, and he became increasingly frustrated by its lack of growth. So, when Sherburne decided to sell the resort in October of 1980, Otten borrowed $840,000 on a note from Sherburne and purchased the struggling ski area.
The first year, the ski area posted a $235,000 loss against total sales of $541,000. Skier visits totaled just 40,000. Fixed assets at the time included one double chairlift, four surface lifts, and a small base lodge. The resort offered skiing on about 70 acres of trails, roughly one third of which were covered by snowmaking.
Otten recognized that the resort had access to an exceptional amount of water for snowmaking. So, while other ski areas were investing in glitz and glitter, Otten set about making snow quality and skiing the primary forces behind Sunday River.
Otten also realized that the resort needed to increase its on-mountain bed base. Riding the real-estate boom of the mid-80s, the resort built and sold more than 600 condominium units. To ensure sales and gain the maximum number of on-mountain beds, units were simple, cozy, and affordable.
The hunch paid off, and the resort continues to enjoy unprecedented success. Since 1983, the resort has invested nearly $145 million in improvements and expansion. Upgrades have included dramatic expansions of the ski area itself--the resort now boasts 663 acres of skiable terrain, 18 lifts, 92 percent snowmaking coverage and a total vertical drop of 2,340 feet.
Otten's ardent dedication to excellence is alive and well in the resort's current administraton: 
Susan DuPlessis, Director of Communications at Sunday River states that, "Sunday River is known best for our snowmaking, grooming and variety of terrain. People feel confident that, when they plan a trip to Sunday River, the conditions will be the best possible, and this is all due to a group of dedicated and experienced staff that places great pride in our quality snow surfaces. We also find that guests that come to our resort enjoy the friendly, laid-back atmosphere of Maine. There's a civility here that is unlike anywhere else in New England."
On a scientific note, the principle of snowmaking is relatively simple: Water is pulled from a water source, pumped onto the mountain, and forced through a nozzle by pressurized air. From there, the minute water droplets freeze and settle to the ground. Sunday River distinguishes itself in this area by utilizing computerized snowguns, which maximize the use of air capacity and water pressure, resulting in larger quantities of high-quality snow (or, in the SR lexicon, "The Most Dependable Snow in New England"), to which the resort owes its reputation.
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