King Cummings

It’s difficult to achieve fame by working behind the scenes but King Cummings had the kind of impact that deserves to be recognized by the Maine Ski Hall of Fame. Outside of board members at Sugarloaf, few knew of the contributions of this businessman skier who played a key role in Sugarloaf’s development and indeed the resort’s very survival at key points in its life.

His work at Sugarloaf dates from the very beginning when he and Rand Stowell made the deal to buy the mountain from Scott Paper for $25,000. His business expertise and quiet leadership moved the area forward as it grew from a T-bar or two to a full fledged destination resort with multiple lifts and trails streaming down from the snowfields to the base.

John Christie, area manager from 1961 to 1968, described King as the “single most influential voice in the planning, financing, and execution of a very ambitious development plan”. Cummings was instrumental in arranging the financing for the gondola through Maine National Bank (the area’s first real debt), actually affixing his personal signature along with Bunny Bass, Rand Stowell and Joe Sewall to guarantee the deal.

At a time when his own textile business was going through troubled times that required him to reorganize out of bankruptcy he still found time to work with the board at Sugarloaf. Somehow he balanced the demands of a business he owned with the demands of a business he loved. Everyone who worked with him described King as a quiet leader who made things happen.

Although content to work in the background, seeking no recognition, when it became necessary to step to the fore, there was no hesitation. When Sugarloaf’s expansion effort led to financial difficulty he became Chairman of the Board to correct it and personally put up half the money to refloat the company. He stuck with it until his premature death in 1989.
Busy though he was in the early eighties he took on another project that has resulted in dozens of Maine skiers achieving international prominence in the sport and hundreds attending the nation’s finest universities. King Cummings is recognized by those who helped as the driving force behind the founding of Carrabassett Valley Academy. He not only led the effort, he put up the start up money.

John Ritzo, who was hired by King as Headmaster in the eighties, described him as “an adventurer who loved to ski, a believer in the area and in kids. He was an optimist who believed in the concept of CVA and was passionate about young people fulfilling their potential. He was always there with his support, both moral and financial”.

Today there is a run called King’s Landing at Sugarloaf and the new campus taking shape at CVA bears his name. The resort that is Sugarloaf and Carrabassett Valley Academy are testimonies to King Cummings’ love of the sport, the region and its people, and have earned his place in the Maine Ski Hall of Fame.