RANGELEY- Saddleback Ski Area will not reopen next winter unless a buyer is found, according to its owner.

Donald Breen, a Massachusetts pharmaceutical manufacturer who bought Saddleback 25 years ago, is retiring from the ski industry, said his daughter, Katherine Breen.

“It’s no secret he’s been trying to retire for many years, and he’s going to be 74 in October, and he needs to retire,” Breen said. “We’re hoping Saddleback will open next season under new ownership, but we felt that we needed to announce now that we won’t be the ones doing it.”

The western Maine ski resort has billed itself as the last “uncrowded” big mountain skiing experience in Maine, but lack of crowds also signaled financial trouble.

Breen would not say whether Saddleback lost money during the most recent ski season, but did indicate the resort needs new energy.

Ski areas in Maine have struggled through several warm winters since the mid-1990s, and the industry nationwide has fought to attract new enthusiasts to a sport whose popularity has declined as ticket prices climbed.

Although skiing remains a mainstay of the state’s winter economy, losses by ski giants such as American Skiing Co., which owns Sugarloaf/USA and Sunday River, have underscored the fragility of the industry.

Saddleback was founded in 1959. It has 40 trails, two chair lifts, three T-bars, a lodge, a tavern, a ski shop and about 50 condominiums. Saddleback employs six full-time workers and 60-80 seasonal workers.

It has highest base elevation of any ski resort in New England and a summit elevation of more than 4,000 feet. The resort reports an annual snowfall of more than 200 inches.

The Breens have listed the property with Sotheby’s International Realty.

Breen said the ski area alone is listed at $2.5 million, but the entire property including 8,000 acres of surrounding mountain peaks, lakes, and streams, is listed at $7.5 million.

The family has pre-approval from Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission to build another 3,000 “on-mountain” beds, Breen said.

Expanding four-season opportunities of the resort is a strategy a new owner is likely to pursue, Breen said.