In years past, the Caribou High School Alpine and Nordic ski teams had long commutes just find places to practice.

The Alpine skiers, in search of a hill to ski down, were forced to travel either south to Mars Hill Mountain or north to the Lonesome Pines complex in Fort Kent.

The Nordic skiers had it a little better when it came to finding clear trails in the woods, but still had make their way to the Caribou Country Club for practices.

All that has changed in the last few years. The Nordic skiers have usable trails on the land right next to the high school and, as of this winter, the Alpine skiers have a facility, too.

Last year saw the construction of a lighted Alpine hill about 700 feet high with a 100-foot vertical drop. This winter the hill was finished in time for the high school season, complete with a 650-foot lift that almost eliminates the need for those drives to Mars Hill and Fort Kent.

Also new for this winter is a building with a wax room, a meeting room and lockers, snowmaking for the hill and grooming capabilities. It has transformed the land around the school into a Nordic and Alpine skier’s paradise called the Caribou Ski Complex.

It’s one of the most ambitious skiing projects at any high school in Maine.

“It’s a pretty amazing complex to have at the local high school,” said Carl Soderberg, a Caribou High graduate and former Viking skier who runs Soderberg Construction in Caribou and helped organize the construction and fund raising.

The school got two grants, both for $25,000, from the local Rotary club for the Alpine hill. One grant was earmarked for the construction of the hill, and the other was for the lift.

The lift is of the handle-tow variety.

“It’s easy to maintain and good for both kids and adults,” Soderberg said. “Six- and 7-year-old children can use it.”

That’s important for the both community and the high school team, which hopes young children get involved and eventually want to ski for Caribou High.

“That’s what we’re hoping for,” Vikings Alpine coach Andrea Swanberg said.

It’s already a big plus for the team purely because it has cut down on travel time.

“It makes it so much easier,” Swanberg said. “We had to travel at least three-quarters of an hour, one hour, with all the loading and unloading of equipment.”

The Vikings still travel to Big Rock in Mars Hill for some training, however, because the Caribou hill isn’t long enough to train for a long race like the grand slalom. But there’s room enough to set up about 10 gates, Swanberg said, which is enough to make practice there valuable.

“It does have some steepness and running length to it,” she added.

Swanberg’s team spends three days on the hill in Caribou, one in Mars Hill, and another day in Caribou working in the wax room or doing chalkboard work.

The cross country trails have been in place for several years thanks to landowners near the school, including Soderberg, who serves as the treasurer of the Northern Skiers Club. The club has done most of the organizing of the high school facilities.

“They’re quiet in their own way,” he said of the landowners, “but they’ve cut trees, cleared trails. They’ve been a big help.”

Soderberg also credited Bob Sprague, a former Caribou ski coach whose daughter is Anna Sprague, a Nordic specialist who was the freestyle champion at the 2002 USSA Junior Olympics and is now a senior on the University of Utah ski team.

Soderberg recalled that he and Bob Sprague had a conversation several years ago, when the ski coaches had to take the Nordic team to the Caribou Country Club to practice, about how great it would be to have trails closer to the school.

“It was his dream and persistence and hard work,” Soderberg said of Sprague, who is the president of the Northern Skiers Club.

Webbs sharing pizza time

John Bapst of Bangor girls basketball coach Mike Webb has found a way to stay involved with his father Pete Webb, the longtime Maine Basketball Commissioner – this time, away from sports.

Mike Webb recently opened the Pizza Oven on Bangor’s Lincoln Street. Pete Webb has been spending a lot of time around the takeout restaurant, too.

“He loves it because he lives out in Stetson, he comes in every day and gets on the computer to do all his basketball stuff,” Mike Webb said. “He gets a kick out of it, too, running errands for me.”

It’s actually the second incarnation of the Pizza Oven, which was in the same spot until several years ago before it moved to a space on neighboring Larkin Street. Mike Webb bought the old building more than two months ago and it has been open for about a month.

If nothing else, it’s a great place for the John Bapst girls to hang out and grab some pizza – the Crusaders play their home games at the Bangor Auditorium, which is just a couple of blocks away.

“It’s going really well over there,” Mike Webb said. “I haven’t had much sleep, but it’s still great.”

Jessica Bloch can be reached at 990-8193, 1-800-310-8600 or jbloch@bangordailynews.net.