Whaleback makes the NY Times

[thetrailboss]

Here is the link to the article: http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/03/17/travel/escapes/17ski.html

And if it does not work, here is the text of the article. Glad to see it is doing well.

March 17, 2006
Ski Report
An Old Spot Revives With a New Outlook
By SARAH TUFF

WHEN Whaleback was taking a dive toward dormancy in 2001, Damian Biron, 12, of North Sutton, N.H., saw the signs of trouble for the beloved but beleaguered ski area in Enfield, N.H. "We knew they were shutting down," he said, "because they had all these really great deals, like $5 tickets and ladies' specials."

Sure enough, Whaleback closed for three winter seasons, during which, Damian said, he found little solace in the "way lame" terrain parks of other area ski resorts. But now he has returned to spend a Saturday afternoon skidding along picnic tables and practicing his jumps at Whaleback. "I've been throwing some sick hucks," he said.

As the bright yellow sign on the top of the base lodge boasts: the Whale is Back. Bought by the Olympic moguls skier Evan Dybvig and partners, Whaleback is poised to overpower most other ski areas when it comes to a year-round focus on freestyle training and culture. Terrain parks litter Whaleback's 85 acres; a sprawling skate park is under construction for an area short on frills but long on thrills.

"We're basically in the early stages of our dream here," said Mr. Dybvig, who predicted that the place was "going to be insane."

Whaleback, which is on Interstate 89 near the towns of Lebanon and Hanover, N.H., was born as Snow Crest in 1955 but took on a new owner and a new name in 1969. For 30-odd years, it stayed open mostly as a bare-bones sort of ski area, with steeps like Blow Hole, long cruisers that included Ivory Run and a throwback cafeteria and bar. In the evenings, the hum of the highway below created a weirdly soothing soundtrack to the sensation of sliding on snow in the semidarkness.

But by 2001, the owners at the time could no longer afford to fire up the snow guns, power the lifts and groom the three dozen trails. With the letters of a "For Sale" sign on its base lodge falling off, Whaleback was a pitiful sight, in danger of becoming one of the 550-plus lost ski areas of New England.

Mr. Dybvig was a bit broken, too. At the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, he fell and injured his knee in competition; then scooted back to his native Vermont. Mr. Dybvig, who had coached budding bumps skiers at Mount Hood summer camps in Oregon, began envisioning a place where youngsters could perform tricks not only on skis and snowboards, but also on skateboards and inline skates.

"Some of the best training for freestyle comes from inline skating and skateboarding," he said. "There's just such a natural synergy between these sports."

With partners from Zero Gravity skate park in Rutland, Vt., and additional capital from his father and other investors, Mr. Dybvig eventually bought Whaleback in September 2005.

"At first we thought of changing the name," he said. "But why mess with a good thing?" So the maritime theme stuck — with a twist. The midmountain terrain park is dubbed the See Sick Booter; the Bone Yard promotes "random acts of jibbing" on the Upper Whaletail run; Jawbone features Olympic-class moguls.

Not all of the freestyle features are up and running yet. But night skiing has returned. And the Dock, a series of ramps, rails and stairs at the base-area Jib Port terrain park, is complete. Most of those sailing through the air at the Jib Port are pint-size, but the 6-foot-3-inch Mr. Dybvig will sometimes join them, not only to offer pointers but also to pick up tips.

"I've learned some new stuff on rails, like 360's," he said. "My knees don't like me to be doing the very high-impact stuff, but I really want to do a corked-7."

Delicate ligaments are not the only elements holding back Mr. Dybvig, who lives in Bethel, Vt. He is now the father of two young boys; his wife, Sarah Ireland, is expecting a daughter in April. And it has been a tough season to start up a ski area. On opening day, Dec. 26, it rained.

"This winter has been a challenge," said the chief operating officer, Frank Sparrow. "But it's also been exhilarating. We just had 500 kids from Lebanon High here: kids trying to mosh in the base lodge and teachers breaking it up."

Mr. Dybvig said that his Olympic experience has taught him to overcome adversity. And he and Mr. Sparrow have a bird in the hand for when the wimpy Eastern winter ends: a 10,000-square-foot indoor skate park to be completed this spring, and another 20,000 square feet of outdoor action-sports space. Scheduled summer camps feature BMX and mountain biking along with skateboarding, paintball and even film editing.

While the snow clings to Whaleback, drivers on the Interstate are detouring for a few runs, said Jason Oulette, a rental shop worker who is one of 80 or so local people employed by the mountain. Gina Surgenor of nearby Meriden, N.H., once had her children trained to start crying every time they drove by Whaleback when it was closed. Now, they all have season passes and cheeks rosy from the cold as they play tag in the base lodge.

Whaleback, which had only 15,000 visits this season, a fraction of what larger resorts have, is the rare kind of place where it's possible to run around the lodge — or run laps around the summit chair — with plenty of space. As Parliament plays from outdoor speakers, antique skis hang above the bar and old Miller Lite posters extol the virtues of the hot-dog skier, new school and old school blur.

"This is a phenomenal family place," said Chris Forman of Meriden, who skis Whaleback with his three children, ages 3, 6 and 9. "This is the way skiing used to be in New England 40 or 50 years ago."

And here is an article stating that so far so good for Whaleback. My thanks to the folks at the NELSAP room for referring me to this material :wink: