Save the Whale

[Rob Katz]

who is giving money to whaleback? vail needs it more

 

[deadheadskier]

They met their goal to open, but it sounds like no chairlift for the season

Whaleback Set To Open This Winter After Surpassing Fundraising Goal

The New Hampshire ski area needed to raise $200,000 to operate this season due to expected closure of the chairlift.

unofficialnetworks.com

How many people are realistically going to show up and buy a ticket for just a couple of short surface lifts?

Guessing next off season will be much of the same trying to survive.

 

[drjeff]

They met their goal to open, but it sounds like no chairlift for the season

Whaleback Set To Open This Winter After Surpassing Fundraising Goal

The New Hampshire ski area needed to raise $200,000 to operate this season due to expected closure of the chairlift.

unofficialnetworks.com

How many people are realistically going to show up and buy a ticket for just a couple of short surface lifts?

Guessing next off season will be much of the same trying to survive.

Hoping the local community will rally around it. Will be curious to hear if My daughter's college ski team, that races in the USCSA Thompson Division, tries to race there this season or not, as during her previous 3 seasons on the team, they've always had 2 weekends of racing at Whaleback, and their schedule apparently hasn't been set yet...

 

[Rob Katz]

Hoping the local community will rally around it. Will be curious to hear if My daughter's college ski team, that races in the USCSA Thompson Division, tries to race there this season or not, as during her previous 3 seasons on the team, they've always had 2 weekends of racing at Whaleback, and their schedule apparently hasn't been set yet...

my school's team races there as well. they should be able to, as the new surface lift was built, at least partially, in mind for the races. it goes to the top of the venue.

 

[drjeff]

my school's team races there as well. they should be able to, as the new surface lift was built, at least partially, in mind for the races. it goes to the top of the venue.

Definitely hope they can pull it off, as typically "senior weekend" is at the Whale, and I'd really enjoy going there again to watch what might be one of the last of 100's of race runs I have watched my daughter ski over the last 13 yrs since she's been racing...

Who knows if she'll race Masters, beer league, Nastar, or god willing in the future some parent-child races like I got to with her in the past.

Definitely fun as a parent to still watch her at almost 22yrs old still love ski racing and skiing in general! Makes that "gamble" at the time almost 19yrs ago my wife and I took buying a ski condo so we could raise our then 3 and 1 yr old kids (now almost 22 and 20) as skiers! And have the oldest still actively racing in college and the youngest now a U12 assistant race coach with his USSSA level 1 coaching certification and Alpine Official status!

And I will still say that the few days on snow a year where my wife and I and both kids are taking some runs together are hands down my favorite runs of the year, even if its the sketchiest of conditions! As in my book, family ski days mean way more than the most epic powder day... now if both of those things happen to sync together (and we had one of those in Vail about a dozen years ago) it truly becomes one of those "top lifetime moments" one hopefully gets lots of!

 

[deadheadskier]

my school's team races there as well. they should be able to, as the new surface lift was built, at least partially, in mind for the races. it goes to the top of the venue.

The regrading, sodding and addition of the surface lift should make for a great training venue for sure.

I'm real curious to see the lift in operation. It sure looks weird how they dug a ravine for it. Seems the opposite of what you'd want because it looks like a drainage ditch where all the melt off will go and wash away all the snow. Maybe they still plan on filling it in?

 

[shawnanigans]

Is the new surface lift a handle tow, straight rope tow or what is it? I have never seen one quite like this.

 

[Newpylong]

It's a Sun Kid Mega Comfort Star. IE a lift really only seen in Europe, a handle tow w/platter with terminals that can be raised or lowered.

This lift was forced upon them by the race community. Helpful this year with no chair, but the money would have been better spent on lift maintenance or snowmaking that would benefit all of their customers and would actually provide revenue.