Save the Whale

[urungus]

Support Whaleback Mountain — Whaleback Mountain

Non-profit 501(c)(3) organization who provides affordable and accessible skiing and snowboarding for everyone. Get involved today with a one-time or recurring tax-deductible personal donation or join our corporate partner giving program.

www.whaleback.com

Support Whaleback Mountain — Whaleback Mountain

Non-profit 501(c)(3) organization who provides affordable and accessible skiing and snowboarding for everyone. Get involved today with a one-time or recurring tax-deductible personal donation or join our corporate partner giving program.

www.whaleback.com

 

[drjeff]

My wife GROSSLY overpaid for a lift ticket at the Whale a few weeks ago during our college aged daughters ski race, plus had a few drinks in their bar over the course of the day! My family did its part out to help a small, locals vibe, really cool and funky layout ski area!

You in with me?

 

[Keelhauled]

Does anyone have a link to the current "strategic vision"? The one on their website is for 22-25 and is light on strategy.

They have just got to treat that lift as an existential threat to the whole endeavor. The board should have, years ago now, hired someone with experience in nonprofit fundraising whose sole job would be to direct a capital campaign to raise the money to replace it. This fucking about with begging money for after the fact fixes and punting the problem down the road is ridiculous and just makes the whole place less credible every year when it comes to trying to convince high net worth donors to give money to the current management.

 

[flakeydog]

I say help these guys out. I have spent a lot of time there over the last 4 years watching ski races and we bought a ticket every time without fail. I am happy to give these guys my $50. They have stepped up many times when others would not (cough...Dartmouth...cough cough). So they allocate their limited snowmaking resources on the trail where they race (you can ski on 6 inches of snow but you can't set gates in that). Whaleback's mission is to connect people to snow. Their relentless dedication to kids programs, race programs, learn to ski, community involvement and scholarships/aid creates new skiers passionate about the sport. Yes, this place will likely wallow in "non-profit mediocrity forever" and the management there will always be "complicated". If you go there, set appropriate expectations and observe what goes on there. Take a step back and think less about what they provide to you and more about what they do for the community and the sport.

 

[doublediamond]

So what's the problem with the snowmaking? Do they need more water? Air? Doesn't leak like a sieve? Too low elevation? Or are they just unwilling to go for it when they need to?

 

[Newpylong]

They have no one there currently who knows how to make snow, and since the system is undersized to being with it makes it that much worse. If I was still there all snowmaking terrain would have been open by the second week of January and wouldn't have needed to run more hours than they did. It's all about how efficiently you use the system.

They only had 1.5 routes off the summit and part of the T-Bar open, in probably the season with the most prime snowmaking hours ever in January.

 

[deadheadskier]

Made their goal

"We asked for help, and you showed up in a big way.
Together, we raised over $250,000 to keep Whaleback alive and thriving. This mountain is all about community and we are super proud of how you all showed up.
We’ve stabilized operations, kept our team together, and lift repairs start by July.
We’ll be ready—with not just Sky Lift but the new surface lift running this winter.
Thank you for believing in this mountain."

 

[Hastur]

Happy they made it, but Killington should have bought them a brand new hsq

 

[bigbob]

Happy they made it, but Killington should have bought them a brand new hsq

Killington needs to buy Killington a number of new high speed chairs. then donate the best fixed grip they remove to the Whale. That small of an area could not afford the militance cost on a detachable chair.

 

[nycskier]

Happy they made it, but Killington should have bought them a brand new hsq

Whaleback couldn't afford to maintain a new HSQ even if it was given to them for free. They are VERY expensive to maintain. As for Killington they donated $10K to them & helped Whaleback (a financial competitor) make their goal. That's actually pretty amazing.

 

[deadheadskier]

I don't think of Whaleback as a Killington competitor. I think of WB as more of an indirect feeder hill to Killington. Having an affordable and convenient place for Upper Valley youth to learn only serves to benefit Killington in the long run.

We will see how long this band-aid lasts though. There should be a longer term campaign to replace the lift with a newer fixed grip.

Long live the Whale

 

[nycskier]

I mean if Killington wanted an affordable place for young people to learn they could turn Pico into that or they could buy defunct Plymouth Notch and basically make it a learning hill for kids with cheap tickets.

 

[Smellytele]

I mean if Killington wanted an affordable place for young people to learn they could turn Pico into that or they could buy defunct Plymouth Notch and basically make it a learning hill for kids with cheap tickets.

10K is much cheaper than those solutions

 

[Zand]

From what I understand Zermatt is dismayed that Killington didn't buy Whaleback a new heated 8 passenger gondola.

 

[skithEEEast]

I mean if Killington wanted an affordable place for young people to learn they could turn Pico into that or they could buy defunct Plymouth Notch and basically make it a learning hill for kids with cheap tickets.

Plymouth Notch is in the middle of nowhere, compared to whaleback which sits right on the 89 and is a 15 minute drive for most of the people that ski there. Great ski area could use better management, like why do they feel the need to be so strict on poaching and unmarked woods skiing? They rather just force funnel everyone on the few trails they have open leading to overcrowding. Have seen many near miss collisions there, one of these days it's not going to be a miss and it will be entirely management's fault

 

[deadheadskier]

Yes. The reason Whaleback works as a feeder hill is its location. Pico would be fine as a Rutland area feeder hill to K, but for the Upper Valley, WB is in the best location for that population center

 

[Newpylong]

Sadly new ownership (ie get rid of that non-profit board) is likely the only thing that is going to lead to long term success of the Whale.

Capital investments are questionable at best. They are dead set in mediocrity under the guise of being a non-profit and will never become sustainable with that outlook. Infrastructure investment will continue to be reactionary and the hand outs just to stay alive will continue. We provided a really good product with substantial growth from 2017 to 2019 but the board did not like being told by actual professionals on how to run a ski area and egos prevailed. What you see now (barely able to open by Christmas, snowmaking on only 1.5 trails, etc) is the result.

That said, there is absolutely zero financial overlap/competition between WB and Killington. Whaleback survives on comp programs, school groups, and Thursday Night Race League, and the elusive Upper Valley powder days.

 

[2planks2coasts]

While I get the love for the Whale, I think the role of Upper Valley feeder hill for the bigger NH/VT resorts is better filled by little Storrs.