Whats up With Waterville Valley?

[UVSHTSTRM]

I never hear much about this place anymore.....never in the tops for anything. I use to work as a lifty there during my college days as PSC (PSU now) and it was always busy, mostly people from NH, MA and RI. I also use to go watch the college hockey team play there and it was a good time as the town allows people to drink in public.....it's a neat planned town, some good bars and places to grab a bite. Seems these days it is way down on the list of destinations for people on this board.

 

[wa-loaf]

I've only been there once, but I thought the skiing was Meh.

 

[Edd]

I tried it out a couple of years ago. They had a couple of interesting trails but the slopes were crowded and conditions were scratched out. The summit lift was so short I found it useless. I took a tour around the "town" and it kind of weirded me out (sort of 1980s-ish). I've skied at worse places but with Wildcat/Cannon/Loon close by there's no point in going.

The location is beautiful, though. With the right investment/planning, who knows? They've been owned by Booth Creek (along with Cranmore) for a number of years. Booth Creek has put alot of their resources into Northstar-at-Tahoe, which they also run. Getting money out of them for improvements must be difficult as I don't think Northstar is paying off lately.

 

[deadheadskier]

High Camp lift is that way for a reason. The HSQ used to go all the way to the summit, but the wind just whips up there.

I went skiing there for the first time in 20 or so years last year. It was early season with limited terrain open. I plan on going back this season, but saving a Warren Miller twofer for the spring. Lower Bobby's Run and True Grit off the sunny triple are two AWESOME bump runs in the spring. Vivid memories from when I was a kid of that.

 

[riverc0il]

Loon is no longer part of Booth Creek.

Waterville does indeed have a beautiful location. They barely hit the 2k vert mark due to their dreadfully slow summit double (not worth riding as Edd pointed out). I have not skied there in a very long time (one early season up load excluded).

My opinion on Waterville is it feels and skis significantly smaller than its numbers suggest. It used to be a great deal about 7 years ago when they had the $39 any day ticket pricing structure. And it was a great addition when they were part of the "Threedom" pass with Loon and Cranmore with WV being the second tier area out of the three. But without Loon in the portfolio, Booth Creek just doesn't have a solid line up in their Northeastern package. Seems like a great area for beginners for sure with a dedicated high speed quad and intermediates have plenty of groomed cruising without much pitch. They have minimal expert terrain limited to the True Grit area and triple chair. I still haven't been back to ski it as it just isn't enough of a draw with Cannon (and even Loon to a lesser extent) right up the road. WV is a good area for Joe Casual Skier and Joe's family. I recall they had some sort of efforts on freestyle and bump skiing there due to joegm's rant and raves over on FTO. Overall, over priced for what it is.

At least that is my take.

 

[tcharron]

Boilerplate waterville 4tw!

 

[Vortex]

Depends on what you want. Great parks. good community vibe. Very fun village. The candy store was always a big hit. Every thing on a shuttle run.

Every thing ends at one base. When we based out of Campton.. We skied Loon most days and went to Waterville at night to see the fireworks, get dinner or a pizza and good candy. It is great for familiers. booby's run, was fun. I liked the north lift and skied Tippee canoe and tyler too. Nice open crusiers. I found it fun to do every know and then and then a great day trip or weekend family trip. . I could not go every weekend if it was just for myself. Kids love it.

Stomachdoc owns there and usually starts showing up on the board soon. He loves it. kids in the programs and always had good things to say.

 

[billski]

too flat for me.

 

[Puck it]

No true glades either. The Sunnyside is the best part of the area. The summit is wide open and they say it has 5 or 6 runs. It is a good place to rip though. There has been long shot ideas of expanding into the ravine to skier's left with a lift going to the summit. Only talk though.

 

[deadheadskier]

One strong impression Waterville made on me in my day there last winter is the potential it has. It's a pretty big mountain with some decently pitched areas for terrain expansion. I say this not knowing what they own or lease outside of the current boundaries.

 

[UVSHTSTRM]

One strong impression Waterville made on me in my day there last winter is the potential it has. It's a pretty big mountain with some decently pitched areas for terrain expansion. I say this not knowing what they own or lease outside of the current boundaries.

I am sure being in the White Mountain National forest makes it tough for expansion.

 

[deadheadskier]

just did a quick google search on Waterville Valley expansion and wouldn't you know what came up? A past Alpinezone challenge.

nothing too specific. I wonder if they expanded the snowmaking ponds since this interview five years ago.

http://www.alpinezone.com/skiing/articles/challenge/2004/response.htm?resort=waterville

 

[wa-loaf]

Boilerplate waterville 4tw!

Yea, I think they have a good race program ... :roll:

 

[Rogman]

I first skied Waterville as a kid, when it was two T-bars and a rope tow. Those lifts were actually across the valley at Snows mountain, at the base of the century old Waterville Inn. That burned to the ground maybe a year after the facility at Tecumseh was built. At that time there were maybe a dozen homes in the valley. A lot has changed since then.

Is Waterville the last east coast ski area to have been built from the ground up like that? I imagine getting the permitting now would just be a nightmare.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

I first skied Waterville as a kid, when it was two T-bars and a rope tow. Those lifts were actually across the valley at Snows mountain, at the base of the century old Waterville Inn. That burned to the ground maybe a year after the facility at Tecumseh was built. At that time there were maybe a dozen homes in the valley. A lot has changed since then.

Is Waterville the last east coast ski area to have been built from the ground up like that? I imagine getting the permitting now would just be a nightmare.

That would be Montage, or Le Massif.

 

[AdironRider]

I had a pass to Waterville back in the day. I actually prefer WV to Loon or Cranmore personally, but wouldnt put it in the same league as Cannon or Wildcat. Waterville is a great area for families and intermediates, but I think Id find it pretty boring nowadays. They do seem to try and make an effort to open early most years though. Not the first to open, but usually right up there with the summit lift.

 

[bigbob]

Rumor has it for sale. Interested?

 

[Beetlenut]

First time I skied it was back in the early 90's. Always seemed to have patches of blue ice all over the mountain. Looked like swiss cheese from the base lodge. Seemed to get weird weather. Fog, drizzle, sleet. Said I would not go back. Second time I skied it was late 90's. Same conditions, said I will not go back. Haven't since!

 

[stomachdoc]

We've owned at WV for about 6 years. Great family place, great community; we love being up there and really consider it home as much as our "primary residence" in MA. We enjoy being there as much in the summer/fall as we do in the winter...great golf, tennis, mountain biking, hiking. No traffic lights/congestion like Lincoln--WV is an actual small town with a school, etc. The mountain excels in terms of its ski school both for kids, racers and adults.

There is no doubt that there has been little investment in the mountain in terms of lifts or trails in the past 10 years. This is as much a reflection of the state of Booth Creek as it is the fact that WV is in the national forest and there is no developable land (as in slopeside condos) without doing a land swap. Nevertheless, the area above Valley Run/Stillness (Green Peak) and the bowl off the true summit of Tecumseh is considered ready for trail cutting and lift placement but the snowmaking pond would have to be enlarged. There is an old lift on Snow's mountain that is owned by Booth Creek (the mountain is now owned by the Waterville Valley Academy); the lift is used for summer Mountain Biking. Booth's RTU Snow's Mountain ends in a year or so and there is talk of moving that double to the true summit of Tecumseh to open that terrain. Most of us at WV have a "we'll believe it when we see it" attitude, but that is the fate of ski areas without developable real estate since that's the only way to make enough $$$ to entice concomitant trail/lift development. Well, at least up until 2 years ago.

I agree with the earlier poster that the physical mountain has a huge amount of untapped potential....

For us, it's a fantastic place to have a second home but, yes, I'd rather ski at Snowbird.

 

[Vortex]

I still get these broadcast e-mails so something new and fresh


The nights are getting chilly as we roll through September. Before you know it opening day, November 21st will be upon us and the fun filled winter will be in full swing. Not only is opening day the 21st but it is also the Rome Pre Jib. The best Pre season contest around. Ron from Rome will be here for the action and you should too!


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On-Mountain Improvements
Over the summer we have done some pretty nice renovations to the hill including dirt work up to and around the Oakley Hubba set. There's also a new and improved indoor mini ramp now hiding under Buckets. Plus 40 new energy efficient tower guns for snowmaking and a new groomer for the fleet that will be spending time in Exhibition.

The focus now is on designing new jib features for the winter. We have locked in a new Fuel TV Skateledge Feature for 09-10. We are sure to also have at least 5 new jibs for the opening of Exhibition - a long down rail, a wall ride, pole jams, down-flat-down box, and depending on some factors, much more!

Here’s the latest video park report.


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Upcoming Events
The big events are back - Volcom PB&Rail Jam, Transworld TransAM, Boarding 4 Breast Cancer, Billabong's Flaunt It, Burton's Amateur Series and J-5. A partially updated event schedule is online at www.snowboardwaterville.com.

There will be more to add as we get closer to the start of the season so keep checking back for updates and the launch of the new site.

We have a ton of cool things happening from now till opening. We will be bringing our new travel ramp to Jake Burton's house for his annual Birthday Bash on Oct 3rd. The same night Forum will be premiering their new movie "Forever" in Portsmouth at the Portsmouth Music Hall. Here's the Eastern Boarder write-up for that. Waterville Valley's own Pat Moore, sure to have one of the stand out parts, will be there.

In free skiing premiere news, Poor Boyz Productions is on tour with their new film "Everyday Is A Saturday." Nick Martini, Waterville Valley Academy Alumni and WV's J5 reigning champion, has a big part in the movie.


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Stay tuned to snowboardwaterville.com for more updates and be sure to buy your Threedom passes or 4 NH College Passes online now!

See you in the park,

Luke Mathison

P.S. Digging on the E-Bomb? Share it with your peeps, and get them to sign themselves up!