Waterville Valley Resort
Encyclopedia
Waterville Valley is a ski resort in the White Mountain National Forest
of New Hampshire
. The resort's motto is "Altitude without the Attitude". Built on Mount Tecumseh
, with a summit elevation of 4004 feet (1,220.4 m) above sea level, the ski trails extend to a high point on the south ridge of the mountain at 3840 feet (1,170.4 m), offering a vertical drop of 2000 feet (609.6 m). The ski area has 12 lifts, including two high-speed quads
. The resort is located in the town of Waterville Valley
.
In addition to downhill skiing, the resort offers 46 miles (74 km) of Nordic skiing
, plus golf
, nationally-ranked tennis
courts, a skateboard
park, a year-round ice arena, hiking, biking, water sports, boating, and cultural activities that range from bluegrass
festivals to Shakespeare-under-the-stars.
ski trails. The first of the two trails was abandoned after a decade, while the latter would later become incorporated into the Waterville Valley ski area.
A group led by Tom Corcoran
opened Waterville Valley in 1966 with four new Staedeli double chairlift
s and a J-Bar surface lift. Of the original chairlifts, the High Country and Lower Meadows still remain.
Over the next few decades, three Staedeli triple chairlifts would be installed, including World Cup Triple in 1985.
In 1988, a Poma
high-speed detachable quad chairlift was installed, running parallel to the World Cup Triple and High Country Double chairlifts. Due to wind issues, the upper portion of this lift was later removed. As a result, the top portion of the ski area is only served by the High Country Double chairlift.
Waterville Valley was briefly owned by the American Skiing Company
in the mid 1990s. Due to anti-trust issues, Waterville and Cranmore Mountain Resort
were sold to Booth Creek Holdings in the fall of 1996.
In 1997, a Doppelmayr
high speed detachable quad chairlift was installed, known as "Quadzilla."
Waterville hosts the "Black and Blue Trail Smashers" (also known as BBTS) ski club, one of the oldest in the USA, founded in 1934. The team has expanded its training to include ski racing, freestyle skiing and snowboarding, and boardercross
disciplines.
Members of the Sununu family in New Hampshire family and a group of area investors purchased Waterville Valley ski resort from California-based Booth Creek Ski Holdings Ltd in October, 2010.
Waterville Valley Academy, a seasonal winter sports boarding school that specializes in training skiers and snowboarders, conducts training at Waterville.
White Mountain National Forest
The White Mountain National Forest is a federally-managed forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was established in 1918 as a result of the Weeks Act of 1911; federal acquisition of land had already begun in 1914. It has a total area of...
of New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. The resort's motto is "Altitude without the Attitude". Built on Mount Tecumseh
Mount Tecumseh
Mount Tecumseh is a mountain located in Grafton County, New Hampshire. The mountain is named after the Shawnee leader Tecumseh , and is part of the Sandwich Range of the White Mountains. The east side of Tecumseh drains into the Mad River; the west side drains into several brooks...
, with a summit elevation of 4004 feet (1,220.4 m) above sea level, the ski trails extend to a high point on the south ridge of the mountain at 3840 feet (1,170.4 m), offering a vertical drop of 2000 feet (609.6 m). The ski area has 12 lifts, including two high-speed quads
Detachable chairlift
A detachable chairlift or high-speed chairlift is a type of passenger aerial lift, which, like a fixed-grip chairlift, consists of numerous chairs attached to a constantly moving wire rope that is strung between two terminals over intermediate towers. They are now commonplace at all but the...
. The resort is located in the town of Waterville Valley
Waterville Valley, New Hampshire
Waterville Valley is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 247 at the 2010 census.Waterville Valley attracts many visitors in the winter months with alpine skiing at Waterville Valley Resort and many miles of trails for cross-country skiing. During the summer,...
.
In addition to downhill skiing, the resort offers 46 miles (74 km) of Nordic skiing
Nordic skiing
Nordic skiing is a winter sport that encompasses all types of skiing where the heel of the boot cannot be fixed to the ski, as opposed to Alpine skiing....
, plus golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, nationally-ranked tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
courts, a skateboard
Skateboard
A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...
park, a year-round ice arena, hiking, biking, water sports, boating, and cultural activities that range from bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
festivals to Shakespeare-under-the-stars.
History
Organized skiing first started on Mount Tecumseh in the 1930s with the construction of two Civilian Conservation CorpsCivilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
ski trails. The first of the two trails was abandoned after a decade, while the latter would later become incorporated into the Waterville Valley ski area.
A group led by Tom Corcoran
Tom Corcoran (skier)
Thomas Corcoran, better known as Tom Corcoran, is a four-time United States national champion in alpine skiing and a two-time Olympian. In addition to seven years of international ski racing, Corcoran also raced competitively for Dartmouth College....
opened Waterville Valley in 1966 with four new Staedeli double chairlift
Chairlift
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...
s and a J-Bar surface lift. Of the original chairlifts, the High Country and Lower Meadows still remain.
Over the next few decades, three Staedeli triple chairlifts would be installed, including World Cup Triple in 1985.
In 1988, a Poma
Poma
Poma, also known as Pomagalski S.A. is a French company, specialising in construction of cable-driven lift systems, including fixed and detachable chairlifts, gondola lifts, funiculars, aerial tramways, people movers, and surface lifts. Poma has installed more than 7800 devices on five continents,...
high-speed detachable quad chairlift was installed, running parallel to the World Cup Triple and High Country Double chairlifts. Due to wind issues, the upper portion of this lift was later removed. As a result, the top portion of the ski area is only served by the High Country Double chairlift.
Waterville Valley was briefly owned by the American Skiing Company
American Skiing Company
American Skiing Company was one of the largest operators of alpine ski, snowboard and golf resorts in the United States. Its resorts included Sunday River and Sugarloaf, in Maine and The Canyons in Utah....
in the mid 1990s. Due to anti-trust issues, Waterville and Cranmore Mountain Resort
Cranmore Mountain Resort
Cranmore Mountain Resort is located in North Conway, New Hampshire. Currently, it is one of New Hampshire's most successful ski resorts.It was founded in 1937 by a group of businessmen, led by Harvey Dow Gibson a native son of North Conway and president of the Manufacturers Trust Company, who...
were sold to Booth Creek Holdings in the fall of 1996.
In 1997, a Doppelmayr
Doppelmayr CTEC
Doppelmayr is an aerial lift manufacturer based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, and a subsidiary of the worldwide Doppelmayr Garaventa Group. The North American company was formed in 2001 after the merger of Garaventa of Goldau, Switzerland, and Doppelmayr of Wolfurt, Austria....
high speed detachable quad chairlift was installed, known as "Quadzilla."
Waterville hosts the "Black and Blue Trail Smashers" (also known as BBTS) ski club, one of the oldest in the USA, founded in 1934. The team has expanded its training to include ski racing, freestyle skiing and snowboarding, and boardercross
Boardercross
Snowboard cross is a snowboard competition in which a group of snowboarders start simultaneously atop an inclined course, then race to reach the finish line first...
disciplines.
Members of the Sununu family in New Hampshire family and a group of area investors purchased Waterville Valley ski resort from California-based Booth Creek Ski Holdings Ltd in October, 2010.
Waterville Valley Academy, a seasonal winter sports boarding school that specializes in training skiers and snowboarders, conducts training at Waterville.
External links
- Waterville Valley Resort - Official web site
- Waterville Valley Ski Area - SkiLifts.org
- Waterville Valley Resort Association - Official web site
- Mt. Tecumseh - New England's Alpine CCC Ski Trails