After a winter of record revenue and season pass sales, Whaleback Mountain in Enfield, New Hampshire is pushing for a huge 2023-24 season.
In Whaleback’s 2023 annual report, they announced that two major capital projects are planned in the future. A new surface lift will help them open terrain quicker, and they have applied for a federal grant to maximize Whaleback’s snowmaking capacity.
One of their upcoming projects will be the installation of a new surface lift, which they are aiming to begin work on this summer. The surface lift being considered is a rope tow with a handlebar and a poma. An example of this kind of lift is pictured below.
The surface lift will start at the bottom of the skier’s right of the Lower Spout trail, and end above the top of the racing hut. It will be located on the skier’s right of Lower Spout (pictured below), which is their racing trail. The lift will also give access to the Canyon and Scrimshaw trails, which is home to their terrain park. The new lift will help them get the mountain open earlier in the season, and help improve skier/rider flow during peak periods.
In terms of snowmaking, they have applied for a federal grant to maximize their snowmaking capacity. With Whaleback being a non-profit organization, major capital projects are funded by fundraising. In order for the grant to succeed, they need to match half the funds for the grant. So far, they’ve raised $60,000 of the required $100,000. Snowmaking has been a struggle at Whaleback for decades, so this move would be a transformational change for the ski area.
With this grant, they aim to purchase the additional snowmaking pump to maximize the new snowmaking equipment, do electrical work, and reroute some water piping before the 2023-24 season. If they aren’t able to secure the grant, they still plan on purchasing some snowmaking equipment.
Over the past couple of years, many major improvements have been made at the Whale. This includes the installation of a disc golf course, adding multiple summer activities, renovating the double chairlift, making snowmaking improvements, installing night lights, and becoming an Indy Pass allied partner. As someone who lives around twenty minutes away from the mountain, it’s exciting to see Whaleback grow so quickly.
If you want to help out Whaleback with these capital improvements, you can donate to them here.
Image Credits: Whaleback Mountain
