Whaleback Mountain Updates
SJ, please see my attachment for the full press release (too many characters for a single post) or on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Whaleback-Mountain/178319650625?fref=ts. Here is an article in our local paper as well:
Our new Mountain Manager and the 2 for 1 gift challenge are both huge for our community supported non-profit mountain. If you have ever had the pleasure of stopping by or just enjoy seeing smaller feeder mountains survive, please consider making a tax-deductible donation however small you can manage. Our new Mountain Manager has already hit the ground running as we already have two weeks of volunteer days under our belt. Work on base facility and trail cleanup is ongoing while lighting and trail improvements will follow. We have had an independent analysis of the snowmaking infrastructure by a respected engineering company to help us take better advantage of the current system, make modifications, and help plan for future upgrades as capital becomes available.
We know it is easy to truck by us on 89 but we would love to see you all this coming winter. Stop by for some affordable skiing and grab a beer in our lounge and see why Whaleback is a second home to so many. Also, below is the link to our sign up sheet for Volunteer days should you be in the area this summer/fall and want to help out. We should be picking it back up shortly: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a4fa5af2ba3ff2-whaleback/27917684
I will continue to stop by and post mountain news and answer any questions as I have time.
Thanks,
Comments
IBRAKE
Skied there last year. Had more fun than at Ragged that day since RM was closed due to the wind, cold and perhaps apathy. I think I had a TR in SJ1.0
Happy summer everyone - I figured I would give everyone an update as to what we are doing up here.
First off, we have just reached 50% of our minimal fundraising goal of $50,000, with only 2
weeks left. For those of you not aware, an anonymous couple whose grandchildren love to ski and ride at the Whale have offered a challenge grant to the Upper Valley Snow
Sports Foundation (UVSSF - the nonprofit that owns Whaleback) to raise $50,000 during the month of June and they will donate $100,000. This funding is vital for continued operations.
Up on the hill, Volunteer Days are making great progress under our new Mountain Manager. Around the base area the main parking lot has been graded and we are working on doing the same across the river. The upper deck (the one off the second floor of the lodge facing the hill) is being rebuilt as are the walkways to the lower deck. This should be awesome come winter.
Spout has been trimmed back top to bottom both sides. We started replacing the lights on this trail last year but ran out of time. We plan to finish the project this year which will greatly help for races and training at night.
Primary trail work continues on Dorsal, where we are widening choke points and fixing dark spots with additional lights. This is going to be our primary beginner route (down to Scrimshaw) off the summit this year.
Last year we suffered a lighting failure on Scrimshaw (the lower beginner and the park) and we fully intend to resolve that for this season. This will give us 3 top to bottom lit routes with snowmaking for winter - Spout, Dorsal > Scrimshaw, and Face. They will be opened in that priority order. If the winter goes well we may be able to do more but this is what we agree is the best use of our aging snowmaking system.
Long story short we are excited about the changes happening and for this upcoming season.
If you're in the area and want to spend a few hours working on the hill you can check out our volunteer sign up page: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a4fa5af2ba3ff2-whaleback/27917684
Also, If you want to consider making your tax free donation now, no matter how small, you can do so here: http://www.whaleback.com/product/donate-uvssf/
I will stop back as I can - I have attached some photos of the work we are doing.
DATE: July 16, 2015
CONTACT: John Schiffman, Chair, Upper Valley Snow Sports Foundation
WHALEBACK CHALLENGE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED
The Upper Valley Sports Foundation (“UVSSF”), the operator and owner of Whaleback Ski Area, announced that it received charitable donations of $76,016 from 250 individual donors and foundations. This amount successfully exceeded the requirements of an anonymous couple's Challenge grant ($100,000) by $25,806 (50 percent). Completion of the June, 2015 fund drive provides the necessary working capital in order to be able to open Whaleback for the 2015-2016 seasons.
When they heard about the successful completion of the Challenge campaign, which ended on June 30, 2015, the donors wrote to UVSSF, “We knew the Upper Valley was a great community that values wonderful places for kids to enjoy like Whaleback! We are so happy to hear that the community rose to the challenge - congrats!”
There was a flurry of donations that were received on the very last day of the campaign. In the final five (5) days 103 donations were received. Cornelia Purcell, UVSSF Board Vice Chair, gratefully acknowledged the wonderful publicinformation support from the Valley News, and acknowledged that without that help the public never would have been properly informed of the opportunity to support Whaleback with their generous donations. She said: “It is the nature of our time that so many people wait until the very last moment, so it was really key to keep the word out there and keep reminding people to step up and help.” Whaleback's new Mountain Manager, Gerd Riess added, "This is a really exciting development; these funds will enable the necessary summer maintenance to be accomplished on schedule and provide the necessary working capital to begin to fund next winter’s ski season activity.".
OVERALL CAMPAIGN & GOALS:
When originally created in 2013, UVSSF planned to raise approximately $2,400,000 in order to preserve the Whaleback ski area. So far the organization has raised or been promised $952,807 and is now in the next phase of a multiple year major fund raising drive. That goal is to complete the task by the end of 2016 and raise the next $1,000,000 from many individuals and foundation sources. This money will be used to accomplish major improvements in the snow making systems. When UVSSF acquired Whaleback in 2013, it knew that the more than 30-year old system would have to be modernized. The funds that have been raised to date were used to purchase the area from a bank that had foreclosed on the property, address and remedy the immediate deferred maintenance issues and make sure that Whaleback stayed available to the public without a loss of continuity. Additional improvements were made to the infrastructure in order to bring the sanitation systems up to code. The lodge is a gracious but antiquated building that has a very “retro” feel. As volunteer labor and material become available UVSSF is working on a program to improve the facility by small incremental projects, such as replacing doors, windows, painting, and building a new spacious deck to connect the lodge to the ski hill and to use for functions. The volunteer program at Hypertherm has provided both labor and materials on many of these projects and has been absolutely vital to UVSSF.
In addition, under the guidance of Mountain Manager Gerd Riess, scores of volunteers are already at work doing the summer maintenance needed to open for next season. Moreover, Charlie Harrison is helping Whaleback with creating mountain bike trails, some of which will be ready for recreational activity next summer.