WATERVILLE.COM �� #WVRESORT THE SCOOP Under Construction This year, Waterville Valley embarks on a major $7.5-million improvement plan to revitalize the mountain and Valley you already know and love. �� By Sarah Tuff There’s a reason HGTV is so addictive: all of us dream of that multimillion-dollar windfall that will suddenly transform our homes into the place we’ve always loved, only bigger, shinier, and happier. And then the TV clicks off and the fantasy fades. At Waterville Valley, however, the reality is $7.5 million in cold, hard cash – so cold that the mountain will be able to blow more snow, teach more beginners, challenge more experts, and provide everyone with more fun in the base lodge during après ski. The multiyear project, called Phase II, is funded through bank financing and a Department of Energy grant. Phase I was the initial expansion of Green Peak, which added 45 acres of skiable terrain. Phase II includes not only completion of that project, but also better snowmaking everywhere, new lifts, and a major remodeling of the base lodge. “It’s pretty huge – for Waterville to be in a position to make some large improvements is just awesome,” says Matthew Hesser, senior director of marketing for the resort. How huge? This winter, Waterville Valley Resort is spending $1.15 million on 500 brand-spanking-new snow guns, nearly doubling its fleet of 550 (though they’ll say goodbye to 225 of the old-tech, high-energy guns). Upgrades in technology are also saving $260,000 in energy costs, reveals Planning and Development’s Dave Dean. Meanwhile, the J-bar at the base area will soon give way to two new beginner-friendly conveyor lifts, while a T-bar will replace the 50-plus-year-old High Country Double, long susceptible to wind delays. On Green Peak, grading and stumping will create terrain conducive to grooming and snowmaking. The most immediate change to the base lodge is the relocation of the Waterville Valley Adaptive Snowsports headquarters and the ticket sales counters for a more seamless flow. The move will also relocate the rental shop and ski school to skier’s left of the base lodge. “It will be very simple for the new skier or rider to come in, figure out what they need, and head right on out,” says Hesser, who also mentions the plan for a cushy new lounge upstairs with full mountain views is in the works for the 2018–19 season. Dean adds that summer will be even better, too, thanks to the addition of a lift-accessed disc golf course on Snow’s Mountain, a climbing tower and bungee trampoline, and ResortBoards for exploring the wilds around Waterville on motorized wheels. “Think a Segway meets a skateboard,” says Dean, of the new modes of Valley transportation. Bigger, shinier, and happier? You bet. No need to get the fix on HGTV. “We’ve had these wishes and dreams, thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice?’” says Hesser. “Now we have the funding to pull it off for the home we always wanted.” A green light on the major capital improvements for Phase II jump-started major construction on the slopes through this past spring, summer, and fall.
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