Waterville Valley, located in the White Mountains National Forest of New Hampshire, is home to 52 ski trails, light and fluffy powder, and a quaint community.
Skiing is a sport that I discovered when I was younger, and now that I have returned to New England after living in New York for 17 years, it is a way for me to distract myself from the idea that I am in the middle of my middle age. In my hometown, going skiing on a weekday was a common occurrence. It would take you slightly less than two hours to travel up to the White Mountain region of New Hampshire, where you could ski for the day and still make it back in time for dinner.
When we drove from our home in Massachusetts to the mountains in New Hampshire's White Mountains National Forest, my sons, ages four and six, had never been on skis before. Waterville Valley is a ski resort that features 52 trails, 265 skiable acres of terrain, an elevation of just over 4,000 feet, and a vertical drop of 2,020 feet.
According to Sarah Van Ratingen, the marketing communications manager for Waterville Valley, the town of Waterville, which was constructed upon Mount Tecumseh and Green Peaks, began attracting skiers more than 80 years ago. She states that the first ski tracks in Waterville Valley were cut by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937, which was the year when people began skiing down Mount Tecumseh for the first time. However, Waterville did not become a legitimate ski resort until the 1960s, when two-time Olympic skier Tom Corcoran established and developed the mountain. Since then, Waterville has become a popular ski destination.
Before our arrival on a February morning in the thick of a cold spell, the slopes had been prepared with a week's worth of heavy snowfall. Before we even started our day on the slopes, we got ready for it at one of the six slopeside areas that the resort offers. The Green Peak Suite was ours for the day, and it featured a leather Chesterfield sofa, a television, some complimentary drinks and pastries, a giant picture window with an unobstructed view of the mountain, and plenty space for all of our equipment. The exterior had a designated premier parking area, which made loading and unloading a little bit simpler.
After that, our children went directly to Kids Kamp, a ski school that caters to children between the ages of four and twelve. During the morning and afternoon sessions, which each last two hours, there is a break for lunch in the middle. When our runs came to an end, my husband and I tried to get sneak peeks at their increasingly controlled "pizzas" before heading back to the Tecumseh Express, a speedy bubble chairlift that seats six people and opened in 2022. At Waterville, children under the age of five ski for free, while parents who purchase an Adult Plus Season Pass are eligible to receive one free junior ski pass for each child under the age of 12.
Love the East Coast for its random peak into history while hiking. We think this vehicle was used to power a small tow rope on a 1950s era ski resort in the Catskills. pic.twitter.com/zd0gwGmtA7
— Sarah L Knapp (@SrhKnpp) November 17, 2020
We had arrived on a Wednesday, following the time-honored custom of New Englanders who like to ski the mountains without other skiers and snowboarders around. It turned out that the conditions were favourable, and this was due not just to a series of back-to-back storms, but also to the property's intensive snowmaking efforts and overnight grooming across both summits.
When we were skiing at Waterville, my husband and I were frequently some of the only people on the new powder in the morning. We rode chair after chair without having to wait in a line or compete with other passengers, and we made it to the summit of the mountain in exactly five minutes and fifty-five seconds each time. My husband said, "I've never skied like this before," and I couldn't help but laugh. The convenience of being able to go straight to the mountains is a definite perk.
Sarah van Ratingen is quoted as saying, "There's something indescribably magical about skiing on the East Coast." The mountains on the East Coast are home to a community of skiers and riders who are committed, passionate, and tenacious in their love for the sport. Their love for the sport is so strong that it doesn't matter what the weather is like or how many routes a mountain has. Indeed, this was the case with the two of us skiers who, having reached the peak, were able to take in views of the White Mountain Valley. What is it like outside? Minus four degrees.
Even though it was cold outside, several of the more daring members of our group nevertheless decided to head towards the terrain park. On the slopes, it appeared that everyone was aware that it was a good day. Waterville Valley is also renowned as the birthplace of freestyle skiing. The resort is responsible for the very first freestyle skiing teaching programmed to be offered in the United States, which began in 1969. The Boneyard was New Hampshire's first ever terrain park when it opened at Waterville Ski Resort in 1994, the year before I ever skied there for the first time. Since then, Waterville has become a popular destination for professional snowboarders and frescoers. Many of these athletes, many of whom we watched from the summit of the Tecumseh Express, rode the High Country T-Bar up to the highest trails of the mountain, only to flip, jump, and pirouette their way down the built-in obstacles of a blue-square run called Hassle.
In point of fact, we spent the majority of the day at the summit, deciding which runs to take, catching a glimpse of the snow-capped peak of Mount Washington in the distance, and of course, paying a visit to the Schwind Hutte, a rustic lodge that was constructed at the summit of the mountain when the resort first opened its doors. I sat there in a plush leather recliner and tucked into a warm helping of mac and cheese while I looked out the window at the gentle greens and blues of the mountains.
A further reminder of the land's lengthy history is provided by the Schwandt Hutte, which, in all of its quaint, wood-framed splendor, may be found on the site. When I saw two images of Robert F. Kennedy, an old friend of Tom Corcoran's who was also an avid Waterville skier, I stopped what I was doing and looked at them with a sense of reverence. After Bobby Kennedy's passing, Corcoran gave one of the hiking trails the name "Bobby's Run," and that winding and wending path is still there today, just as it was back in 1968. While we were skiing down it, I couldn't help but wonder how many times a younger John F. Kennedy had skied down the mountain before it bore his name.
When we picked up our sons from Kids Kamp at the end of the day, that legacy translated into our own experience as parents. My son who is the oldest in the family was ready for one more run, so my husband took him on his very first chairlift, a quad that took them to a larger trail network. One of them was a novice, while the other was an experienced skier, and they raced down the mountain in the dying, even light of the day.
Then it was time to pack up and leave, however not all guests staying in Waterville are required to depart immediately after their stay is up. When I visited the resort in 1995, I stayed for a week in the Town Square Condominiums. These condos continue to be fantastic options for families that are staying at the resort for a single night, multiple nights, or even a full week. Each condo has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and together they can sleep up to eight people. They are situated within the town square village, which is a unique community of shops and snow-covered pathways that link to the ski area via a 1.5-mile Nordic Trail. (In addition, there are resort-operated shuttle buses available for guests, which make multiple stops all across Waterville Valley. These stops include those at each lodge, condo, and hotel, as well as at the lower parking lots.)
It was not in the cards for us to stay the night this time; however, perhaps a cosy stay in one of the condominiums, followed by a stroll through the picture-perfect village of Waterville, is in store for us in the future when we go skiing. After our recent rediscovery of skiing on the East Coast as a family, I find myself daydreaming about spending the weekend in the mountains, where I'd take breaks between runs on Tippecanoe to go to The Boo monger and let my toes warm up. When it comes down to it, skiing, in the words of Sarah van Kralingen, "is more than just the experience of sliding over snow." It's all about the company we keep on the slopes. It's something we get to experience along with the people we care about.