Blue Bird Sky

No crowds, great snow and a blue bird sky. You can not ask for more but I was also able to ski with five other friends today. We skied the North side in the morning where Tippecanoe was great. As soon as the whole group arrived we made our way to Gema where we proceeded to take multiple runs and stay to the side of the trail where the snow was great. They were blowing a lot of snow on True Grit today so the left side of Gema was getting the blow over from the guns which kept the snow good all day. As soon as Grit opens it is going to be great.
Did anyone get to go up to high country once it opened today? The left side was great for about an hour. I hope others enjoyed that as much as we did.

Wonderful Wednesday + Good Luck HK!

Man was it nice to be up on the mountain today! and the 9" on Monday night sure made the skiing great. I don't want to get my hopes up yet...but it's sounding like we may get another storm on Friday and Saturday!!! Looks like the holiday week skiers and riders might get a POW day.

Here's some holiday week tips. Ski early! Drag yourself out of bed and you'll get the best runs of the day! Make sure you lap White Peaks for a bit and then ski Northside or Sunnyside when the clock hits 10am so you avoid the late risers.

Exhibtion Terrain Park - Dec. 30th, 2009

Good Luck to US Freestyle Ski Team athlete Hannah Kearney, who just locked up her spot to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver! Hannah is the reigning World Mogul Champion and began her career at WVBBTS ripping the bump lines on True Grit.

Hannah ( in red ) with the 09-10 BBTS Freestyle coaching staff.

Lifties

Working in the lift department has it's ups and downs I've noticed {hey i made a funny}. Watching everyone go up, and wishing that was me with them and the smiles on their faces when they come back down after a nice run. Seeing the same people over and over and over all day and the smiles never leave their face even if their face is frozen. I got a job at WV without ever skiing the mountain.......and boy am I glad i did. Everyone i work with has a great attitude and personality and make it a great time working here.

Now I understand why people say it is great skiing when they come back down. I just did my 1st runs of the year ......it was amazing...trails are nice and wide open and nicely groomed...now i understand why WV slogan is "Love" cause i just fell in love with the mountain....see you in the lift lines or on the mountain

Butch's Banter

We've made it to December 26 and not a grinch in sight at the Quad! There were holiday hugs, Katie's funny Xmas hat, plenty of holiday cheer and I knew I was coming in way too early when I passed Santa's sleigh on I-93. Now, I can't promise anything but I do really like Reese's peanut butter cups so I might be inclined to let someone ring the bell if they were to get here early enough and bring me a few ....
See you in the front row!
Butch

Santa Is Missing Out!

Hopefully Santa takes some time off after the holidays to ski and ride! I was able to make a few runs today and I got to say, the big guy is missing out! Gema and Ciao are open! and there were huge mounds of snow on the Chute!!!! which mean top to bottom runs under White Peaks isn't far away. Huge thanks to the snowmakers for working around the clock. Enjoy the holiday and make sure you get up and enjoy some thigh burning laps on Sunnyside to help work away those Christmas cookies!

Starting your day off right!

Some may think I'm crazy for rushing to get that chairlift right at 9am for only 3 runs. Well, I personally can't think of a better way to start my day than being able to get those few runs in before work! My friend Keith and I met at the chair and were third in line. As we rode up we couldn't stop talking about how beautiful it was, bluebird sky, views for miles and how lucky we are to have all of this in our backyard! Our first run started down Upper Bobby's...what can I say, soft corduroy in the sun. Making those big carving turns felt so good, I now have more energy than I know what to do with! Thanks to all the snow-makers, groomers and everyone that has made it possible to have this much terrain open right now! Happy Holidays! See you out there after Christmas!

To Ski Or Not To Ski

Some times I wonder if it will be worth the trip up to the mountain.

Is the snow good?

Will I have enough time to make it worth my while?

Is it too cold?

Then I think of all the days during the summer that I wish I could be skiing and I decide to make the trek up to the hill, which is exactly how my Saturday ended up. I was stuck on a project and finally finished it late morning as my wife patiently waited.

Was it too late to go up?

Would the snow still be good?

We loaded the car, got to the lights in Campton, turned around to get my ski boots, then finally made it to WV at 1:30pm and boy am I glad we went.

The snow was great and after bombing around on the newly opened terrain we finished off our Saturday at Buckets, where Holly and the gang served some amazing nachos.

To Ski or Not to Ski..... I'm glad I did!

Butch's Banter

Here's the best thing that happened all weekend. 6 year old Charlie presented me with a picture book of all the WV lifts. Even better, Charlie says he wants to be a lift attendant just like me when he grows up. Maybe Santa will give him a scan gun for Xmas.
See you in the front row!
Butch

Holiday shopping or skiing?

The title of my entry today should not be a question. We all know what the answer is.
I really feel bad for anyone that decided to finish up their holiday shopping today. You missed a great day. This year the majority of my shopping was online so I could have as much time as possible to ski on the weekends.
The weather was great and the snow was even better. Once again the only complaint I have is that my boots hurt again. I am sure it is time for new ones and the search begins tomorrow after another day of skiing. Looks like I will be getting myself an early holiday present.
The mountain was great and I can not say enough about the conditions and trails that were open. With that said sometimes I forget that so many people share my passion for the sport. I was skiing alone today and because I was a “Single” I was able to strike up conversation with many people who were ecstatic to be out for their first day of the year. I can relate because my first day was only 7 days ago. It was great to hear their stories, learn where they live and how short or long their trip was to enjoy a day of skiing. I enjoyed seeing that enthusiasm.
I have to admit that there are very few reasons why I would ever get out of bed before the sun rises but skiing is one of them. I guess I would also get up early to catch a flight but that is because usually that flight is for a ski trip.
I hope the slopes were great for all that were at the mountain, and for those who did shop today…. You know what to do next year.

First day but not the last

Finally, the first full day of skiing has arrived for me. Of course that is not the only first I had today. This was also the first day I found out that I am not as “in shape” as I once thought, the first day I realized my boots hurt a lot more this year and the first day I remember why I love to ski so much.
In most cases I am not able to ski during the week because I am sitting in my cubicle looking at the brown fabric walls wondering if they are slowly closing in on me or are my eyes just playing tricks on me because I stare at a computer screen all day. That is the reason why every chance I can get on the slopes I make the best of it.
I am sure many people were caught off guard by the cold air that Mother Nature sent our way today but we are skiing in New Hampshire and there is a simple remedy for that. If it is cold, ski harder. If that does not work, there is usually room at Buckets or T Bars to warm up.
It is time for me to sign off, I need to rest these tired legs and get ready for the Ugly Sweater party tonight with another day of skiing tomorrow. My body will have Monday though Friday to rest before I punish them again.

First Storm of the Season!

It was Tuesday morning when the rumors started spreading that our first storm of the season was headed this way. Immediately the thought that there may not be school the next day started to cross my mind, and then of course, well, lets play hookie from work for a couple of hours. We'll get to the mountain when the lift opens!! Thanks to the 8-10 inches of fresh snow on Wednesday, this happened. YES! I couldn't have asked for a better way to start the season than skiing with friends and getting some good powder turns in!! Winter is finally here!

Thanks Mother Nature

I can now sleep better at night! Winter finally showed up!

Cold temps and Wednesday's storm allowed WV to open Tippy and the Northside of the mountain. I wasn't able to make turns in Wednesday's 9" of pow pow, but I did make it up on Thursday to carve some turns down wide open Tippy. The snow was good and the guns were still blasting away. T to B by the weekend!!!! See you on the slopes..... or in Buckets!

Opening Weekend

So the 09/10 season is finally here. My wife and my good friend grabbed our gear and made our first turns up on High Country.

After weeks of waiting for the cold weather to come back, we loaded the quad and zipped past all the brown trails to the winter wonderland high atop WV.

Sure the snow wasn't amazing like runs in January, and very little terrain was open, but you have to hand it to WV for getting things open with such horrible snowmaking conditions thru the month of

November.

As we stood in line I realized that opening weekend is more than just getting back on snow. It was a time to catch up with friends and share the excitement of the start of a new season. Being around such excitement really got me pumped to see the real snow flakes start to fly.

So come on Mother Nature, let's kick things in gear! I'll take a big dump of snow, but just having the cold weather stick around would be nice!

Welcome to the Official Waterville Valley blog!

This is it - at long last, we've launched the official blog of Waterville Valley. Here's where you'll find the inside scoop, straight from the mountain!
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