Waterville Valley, NH – Waterville Valley is on track for the New Hampshire resort’s first ski trail expansion in over 30 years, with full U.S. Forest Service approval to add over 40 acres of trail on Green Peak. The Forest Service has approved the request after a public hearing process on the addition of 44 acres of beginner and intermediate terrain along with a new glade trails and a high speed quad adjacent to the existing ski area.
“Waterville Valley was born as a skier’s mountain, one that offered the kind of excitement and challenge that made it the place to ski in New England. With Green Peak, we will add more intermediate and beginner terrain to become one of the most comprehensive ski resorts in the East,” said Waterville CEO Chris Sununu. “With this expansion, there will something for every skier and rider, for both families and racers.”
Field engineering will begin on the Green Peak expansion area this fall and construction is scheduled to start in 2014. The expansion will add a new high-speed four-person chairlift to reach the summit of Green Peak, plus it will incorporate eight new trails to connect and run parallel to the existing trail network. There will also be 12 acres added in a new glade area. The overall layout will also offer more gradual levels of terrain challenges for novice and beginner skiers and riders.
From the first years of the ski area up to the 1990s, Waterville Valley hosted 11 World Cup events, as well as a broad range of competitions for both youth and adults. Whether it was movie stars or the Kennedys, Waterville Valley was one of the most popular ski mountains on the East Coast.
Waterville Valley struggled for a bit following sale of the resort to a West Coast corporation in 1996 but began a turnaround in 2010 when the resort was sold to a local investment group led by the New Hampshire-based Sununu family. Under new management the resort has made significant investment into the infrastructure, with the Green Peak Expansion highlighting one of the biggest developments yet.
While Green Peak won’t arrive until after 2013-14, this winter Waterville Valley Resort will open “The WaffleCat” slopeside. The eatery will serve warm, fresh waffles out of a reconstructed snow cat, set at the base of the White Peaks Quad lift.
Waterville’s own Olympic Gold medalist, Hannah Kearney, will be competing for Team USA at the Sochi Winter Olympics – and the resort will see her off with a meet and ski with Hannah in December.
The new White Mountain Superpass will give skiers and riders access to four New Hampshire resorts this season, including Waterville Valley, Cannon Mountain, Bretton Woods, and Cranmore, for a combined total of 284 trails, 41 lifts, 1,148 acres and 6,900 vertical feet. It includes a special “Bring-A-Friend Bonus”, enabling the passholder to get a friend $15 off the purchase of a one-day full-priced adult lift ticket. Passholders may also receive a 10% discount from retail outlets at each area.