Whitetail may have invested nearly $3 million in improvements last summer, but the Pennsylvania resort isn’t content to rest on its laurels. This summer, Whitetail is continuing its lofty capital improvements by investing another $1.7 million in upgrades. Key additions will include a brand new halfpipe, a new terrain park, and a new beginner adult carpet lift.

During 2008, Whitetail made the most mountain improvements in a decade by cutting a new trail and adding a new double chairlift. The Sidewinder beginner trail opened last season; at 2,800 feet in length and 80 feet in width, it became the longest trail on the mountain. Whitetail also added a double chairlift to service the Jib Junction Terrain Park, allowing park goers to quickly jump back up to the top of the park without riding the Whitetail Express lift. This helped reduce crowding on Upper Angel Drop.

Whitetail is now building on those improvements. For the past decade, Whitetail has had an in-ground halfpipe located to the side of the Snow Park beginner trail. This halfpipe was often the last section of Whitetail to open each winter, and in some winters, it never opened at all.

Capital improvements underway at Whitetail include a new beginner terrain park and a new halfpipe. Photo provided by Whitetail Resort.

Whitetail is filling in this halfpipe and clearing out some trees, turning the area into a brand new beginner terrain park. This new terrain park will replace the former Park Place 101, which was located on the Stalker trail.

Does this mean Whitetail is giving up on halfpipes? Not at all. Whitetail is cutting a new half pipe in the Jib Junction Terrain Park. The Jib Junction double chairlift will conveniently service both the Park and the new halfpipe.

Over on the Northern Lights beginner trail, Whitetail is installing a new 400-foot adult beginner carpet lift, providing a gentle introduction for new skiers and boarders.

In recent years, Whitetail has begun installing energy-efficient Areco fan guns across the mountain. That tradition of snowmaking improvements continues this summer with the installation of 24 new Areco guns. The powerful Areco guns have allowed Whitetail to take advantage of cold snaps, opening more terrain earlier in the season.

Whitetail recently commissioned illustrator James Niehues to produce an updated trail map for the resort. A preliminary version of the new map is shown above. Next, the map will be annotated to show lifts and trails. Image provided by Whitetail Resort.

“At Whitetail Resort we continue to focus on the guest experience as we undertake our upgrades for the 2009-2010 winter ski and snowboard season,” said Don MacAskill, Whitetail’s President. “In addition to other major improvements we are investing heavily in expanding our snowmaking infrastructure for the upcoming winter.”

Whitetail is documenting its summer improvements on a new blog.

In June, Whitetail also awarded $500 scholarships to eleven outstanding Whitetail Resort employees. Made possible by the donation boxes at Whitetail’s complimentary ski and board check and from proceeds at employee soda machines, the scholarships help promote higher education.

High school senior recipients this year included Seth Gilbert, Melissa Pierce, Julie St. Clair, and Lauren Horst of James Buchanan High School; Jessamyn Souders of Williamsport High School; Kerrington Grey of Clear Spring High School; and Patrick Callahan of Musselman High School. Four local college students also received the scholarship, including Alicia Helfrick of Shippensburg University; Jazquelyn Ross of Penn State Altoona; Meredith Johnson of Asbury College; and Abigail Stowe of Liberty University.

“Whitetail Resort is very fortunate to have such a large number of outstanding student employees,” said MacAskill. “All eleven of the recipients were very deserving of the award and each exhibited many of our core values and demonstrated excellent academic achievement.”