Article

Whitetail Invests in Capital Improvements

By M. Scott Smith, DCSki Editor

June 11, 2004

On the heels of a successful winter season, Pennsylvania’s Whitetail Ski Resort is spending $1.4 million in capital improvements this summer. Many improvements are targeted specifically towards making Whitetail more snowboarder- and beginner-friendly.

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Whitetail is investing $1.4 million in capital improvements this summer. Above, new snowmaking lines are replaced at Whitetail's base area.

Capital improvements underway at Whitetail. Whitetail is investing $1.4 million in capital improvements this summer. Above, new snowmaking lines are replaced at Whitetail’s base area. Photo provided by Whitetail Resort.

Whitetail’s Half Pipe is being relocated to Lower Angel Drop, adjacent to the resort’s Terrain Park. A new, dedicated surface lift is being added to this area to shuttle skiers and snowboarders up to the top of the Terrain Park area.

The rope tow in Whitetail’s learning area is being replaced by a new Magic Carpet Lift. Located next to the Kids Mountain Camp facility, the Magic Carpet will transport beginning skiers and boarders to the top of First Tracks without the stress of conventional lift systems.

Nighttime skiing will get brighter at Whitetail this winter, as a result of all 400-watt light fixtures being upgraded to 1000-watt fixtures. Base area and plaza lighting is also being upgraded.

Whitetail has also purchased a new Bombardier 350MP Slope Groomer. 25 new Ratnick snow guns are being added, and snowmaking lines throughout the base area are being replaced. Whitetail is renovating portions of its base lodge, and new snowboarding equipment is being added to the resort’s rental inventory.

“Each summer, it is our number one objective to improve our resort in such a manner as to enhance the guest experience and provide the greatest value to all who come to our facility,” said Don MacAskill, Whitetail Mountain Resort VP and General Manager.

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M. Scott Smith

DCSki Editor

M. Scott Smith is the founder and Editor of DCSki. Scott loves outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, kayaking, skiing, and mountain biking. He is an avid photographer and writer.

Reader Comments

KevR

June 11, 2004

well glad to see them isolating these folks off the main quad lift. maybe upper angle drop will get some renewed carving life back into it.

JohnL

June 11, 2004

Where has the idea of a surface lift been suggested? :)

Can we assume that Lower Angel Drop is being widened to accommodate the lift and half-pipe?

It's great to hear that SnowTime (sic?) is making capital improvements to Whitetail. Hopefully, Whitetail will hold the line on ticket prices. If Whitetail can use the improvements to increase the visitor/revenue base and keep ticket prices the same, it's a win-win situation for everyone.

KevR

June 12, 2004

Everytime I see the summer pics, I think I'd like to go up and hike around the thing on foot just to get a better feel for everything. Anyway, I'd also like to believe that someone saw the comments made here about that and this had a direct effect on their decision to put in local hauling to the terrain park area, and hopefully open upper angle back up to some good carving. BUT it might have been obvious.
Hmmm, just in case they are reading -- "FREE SEASON PASSES TO DCSKI REGULARS... FREE SEASON PASSES TO ... "

Just say that over and over and give us a holler! :-)

Connie Lawn

June 16, 2004

Thank you Scott and the other regulars for keeping alive our love of snowsports, especially in the summer. I know I am in withdrawals - every weekend, when ski time rolls around, I am at a loss. Well, there is always New Zealand!

danbo

June 23, 2004

they need to step it up and get a superpipe cutting machine, little pipes are hard to ride, dangerous, and totally lame. A superpipe is definitly a good investment. And it would be nice to see some BIG jumps( 40 -60 footers). The rails are looking good, keep progessing, making them bigger and more dangerous, remember, no guts no glory, no pain no gain. Keep on shredding, danbo out

KevR

June 23, 2004

Do you mean in terms of height (vertical), or length down the hill. In either case, I don't think they have the room or insurance premiums to cover it...

:-)

danbo

June 24, 2004

Im mean in length, going down hill. Im sure they could they could fit at least one large jump in somewhere, thats all they need. It would bring alot of good shredders to the mountain. It would be totally lame of them to use high insurance premiums and people getting hurt as and excuse. Sure, a few kooks might get hurt at first, but they gotta learn there lesson somehow. And out of the small group of people that do hit big jumps, 99% know what there doing. Everyone else will be intimidated. Anyway, i just like big jumps. I think massunutten has the most progressive park in the mid-atlantic. And they have some great riders.

JimK

June 24, 2004

danbo, interesting that you're so impressed with Massanutten's park. Is it the layout or riders (JMU students?) that makes it so good? What other parks around here rank high with you and why? Years ago the area where Massanutten built their terrain park was a short, lame and under used beginner ski trail with its own lift. I always thought it was a perfect place to devote to a park with little impact on the rest of the trail layout. Plus, it's off by itself and out of the way of casual traffic.

danbo

June 25, 2004

There park is pretty small, but they build some really good features in there. All the guys that work in the park are good riders, and they ride the stuff they build everyday. Thats why there park is the best in my opion, they know what kind of jumps are good and what kind are bad. I wouldnt ride a park built by some 50 yr old snowcat driver who doent know what the hell he's making. I think i know what trail your talking about. Geranamo has its own chairlift and its kinda a short pointless trail. It would make a great park its probably about twice as long and alot wider than where the park is now. If i had my way i would turn Geranamo into the main park with intermediate and advanced features, and where the park is now would be the superpipe area, with some small beginner features on the side. But i doubt they would wanna spend the money to do that, although it would be a good investment.

Barryk

July 28, 2004

Looks like WT are listening I remember there was a huge discussion on this last year. Lets be honest for anyone who just wants to hit the park it sucks having to keep taking the quad. I don't know where the pipe is going to go though. I remember last years park was pretty choppy in places. The first jump looked like landing on moguls. Now if they could get a high speed on the backside of the mountain for Exhibition etc. that would be pretty cool.

Whitetail Invests in Capital Improvements

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