A neglected ski resort in North Carolina has been given new life. For years, guests complained about Wolf Ridge’s poor mountain operations and declining terrain footprint. This cycle of neglect officially ended in March, when David & Deborah Hatley purchased the ski resort. In their announcement post on social media, they promised big changes. For a couple of months, we hadn’t heard much about the revitalization project.
Last Friday, the North Carolina ski resort gave a detailed update on all the projects that they’re working on.
The main project shown in the video was a complete gutting of the base lodge, which is being completely redone. The lodge will contain a new restaurant and VIP lounge for season passholders, which is admittedly a nice touch. According to Deborah Hatley, the other improvements include “updates to lifts, a completely new pump house with new drivers, pumps, and 16“ pipeline to increase snow capacity, and a fleet of automated snow guns.”
They also announced a name change, officially retiring the Wolf Ridge moniker. It’s new name? Hatley Pointe Boutique Ski Resort.
Renaming a ski resort after yourself can be a divisive move. For example, in the middle of Burke’s EB-5 era, Burke Mountain in Vermont was renamed Q Burke after then-owner and now-disgraced Ariel Quiros. Calling it a boutique ski resort is also odd. It seems like moves that would fly in the hospitality management world, but the ski industry is a bit different. Wolf Ridge was a pretty cool name, but it clearly became intertwined with poor mountain operations. The Hatleys clearly care about this place though, and they’re putting tons of effort into making this a destination, so let’s see what they can do.
The work will continue past the 2023-24 season. The Storm Skiing Journal & Podcast confirmed with the Hatleys that they intend to bring the double and quad chairlifts on the backside back to life in future seasons. These chairlifts service beginner terrain. The double-connector chairlift is in good shape, but the quad chairlift will need to undergo some renovations. Other planned additions in the future include upgrading the double chair that’s located next to the base lodge and creating a mountain biking trail network.
If I lived in North Carolina, I would be pretty hyped about these investments. Sugar and Beech Mountain features some modern lift infrastructure, so North Carolina has a growing ski market. With it being the closest ski resort to the stunning city of Asheville, Hatley Pointe has a lot of potential.
Image Credits: Hatley Pointe
