Enfield, New Hampshire — The Whale is back.
For most of the winter, Whaleback Mountain had been without its chairlift, leaving the upper mountain only accessible by skinning up. This was due to mechanical issues with the mountain’s double chairlift, which had been closed since February 2024.
Repairs have been underway since last summer, with delays caused by a required bullwheel and gearbox repair. However, the supposed subcontractor repairman ended up holding these hostage, necessitating the need for similar parts. As you can imagine, finding parts for a nearly sixty-year-old lift is not easy.
In response to Whaleback’s struggles, Holiday Mountain in New York offered parts from its old Turkey Trot lift. Last October, Whaleback came through on a rainy day to pick up the parts.
Over the past several months, work has been underway on repairing the chairlift. In the meantime, Whaleback opened its new surface lift, which connects to Sprout (the race trail) and a few other trails and glades.
On Saturday, Whaleback reopened its chairlift. Eager patrons lined up to celebrate the occasion, which also coincided with a freestyle competition. Usually open till 4 p.m. on Saturdays, the chairlift remained open until 8 p.m. to celebrate the occasion. The chairlift operated again on Sunday for another nice day of spring skiing.
The timing was definitely clutch. We’re going to have some warm weather in the Upper Valley over the next few days, which is expected to deplete the natural snowpack. The New Hampshire ski area didn’t make snow on the upper mountain, instead focusing on the trails around its surface lifts.
Whaleback plans to operate until March 15th, but it will likely be without the chairlift after the warm few days ahead.
Image/Video Credits: Whaleback Mountain, Holiday Mountain
