Waterville Valley (waterville.com) is a classic example of keeping things true to the spirit of what started it all. Focus on the winter experience. Too many mountains shoe-horn summer activities into the situation and it commercializes the experience. Attitash is an example of the opposite end of this spectrum as I mentioned in a later mountain summary.
Overall Experience
I knew I was in for a treat when on the first day I arrived the sun was out AND it was flurrying. You can see this in the picture above. The weather didn’t hold though, and the majority of the day was under cloud cover and was actually pretty brutally cold on the lift as you approach the summit. This made for great snow conditions though so it was all good.
I got there for the first chair and since it was a Wednesday, I didn’t stand in a lift line the entire day. The lifties were super friendly. In fact, they all wave to you as you depart the lift at the top and chat you up while you are loading at the bottom. They have trivia questions on a whiteboard too and I was pleased to see that on the second day the question was Grateful Dead related (it was: who was the final guest musician to join the Dead on their final tour (’95) before Jerry passed, and what instrument did they play?).
Snowboarding Experience at Waterville Valley
I found Waterville Valley to be a fast-riding mountain, with a combination of groomers and packed powder. Another cool thing about this mountain is that for the trails they do groom, they groom just one side, leaving the raw powder on the other side for those who love that experience. Not all the trails received grooming, I found it was primarily the lower side of the trails and not those at the top of the mountain. My favorite runs at Waterville Valley were: True Grit, Gema, Ciao, and Upper Sal’s Choice. I have to say, True Grit was truly amazing and the steepest double black I found this season.
Lodging Experience
I opted to stay the night at the Valley Inn. I am bias to this place because it’s within this Inn I experienced my first job as a 15-year-old back in the ’90s. The place has changed a bit since then but the vibe is still there for me. Among the many great things about visiting ski resorts mid-week and one of them is the lower cost of lodging. The Valley Inn is located about 5 minutes from the ski mountain and 3 minutes from the Town Square where you find the restaurants and retail stores.
There is a downside to visiting Waterville Valley (the town) during the week and that is practically nothing is open. Many of the retail shops are open only Thursday-Sunday, and some only Friday-Sunday. Keep that in mind!
Room Suite at Valley Inn, Waterville Valley, New Hampshire
Overall Takeaways From The Day
- Waterville Valley is a non-commercial snowboarding (and skiing) experience. The base area is clear and the focus specifically on winter sport
- The lift operators are super friendly
- There are a lot of Black Diamond trails that give a good challenge. The Blues are also great
- The terrain park is fun and well maintained
- The ski area is actually spread among multiple peaks
- The chair lifts are well-positioned and there were no “dead spots” where snowboarders need to pedal their way back to the lift
- The parking is fine enough. I got there each day by 8:15 am-8:30 am and was in the first row each time
- I discovered the Woodstock Inn Brewery!
Gear Used At Waterville Valley
GNU Snowboard
Burton Bindings
Burton Pants
North Face Fleece
Smith Goggles
Odoland Helmet
Kombi Gloves
Karbon Coat
