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March, 2024

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Whaleback mtn: Closing

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603_crew
Posts: 13 - Karma: 317
Well, It has just been put into the paper that the whale is closing. Honestly, it really sucks because A LOT of kids went there to have a good time. Whether it be those summer set up competitions and sessions, or just shredding the park or enjoying a pow day with noone else there. For me honestly whaleback literally help me to ski and progress the way i have from working with Evan competing in USSA moguls, big air, slopestyle and then going to JO's. The article below tells a lot and it is sad to see the whale has gone down so far.

Just some new because i know a lot of people liked shredding the whale and enjoyed the vibes of the mountain.

http://www.vnews.com/search/5104739-95/whaleback-dybvig-mountain-ski
Mar 14 2013 8:11AM
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jake_tom_sully
Posts: 356 - Karma: 242
that sucks, I've only skied there a couple times and never thought it was that great but the idea and the people involved were both awesome and it seemed like a lot of kids loved shredding there.
Mar 14 2013 11:06AM
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BROSEIDON
Posts: 3702 - Karma: 1,495
Wow. I loved making the 3 hour trip there in the summer for the setup. Bummer :(
Mar 14 2013 11:46AM
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skierman
Posts: 8064 - Karma: 4,801
Could have called this 4 years ago. Evan Dyvbig seriously fucked up. Instead of getting a bunch of simple features and an actual park run, he wasted so much time and money on stupid-ass features like the stair set and a jump that you have to hike to hit. There's a ton of potential with that hill, it just sucks the guy running it had no fucking clue what he was doing.

Mar 14 2013 12:04PM
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Rogge
Posts: 5772 - Karma: 3,867
That couldn't be further from the truth. Evan helped Stept, Meatheads, and others create park features for their films when no one else would (save for Alex Kaufman when he was at Sunday River).


It's a sad day. Whaleback is a great spot to be a park skier and I hope it reopens again under new ownership with a similar vision.
Mar 14 2013 1:21PM
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KJfarwell
Posts: 599 - Karma: 2,027
This^ I started skiing at whaleback 5 years ago and they have done so much for me. T

@skierman They created programs for adults, and kids to simply get out and enjoy a day of skiing. They had to core team which i was apart of and evan did whatever he could to get me to progress and compete. You have no idea what your talking about. Not to mention the fact that over the past 8 years they re-opened we have had some shitty winters and bad luck. Whaleback has so much potential and i know everyone that has enjoyed shredding the mountain, summer set ups, and the park had a good time.

Not to mention they provided sick photoshoots that we had set up for martini bros, brady, and even inspired loved the vibes of the whale.
Mar 14 2013 3:16PM
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.squirrely.
Posts: 7563 - Karma: 7,540
such a bummer had two awesome weeks at the camps the past two years and probably learned more tricks on that setup than anywhere else. dylans the man and evan seemed to really know what he was doing hopefully they can find a way to get it back up and running in the future
Mar 14 2013 3:29PM
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cwillygood
Posts: 6831 - Karma: 1,829
Always wanted to go that's a bummer
Mar 14 2013 3:33PM
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lelandsdad
Posts: 195 - Karma: 332

^this^ Dylan & als worked soo hard year round not for money but for pure passion for the sport. The off season rail jams kept the stoke alive with awesome setups and more awesome vibes. Just want to thank  the entire Whaleback crew, especially Dylan. You guys really made a difference

Scott & Leland

Mar 14 2013 5:22PM
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theabortionator
Posts: 51261 - Karma: 157,432
That's a damn shame. One of my most memorable ski adventures, road trips, and just ridiculousness came on a trip from upstate ny to whaleback for a jam on the astro turf ramps summer 08.

Featuring myself and 2 other ridiculous characters. Some interesting details, a rain storm with bald tires. Finally finding the mountain. And trying to grow the balls to climb a huge tower and drop in on a carpet in the rain while feeling a little bit out of the ordinary.


After a small sesh decided to go to queechee gorge and hike for the rest of the day. The sun came out and it was amazing.


One of my favorite memories. Sorry about leaving out some details. I drove by that place all the time heading back to ny from my place in western nh.


Mar 14 2013 5:32PM
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BWalmer
Posts: 9141 - Karma: 12,883
Basically...


The biggest problem for Whaleback is it's location, with bigger mountains like Waterville, Loon and Killington all within an hour/hour and a half it's hard to be competitive. People forget that the biggest draw for customers ISN'T park skiing...it's tourists, families, and people just learning how to ski, and places like Killington, Loon and Waterville that have awesome parks AND awesome all-mountain terrain (including awesome learning terrain) AND awesome places for families/tourists to stay will always win out that fight, making it harder for smaller ski areas to survive unless they're far away from those larger areas or have some sort of niche. Take a look at Haystack near Mount Snow, or all the areas around Stratton that have closed over the years...it's just too hard to compete.
Mar 14 2013 5:35PM
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207
Posts: 8969 - Karma: 3,846
Such a bummer I had so much fun seshing their park in the summer and Dylan seemed like such a legit dude.
Mar 14 2013 5:36PM
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kbrando
Posts: 1206 - Karma: 889
Today is one of the saddest days for me personally in years. I learned how to ski at Whaleback in the early 90's. When Whaleback closed the first time, it was devastating. I was so happy to hear that it had been bought and was going to be run as a year round action sports facility. From year one, I have been apart of the Whaleback family. At first, I was just a kid hitting the mountain, but as I got older, I became more and more involved. I spent countless nights building parks or shoveling snow for photo shoots. I had the privileged to watch and participate in many Stept and Meathead photo shoots. Since then, I have been able to work summer camps and share my passion for skiing and action sports with many young riders. As many of you know, I have spent the last few summer building and perfecting the summer setup. It will be with great sadness that this no longer exists. Dylan, Evan and Frank are three of the hardest working people I know. Together, they gave everything they had to creating and maintaining Whaleback. The past 8 years have been a true pleasure and I am deeply saddened that Whaleback is gone.
Mar 14 2013 5:37PM
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skierman
Posts: 8064 - Karma: 4,801
Completely true all around. But I was mainly talking about the state of the park itself for the guests that matter and not the fellow members of the ski community. Someone else posted this that around Whaleback are other mtns. with way better parks. They failed horribly at separating themselves from them. In my opinion if Evan focused more on what the mountain was intended to be (essentially a training center for park/moguls), despite some of the worst winters on record and the contractors stealing their money by declaring bankruptcy (from what I've heard), Whaleback may have had a chance. They had what, 7 years and all they managed was a half-assed park (comparing to WV and Loon).

Aside from what I perceive as bad business, Evan had his heart in the right place and he did contribute a LOT to the smaller guys in the ski industry. Who knows, I've never ran a resort before and only base my opinion off from what I hear from other owners with identical plans and resorts, well one owner anyways and from many skiers' opinions about Whaleback.

It sucks it's going out of business but I believe it could have been handled way better.
Mar 14 2013 9:39PM
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skierman
Posts: 8064 - Karma: 4,801
and by half-assed I mean the park design and the features they had put in. The park crew was always on point.
Mar 14 2013 9:43PM
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OCM
Posts: 1276 - Karma: 975
Though I've never been, a few of my friends went up there over February break, and from the videos I've seen of their park setup, it's not surprising they didn't get a lot of people to go there, their park looked like something that you'd expect in a backyard. Obviously a pretty sweet backyard, but it didn't look very professional.
Mar 14 2013 9:57PM
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Mister.F
Posts: 1206 - Karma: 169
Thats a shame...I feel it's small mountains like whaleback that are an integral part of skiing
Mar 14 2013 10:16PM
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KJfarwell
Posts: 599 - Karma: 2,027
We worked hard whenever we could after school to make the park the best that we could. When we set up features the park was ill. That is where i learned to ski. Unfortunately we were not able to maintain the park every single day because of school etc like other mountains are able to do.
Mar 14 2013 11:23PM
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theabortionator
Posts: 51261 - Karma: 157,432
Because it's so easy to start up a mountain and run it successfully. And a park that's doing summer turf sessions and other fun stuff is just terrible.


You're an ass.
Mar 14 2013 11:26PM
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TNORTS
Posts: 2076 - Karma: 2,753
It's really sad to see it go. I learned how to ski park at whaleback...
Mar 14 2013 11:29PM
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Mattsaff
Posts: 673 - Karma: 614
No. You have never been there and have barely seen footage of their park. It is FAR from a park in a backyard. Although their park is not one of the best, its still very fun to ski at with friends. They have a couple great rails.
Mar 16 2013 3:20PM
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skierman
Posts: 8064 - Karma: 4,801
I imagine a little girl welling up with tears behind this post. I never said the summer turf sessions and the "other fun stuff" were terrible.

You're a stupid bitch.
Mar 16 2013 5:00PM
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theabortionator
Posts: 51261 - Karma: 157,432
For someone who's been on here as long as you have, you're pretty terrible at trying to make people mad. Maybe you should quick trying. Maybe you could throw it down on the webs at one point but the intranets are too far past the shit you're trying.


I guess keep trying and better luck next time?


And as far as whaleback, sorry but I like to see ski/snowboard mountains succeed, especially ones that make some effort on the park end. Are there places that aren't perfect? Obviously, but no reason to be a doucher. Unless you're trying to hurt my feelings in which case carry on and better luck next time.


Mar 16 2013 6:09PM
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skierman
Posts: 8064 - Karma: 4,801
You were angry enough to quote my post in the first place... so that's tight that you're really not angry because that matters so much to me.

Wait a second... where did I say that I don't want to see ski resorts succeed? Maybe you should clear those little girl tears out of your eyes and try reading my posts before you get angry and post without thinking, again.
Mar 16 2013 7:07PM
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Stickthelanding8
Posts: 262 - Karma: 1,046
Well I must say if everyone on newschoolers put 2 dollars into buying whaleback there could be some crazy shit going down at newschoolers mountain
Nov 11 2013 1:55PM
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Twaddler
Posts: 1197 - Karma: 109
they just hired my buddy as assistant GM. looks like the whale lives
Nov 11 2013 2:11PM
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