Overview
- 7 Beginner
- 12 Intermediate
- 7 Advanced
- 4 Expert
A New England family tradition since 1955, Whaleback Mountain in Enfield, NH, offers terrain for everyone – cruisers, steeps, glades, 2 terrain parks, and learning area with magic carpet and rope tow. The 2-person chairlift is vintage Poma and the cozy Pub is a great way to finish the day. Most of the mountain is lighted for night... riding and skiing to carry you into an evening of fun. We put great pride in our mountain school, so our lessons are topnotch, whether you are a beginner or want to go to the next level. Our prices making skiing & riding affordable for all families!
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Operations
Status
Open
Lifts Open/Total
3 of 3
Weekday Hours
Tue/Wed: 1p-7p, Thu/Fri: 1p-8p
Trails Open/Total
9 of 33
Weekend Hours
Sat/Sun: 9a-4p
Stats & Conditions
Base Elevation
1,100 ft
24-hr Snowfall
0"
Vertical Drop
700 ft
Avg Base Depth
10-24"
Peak Elevation
1,800 ft
Photos
Whaleback Logo
Whaleback Trail Map
Reviews & Tips (25)
1 - 15 of 25
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Came back from my first time at Whaleback on 3/12/11. Only 1/2 the lifts were open, but I can't blame them because the season was ending and they had a bunch of trees go down from freezing rain.
The trails are good for intermediate/advanced but I would not recommend for beginners. My gf has been snowboarding about 5x and she got stuck on the chairlift because she was afraid of the steep drop :) She did make it down the rest of the day after she got used to the steepness.
The people at the resort are great. All the workers were super friendly and the chair lift operator slowed the lift down whenever he saw us. Food was very reasonably priced at $5 for a cheeseburger, fries, and soda! Other mountains charge more the double that.
Fun little mountain and great prices. I'd recommend this mountain for snowboarders that are comfortable on greens and ready to step up to blues.
written Mar 14 2011 - 02:28 PM
I skied on 2/26 and I had a fun time. I will agree with other posters and say that Whaleback is more advanced than you might expect. The lines were short and the staff was nice. For $20 it was a bargain and worth a trip. Conditions were good since we received a dumping of snow the night before.
written Feb 28 2011 - 06:47 PM
Somewhat disappointed with my first trip to Whaleback with my young kids on the 26th. It's only February and they're not making snow on the bare lift line black runs, and overall less than half the runs were open. Probably best, since they seem to have understated the difficulty levels. The "easiest way down" would be intimidating for novice skiers - if they survive the sheer icy drop from the lift! Many of the narrower runs were icy and difficult to navigate, which left the wide blue runs to the left of the lift. These were great until 4pm when the race team arrived. So now, the only way down (except Ivory Run) for a plowing beginner was via the Spout which was overrun by teenagers thundering past and through. Thankfully we aren't beginners and had had a reasonable 3 hours up to that point and had only paid $17 each, but that overcrowded run was the deal breaker. It would have been a better day if the resort had opened earlier than 1pm. On the up side, the lift staff were super friendly, and the lodge staff were most helpful. Big, big tip is call ahead to see what percentage of runs are open.
written Feb 27 2011 - 11:17 PM
Really hard packed and icy this week! Difficult to get off the chairlift. Green-circle "Ivory Run" was extremely fast, way too much for a beginner, although after couple runs I got a bit more confident. Still way too difficult though. No lines, which was nice, and comfy lodge, easy access.
written Feb 24 2011 - 10:32 AM
Great mountain if you like ice! I also was left scratching my head trying to figure out why the regular locals think it's totally appropriate to just dump their skis and boards randomly at the bottom of the slope and in the middle of the lift line when they go into the lodge for a sandwich. On the plus side, the cafeteria is super cheap and the food is reasonably tasty. Next time I am up for inexpensive small mountain riding, I am gonna head back to Ragged.
written Feb 23 2011 - 09:11 AM
I've been skiing with my family at Whaleback since it reopened 5 or so years ago. This is a great little mountain if you know what to expect. Many of the comments here are accurate: steep dropoff at top of lift, rarely a line, family atmosphere, good prices, crowded during race days (think "Caddie Day" from Caddieshack). My biggest complaint is that I can't rest my skis on the footrest of chairs. Trails have adequate variety (love the final stretch of Spout), though I always wish more was open. I've always found grooming to be fine, even after a refreeze. For beginners, I would probably make Whaleback my second stop after learning to ski and ride a lift elsewhere. This is what I did with my kids. Also, Whaleback runs 2 terrific weeklong camps for kids the week between Christmas/New Years, and the week of winter break in February. My oldest has attended and it did wonders--I really noticed an improvement at the end of the week. I highly recommended the camps. Whaleback has its niche and while I don't go there exclusively, I will continue to return with my family.
written Feb 22 2011 - 08:48 PM
Conditions - came here the past Sunday which was after a rainy Friday night. Sunday felt wicked cold as temps were at best in the teens while the wind chill made it feel in the low single digits. With that said, the whole mountain was frozen over. Any kind of fall would be painful. Some runs were crusty while others were simply icy where there's no give.
People - as someone noted, check the event schedule!! We came here to find the mountain full of kids on skis. They all threw their skis in front of the lodge. The line at the only chair lift was ridiculous. The kids seemed like spoiled little brats as they speed through cutting others off. Then at the line, we got in and then some little girl was like "Hey!! We were in line! Don't cut the line!!" in the most whiny voice. If she weren't a little girl, I'd mouth off. First of all, there's literally a 15 ft gap between her and the person in front. She's too busy talking to her friend so how am I supposed to know that you're in line? Even when we lined up behind them, they were doing their own thing and not moving the chains. Secondly, simply say "the line is back there" rather than whine...I wonder where her parents are.
Lodge - I honestly like the mom & pop feel...you don't feel like you're giving your money to some money grubbing corporation. The ticket sales person is also the cashier for the cafeteria. She was nice. The place was packed the day we went but we were able to find some seats late in the day to down a quick bite.
Lifts - the magic carpet is nice for beginners as we had 1 on the trip. It only brings you halfway up the bunny slope though. The other is a rope tow. The only lift that brings you to the top, everyone here already said it's steep. I didn't believe it till I was there. Steepness is generally not a problem as you can ride it out...but the concrete supports 20 ft in front of the download is not beginner friendly. My friend crashed every time.
Cost - can't beat it. Basically $20 to ride during the day. Other places only offer super low prices for night riding and even then not as cheap. The drive is about half an hr further than Pats Peak and Sunapee but I'd rather do this than PP which I find ghetto.
Overall - you might think I hate this place but I find it a little endearing (minus the crowds). The trails weren't too bad for beginners if they can get off the lift. The glades would have been nice if they had fresh snow. The trails were decently constructed as there were some features in the terrain park...just a small box and a couple jumps this weekend. If they had fresh snow, it would have been a fun weekend working on riding switch, jumps, grinds, jibs, etc.
Obviously a small mountain so if you keep your expectations low, you shouldn't be too disappointed.
written Feb 22 2011 - 03:46 PM
Check the schedule of events on their website!!! They had a big race day and the place was simply crawling with people. No room in the lodge to sit and eat, nor go to the bar upstairs! Seriously not built for that volume. Lines for the lone chair lift were LONG.
written Feb 21 2011 - 05:37 PM
Ridiculously cheap beginner deal. A little dissatisfied with my snowboarding lesson, but my wife's skiing lesson was great. The snowboarding instructor was frequently checking watch and visibly annoyed with students, and even went as far as suggesting to end the lesson early because his hands were cold? If it weren't so cheap, I might have complained. Sometimes, you get what you pay for.
My wife spoke to her instructor over the course of the lesson (and since there were no other people waiting for a group lesson, was able to get an individual lesson!). Apparently, the beginner courses are some of the more difficult greens around. Beware if you are a first time skier/snowboarder - you may end up not really needing the chair lift.
Also wanted to pass on concurrence with the incredibly steep hill off the lift. Beginners will likely be uncomfortable getting off the lift without crashing into groups of people or the concrete lift support beams.
written Feb 21 2011 - 05:33 PM
Relaxed atmosphere. Great for family. Barely any lift lines. We went after a rainy 50-degree day. The trails were icy, but my daughters and I still had a great time. The unloading took a bit of getting used to. Great fun for all of us. Will definitely go back.
written Feb 21 2011 - 03:56 AM
Purchased beginner ski package that incl. lessons, rentals and tickets for $50. Great price. Never skied before! However, I should say that I have snowboarded in the past. Ski instructor was great. Crashed a few times off the lift chair as it is quite steep. Green route was tough initially as there is a steep drop off a corner but once you're prepared, it's really nothing.
written Feb 15 2011 - 02:11 PM
For $20, this was a great deal on liftopia. My boyfriend brought me here on Saturday. I consider myself a beginner and he is advanced. We both liked it. It's a nice small mountain like everyone else said, but getting off the lift was a terrible experience. Even before getting off the lift, you can see other people's arms flailing as they fall getting off the lift ahead of you. That was the only downside of Whaleback. Other than that, the trails were decent.
written Feb 14 2011 - 10:05 PM
Skied there 2/6/11. Whole mtn was open with groomers and 'dust on crust' due to some snow/freezing rain the night before. We have a great time. Groomers were relatively repetitive, but well-groomed. The front side runs (black and double-black) where a lot of fun once people had skied them enough to break up the slight crust. $15 ticket for a Sunday 9-12 is a great deal as well, so check it out when you want to avoid crowds. People were nice, did not eat so no info on lodge.
written Feb 08 2011 - 07:07 PM
