M6 Travel B OSTON SUNDAY GLOBE NOVEMBER 6, 2011 Bound by forest, Waterville is an alpine oasis

By Brian Irwin drop precipitously down the fall GLOBE CORRESPONDENT line, their layers of smooth snow WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. eating up broad, wide-radius gi- —His tiny 4-year-old’s fingers ant slalom turns. And then fumbled with the bead, designed there’s Bobby’s Run, named after to replicate miniature dice. the late Robert Kennedy. A ski Winking one eye shut, he guided trip to Waterville Valley was his the thin wire through the bead’s last; now the uber-classic mogul lumen, completing the bulk of run stands as Waterville’s most the necklace he and his siblings interesting expert skiing offering. were making. Bobby’s is a world-class mogul ‘‘It’s done, Daddy,’’ he ex- run that regularly hosts competi- claimed as he held up the jade tions. Racers bounce down rows cord. ‘‘And it says R-E-I-D. That’s of bumps, which are interrupted me!’’ only by two jumps that throw One of Waterville Valley Re- competitors upward, their bodies sort’s more popular retailers, I thrashing through the air with Dream of Beading is a small shop surprising control. laden with endless trays of color- With hopes of completing a ful glass and plastic nuggets master plan that will include a awaiting their lacing from adults new lodge and gondola, Water- and children alike, the flexible ville is waiting to finish growing chairs providing relief to legs up, a direction that will not tired from skiing one of New please everyone. Those who live Hampshire’s most unique areas. and ski here enjoy what Water- The store resides in the Town WATERVILLE VALLEY RESORT ville is, but adore what Waterville Square, Waterville’s Colonial- Waterville’s Town Square, with condos, restaurants, and shops, lights up at night. Below, kids hit the trail during ski camp. is not. It’s not overdeveloped style ring of condos, pubs, restau- with giant dance clubs, an abun- rants, and shops that rest in the est, like the 770,000 acres of dance of knickknack shops nor shadow of Mount Tecumseh, untouched wilderness that sur- If you go ... scores of motels struggling to fill birthplace of freestyle skiing and round Waterville Valley Resort. every last room. Instead it is a the East’s most racer-friendly Reaching the ski area requires a Waterville Valley Resort skiers’ mountain, locked in the hill. patient drive through pristine 1 Ski Area Road beauty of the White Mountains But it’s not a hill. Over 2,000 wilderness, at the end of which is Waterville Valley, N.H. with just enough amenities to vertical feet of terrain define Wa- aclean, manicured, and timeless 1-800-GO-VALLEY make a stay comfortable. Town terville, its slopes decisively plot- village. www.waterville.com Square holds almost everything ted by former Olympian Tom An alpine oasis, Waterville’s Only 2Æ hours from Boston, even a spoiled après-skier could Corcoran. In 1966 Corcoran base area sits separate from ask for, from a toy store to an ice founded the resort as it currently Town Square, the ice arena, in- the resort has an impressive cream shop, from a skating rink stands, a modernization, in the door pool, and racquet club. A 2,020-foot vertical drop and to a Nordic shop from which you sense, of a ski hill few miles of road, which will 255 acres of skiable terrain. Be can ski out the door. And it’s qui- that was first built and used in someday be bypassed in an over- sure to take advantage of the et, unless a band is playing in the the 1930s by the Waterville Val- land gondola, span the valley extensive Nordic skiing sys- courtyard or the clock tower ley Black and Blue Trail Smash- floor which, at 500 acres (some of tem, horse-drawn sleigh rides, overlooking the bricks strikes 4 ers Ski Club, which still operates it still undeveloped) comprise the and ice skating. as the lifts close and the chairs today. only developable land in the val- Where to stay hang in the breeze. Waterville was built as a rac- ley. Town Square Condominiums Hampshire politics, Waterville more so the critical eye of the At the Diamond’s Edge restau- er’s mountain. Corcoran laid out ‘‘It’s ordained in nature,’’ stat- Waterville Valley Valley Resort is known for its in- competitive skiing community, rant in Waterville, Reid was the trails to accommodate high- ed Bobby Foster, Waterville’s tegral role in the development of became a national sensation. stretching out his new necklace, quality, World Cup events. That marketing director. ‘‘Our home 603-236-8420 freestyle skiing. In 1970 Corco- While Waterville Valley rou- running his fingers over the was his passion, which he proved can’t be overrun and overdevel- www.townsquarecondos.com ran organized the nation’s first tinely produces some of the bumpy beads one at a time. A to the world on the US Olympic oped. It’s boxed in by protected The most convenient lodging National Open Championships country’s best freestyle skiers and magazine lay open on the table, Team in 1956 and 1960, finishing National Forest.’’ option, literally located over of Freestyle Skiing, a Chevrolet- racers, its terrain is less than ex- displaying a photo of a skier fourth in the giant slalom in Waterville is home to around Waterville’s recreation epicen- sponsored event complete with treme. With an eastern exposure, bounding through the moguls on Squaw Valley, Calif., in 1960, the 300 permanent residents, most ter. Some units hold up to prizes and a cash purse. While it the 4,004-foot Mount Tecumseh Lower Bobby’s Run. best finish in that event for an of whom chose it for the lifestyle eight guests and are reason- was won by ’s Herman pokes through the clouds ap- ‘‘That hill looks bumpy, Dad- American until Bode Miller in and the beauty. They relax there, ably priced, starting at $174 Goeller, it was third-place finish- proaching from the windward dy. Just like my necklace. What 2002. During Corcoran’s tenure ski there, and their children go to per night. er Wayne Wong from Vancouver side, pulling down an average of do you get if you win a race down as president of Waterville Valley, school there. who put Waterville on the map as 140 fluffy inches of precipitation that hill?’’ which he relinquished in 1993, Foster recalled that ‘‘in 1977, the birthplace of freestyle. each year. Immaculately Ireplied, ‘‘Another necklace, the resort quietly carried on his when I came to work as the direc- Wong and the other competi- groomed intermediate trails like Reid. One with a gold medal mission of ski racing excellence, tor of marketing, there were only practice, and to the mountain. tors twirled acrobatic moves on Tippecanoe, And Tyler Too, and hanging on it.’’ hosting more World Cup races in 16 kids attending the elementary Some belong to the Sununu fam- the gentle slopes, flung gravity- White Caps wind like bleached He paused for a minute before the United States than any other school. And four of them were ily. In October 2010 a group of in- defying aerials from giant scoop- strips of perfect corduroy toward breathing the same words ut- ski area. mine.’’ Today there are 44 stu- vestors, including a few members shaped ramps of snow, and jack- the base lodge. The White Peak tered by countless Olympic skiers The road into Waterville has a dents, kindergarten through of the Sununu family, purchased hammered their way down Express Quad lift ensures short who learned their turns on Wa- remote feel. The pavement eighth grade, in three classes. Waterville Valley Resort. Today sheets of moguls toward cheer- lines to the top, where summit terville’s slopes. threads miles of snow-encrusted They grow up deep in a wil- Chris Sununu, son of the former ing crowds. Wong later went on dining awaits. More advanced ‘‘I think ...to win a gold med- conifers that frame the idyllic derness basin where skiing and governor, runs to become a K2 ski athlete and skiers will find temptation in the al. That’s what I want when I Mad River. Unlike its Vermont outdoor recreation are the rule. the organization. Waterville freestyle instructor. more varied texture and topogra- grow up.’’ counterpart, the Mad River Val- Seventy kilometers of tortuous, Perhaps more than its incred- Wong’s specialty, which quickly phy of the mountain’s southwest- ley is protected from develop- groomed Nordic terrain laces the ible views of the 4,000-foot gained the blessing of the Olym- ern face. Brian Irwin can be reached at ment. It is mostly National For- area. Kids ski to school, to hockey , or its ties to New pic community and perhaps Trails like Gem and True Grit [email protected].

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