Featured Picture: Proctor Ski Space. Photograph Courtesy of Proctor Academy.
Producing 5 Olympians all through the late Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s, Proctor Academy’s area of interest as one of many few impartial faculties with a privately owned and operated ski facility on its campus continues to attract gifted snow sports activities athletes to the area.
With warming winters, an funding in adaptability and effectivity sits on the coronary heart of the Proctor Ski Space’s future technique.
The Affect of the Proctor Ski Space
Nestled on the base of Ragged Mountain within the Blackwater River valley, the steep hills on the land on which Proctor Academy sits have lengthy enticed younger folks to strap items of wooden to their toes and slide with growing pace downhill.
Generally known as the College on Skis all through the Nineteen Forties and Nineteen Fifties, Proctor college students and college cleared timber to construct the varsity’s first on-campus ski space behind the soccer area earlier than figuring out the north-facing slope of Parson’s Hill (previously the Blackwater Ski Space and now the Proctor Ski Space) as a perfect on-campus ski venue within the Nineteen Sixties.
Over the previous fifty years, vital funding by the varsity and beneficiant donors amplified the affect of the renamed Proctor Ski Space. Prime-to-bottom lights, high-efficiency snowmaking capability on each Nordic and alpine trails, a freestyle ski terrain park, and enhanced grooming gear have empowered retiring Proctor Ski Space Supervisor Garry George ‘78 and his crew to create the one greatest snow floor for coaching and racing in New England.
Proctor’s snow sport athletes and coaches have the chance to be part of one thing bigger than simply Proctor. The Proctor Ski Space, a U.S. Ski & Snowboard Gold-certified Membership and Excessive-Efficiency Heart, has turn out to be a beacon for snow sports activities in New Hampshire.
It caters to among the greatest school alpine groups within the area in search of coaching time on the hill all through the winter, together with common coaching by the Dartmouth Ski Crew and Boston School Ski Crew, whereas additionally serving as a house base to the Andover Outing Membership, native youth snow sports activities packages, and native highschool Nordic groups.
It’s this broad dedication to snow sports activities that concurrently energizes Proctor and challenges the varsity and ski space to proceed to evolve.
A Transition in Management: Gratitude for Garry George
As long-time ski space supervisor Garry George ‘78 retires this summer time after greater than 40 years of service to Proctor, new Proctor Ski Space Supervisor Steele Henderson and Assistant Ski Space Supervisor Mac MacDuffie step into their roles. They’re each excited and acknowledge the mentorship Garry has offered over their final three years on the ski space crew.
Henderson notes, “Garry’s management has been such an instance for us. He’s at all times right here to assist and reply questions, and he leads by instance by means of his presence. It has been his skill to quietly lead us towards his imaginative and prescient for what the Proctor Ski Space may turn out to be during the last three many years that has gotten us to this place.”
MacDuffie provides, “Garry has achieved a fantastic job over the previous few years making ready us for this transition. Final season, he basically allow us to run the operations whereas gently redirecting and guiding us after we wanted it. We’re grateful for the chance to be the brand new stewards of this outstanding place.”
Proctor Alpine Program Director Jason “Moot” Nelson feedback, “Garry George has been the steward of the Proctor Ski Space for over 40 years. It has been a pleasure to witness what is feasible with a fantastic chief and a crew of execs when exhausting work, thoughtfulness, and persistence go into that effort.”
Investing in an Adaptable, Environment friendly Future
The summer time of 2024 has been busy for Henderson and MacDuffie as they oversee vital upgrades to the Proctor Ski Space. The upgrades will enhance the effectivity of their snowmaking operations and improve the athlete/coach expertise.
Latest winters have indicated a development towards later arrival of pure snow in New England, growing the significance of snowmaking operations for ski areas and coaching venues.
This summer time, Proctor has invested $250,000 in new snowmaking pipes on the alpine trails, putting in over 1,100 toes of six-inch pipe and three,400 toes of four-inch pipe, transforming all valve housings, and putting in a fourth air compressor website that can enhance snow-making capability at marginal temperatures by 33%, in accordance with HKD. Further funding in enhancing the water consumption and putting in a brand new communication line for the t-bar have been important tasks that can pay dividends for the Proctor Ski Space shifting ahead.
When mixed with latest enhancements in Proctor’s ski jumps and funding from the Andover Outing Membership (metallic inlays and re-profiling the touchdown), this summer time’s upgrades to the Proctor Ski Space can have a major affect on the effectivity with which the ski space crew can put together and handle the power this coming winter.
Final season, the Proctor Ski Space opened on its earliest date on file, however this was not due to favorable climate.
Henderson notes, “We all know that winters are altering, and we’re evolving to make sure our ski space can present top-notch snow surfaces to native athletes and coaches even when Mom Nature doesn’t cooperate. We’re energized by these new investments in snow-making effectivity and are excited to maintain adapting the ski space to new challenges as we search to fulfill the wants of our clients.”
Nelson provides, “No doubt, this funding allows us to be extra environment friendly with the temperature home windows for making snow. Including quantity to our water traces and a further compressor will enable us to optimize our efforts. These efforts don’t go unnoticed by us as coaches.”
He continues, “This may have a huge impact on our opening date shifting ahead. Proctor groups, along with ski groups from across the state in addition to the Jap Area, can profit from our early-season situations. Everybody can proceed to anticipate the Proctor Ski Space to supply its high-quality snow floor a little bit bit earlier subsequent season!”
