A small group of hearty souls came together over eighty years ago with a common bond. The founders of BBTS, one of the oldest ski clubs in the United States, were committed to skiing. They were so committed that they climbed Mt. Tecumseh with saws, axes, and shovels to clear narrow ski runs by hand.  Anyone familiar with the rugged terrain of New Hampshire’s mountains knows that this was not a task for the timid.

The mountain begrudgingly relinquished its ancient occupants.  Trees fell. Boulders were pried loose and moved.  A ski run slowly began to take form. Then these committed skiers strapped on their boards and the fun began.  The trails were so narrow that close encounters with trees were not uncommon.  By the end of the day, many of these founding skiers would be black and blue.  This is the origin of the club’s original name- Black and Blue Trail Smashers.

From its roots in 1934, WVBBTS/SEF has evolved into the Northeast’s premier Snowsports training and competition center. Highlights include transitioning to a full alpine competition program in the 1960s, hosting 11 World Cups, the founding of Waterville Valley Academy (WVA) in 1972, and USSA naming us as “Snowboard Club of the Year”, overall “Club of the Year” in 2006, and “Freeski Club of the Year” in 2019. Our leaders have contributed significantly to the formation of national and international governing organizations – the Federation du Ski (FIS), the U. S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), and the United States of America Snowboard Association (USASA.)