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[00:00:00.00] [MUSIC PLAYING]

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[00:00:00.00] From above, a snow-dusted mountain.

[00:00:02.95] Logo and text, L.L.Bean presents

[00:00:06.24] an Origin production. The Little Mountain That Could. From above, a chairlift.

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[00:00:11.64] You guys excited?

[00:00:13.10] Yeah. How many of you guys have been on core team before?

[00:00:17.30] There's something that's just different about Whaleback.

[00:00:20.81] [MUSIC PLAYING]

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[00:00:22.18] Whaleback Mountain.

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[00:00:23.48] It's the heart of the community and there's just something really special about that.

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[00:00:29.21] The chairlift.

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[00:00:30.53] The best part about it is that it's your home mountain and that everybody feels like it's their home mountain.

[00:00:35.81] You guys ready to drop in?

[00:00:37.00] Yeah!

[00:00:38.39] A bigger resort just can't do it the same.

[00:00:40.69] [MUSIC PLAYING]

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[00:00:42.22] From above, the chairlift on the mountain.

[00:00:45.35] A chairlift chair lies on green grass.

[00:00:47.72] Evan Dybvig, Whaleback Freestyle Coach.

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[00:00:50.28] Back in '05, myself and a couple of business partners bought the mountain. And we ran it for eight years. And we lost money for eight years.

[00:01:00.36] [MUSIC PLAYING]

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[00:01:00.94] A yin-yang sticker in a window.

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[00:01:03.24] It was a really hard decision for us to close and let it go.

[00:01:07.98] [MUSIC PLAYING]

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[00:01:09.09] A bird flaps its wings in slow motion. Text, In 2012, Whaleback Mountain was forced to declare bankruptcy, threatening the future of the beloved ski hill.

[00:01:19.21] A construction site.

[00:01:20.71] Jessica Irwin, Whaleback Ski Coach.

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[00:01:23.70] We were super devastated to lose something that's so meaningful.

[00:01:29.28] There was a lot of sadness that a staple in this community was going to close, and that it wouldn't be here for everybody that had been using it since the 1950s.

[00:01:38.44] [MUSIC PLAYING]

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[00:01:39.88] Black and white vintage ski photos.

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[00:01:42.54] Over 90% of our customers are families like mine who can't afford to go to one of the bigger ski areas on a regular basis.

[00:01:52.47] It was like grief. Like how are you going to-- what are we going to do? Where are we going to go?

[00:01:56.82] [MUSIC PLAYING]

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[00:01:57.12] Cathy Bean, Whaleback Volunteer.

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[00:01:59.03] This place is so important to so many families.

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[00:02:03.17] Cloud in a valley.

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[00:02:04.35] We just couldn't sit back and let our mountain close.

[00:02:06.41] [MUSIC PLAYING]

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[00:02:07.22] From above, trucks on a road.

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[00:02:09.35] In 2013, a group came together to save the mountain and reopen it to the public.

[00:02:16.81] I got involved with Whaleback as a volunteer. I did not know anything about running a ski area.

[00:02:23.08] [MUSIC PLAYING]

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[00:02:23.50] Rebecca Reed, GM.

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[00:02:25.30] With only a few of us working year round, we rely heavily on volunteers.

[00:02:29.47] [MUSIC PLAYING]

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[00:02:30.07] Text, Every year, volunteers spend 3000 hours preparing and operating the mountain. Volunteer Day 2019.

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[00:02:37.52] Hey, everybody. Thanks for coming. We're going to start with just letting you know what the priorities are.

[00:02:43.52] [MUSIC PLAYING]

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[00:02:44.65] From above, a tractor moves on a field. People pick up weed whackers. A boy tries to start a whacker and his glasses fly off his hat. A man examines it.

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[00:02:54.64] It remains a struggle.

[00:02:56.32] There's another tree down up in this--

[00:02:58.48] Have experts working around the clock.

[00:03:03.01] I mean, for the chairlift. We're going to we need to talk for a minute.

[00:03:08.29] It's always a little nerve-wracking when you're looking ahead to opening day because you know how much the mountain has to accomplish before the lift can turn.

[00:03:17.32] [MUSIC PLAYING]

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[00:03:18.19] Man pulls a square from a floor, A boy throws it away.

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[00:03:21.54] We don't have a lot of money in our back pocket all the time. So without those grassroots efforts, we wouldn't be here.

[00:03:27.24] [MUSIC PLAYING]

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[00:03:27.86] People hold weed whackers. A woman turns a piece of wood. A girl eats a burger.

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[00:03:33.30] I've always called this a little mountain that could.

[00:03:35.15] [BIRDS CHIRPING]

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[00:03:35.58] Clouds on the mountain. Text, Opening Day, December 21, 2019.

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[00:03:40.66] On opening day, there's a lot of excitement and a lot of stress.

[00:03:44.50] Can I help you?

[00:03:45.46] Things happen or fall apart here and there.

[00:03:49.72] Oh, carpets are always a pain in the butt.

[00:03:52.99] Everybody has to pull together and dust it off and keep going.

[00:03:58.18] It remains a struggle every year, but we fight hard to make sure it's going to be here for the kids.

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[00:04:03.83] People work.

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[00:04:04.70] I think people appreciate the experience more because they have been a part of making it a success. That's a feeling of ownership and accomplishment.

[00:04:15.77] Let's go!

[00:04:16.30] [MUSIC PLAYING]

(DESCRIPTION)

[00:04:17.05] Text, Thanks to the generosity of Whaleback volunteers, the mountain is now entering its seventh decade.

[00:04:24.15] An adult helps a child on a rope tow. People ski. People walk on skis with tools.

[00:04:29.87] A person on skis jumps over a training board. A person skis across the board. Two people ski on the hill. A child and adult hold hands as they walk with skis on. A child makes a snowball and throws it ahead of himself on the trail.

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[00:04:41.04] Sharing a love of skiing and the outdoors is kind of priceless.

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[00:04:49.75] Logo, L.L.Bean. Be an Outsider.

[00:04:54.19] Text, Learn more about the Whaleback community at whaleback dot com.