Enfield — The Whaleback Core Team developmental skiing and snowboarding program has enjoyed a recent surge in participation, increasing its draw by nearly 50 percent each of the last three seasons and peaking at an all-time-high 132 athletes last winter.

Now all it needs is snow.

Coaches and athletes for the Core Team’s multitude of alpine and freestyle groups were forced to be creative and patient last season, waiting for significant snow cover that ultimately never came.

Only two of Whaleback’s trails were open for consistent periods last year, and conditions were so poor at times that it was closed to the public on mid-winter days. The Core Team typically still met on those occasions, performing limited drills or dry-land exercises normally reserved for its preseason training period.

Evan Dybvig, a program co-founder and former Whaleback Mountain co-owner, found the persistent lack of snow uncanny.

“I can’t really remember another winter that bad,” said Dybvig, a two-time Olympic freestyle skier who jumpstarted the Core Team in 2006. “We made the most of it. Sometimes we had the mountain to ourselves with the ski patrol. If the rope tow was shut off, we’d hike up or I’d tow the kids up with my snowmobile. We’d have short, focused drills, jump on the trampoline and do core training. We still got a lot done considering the conditions.”

Newer snowmaking equipment should help the mountain maintain a better surface, even if another relatively mild winter pervades. A fundraising campaign last summer yielded a 2-to-1 match by committed donors and allowed the purchase of two large snowmaking fan guns as well as a series of smaller tower-style guns.

Mountain manager Gerd Riess tested the fans on Thanksgiving Day and they produced snow in temperatures in which Whaleback’s previous equipment likely would have struggled.

“(Temperatures were) right on the cusp of the limit for any snowmaking equipment, and they were putting out snow,” Riess said. “That was a good sign.”

Entering its 11th season, the nonprofit Whaleback Core Team has been a mainstay through a tumultuous decade at the mountain, which faced bankruptcy in 2013 and today is operated by another nonprofit, the Upper Valley Snow Sports Foundation.

Enrolling children ages 5-17, the Whaleback Core Team includes “Mini Core” (beginner) and “Core Devo” (intermediate) levels as well as its Core Freestyle, Core Alpine and Core Snowboard teams. The latter groups primarily consist of more experienced teenagers, who may or may not choose to compete in the New Hampshire Series of the USA Snowboard and Freeskiing Association circuit, which includes a stop at Whaleback on Feb. 12. Other venues in the series include Mount Sunapee Resort, Loon Mountain and Ragged Mountain.

“We encourage the competition because we think it’s a great way to continue to learn and challenge yourself, but it’s by no means required,” Dybvig said.

The Whaleback Core Team has certainly helped produce its share of elite athletes. Freestyle skier Julia Krass is a former pupil who went on to compete at the 2014 Winter Olympics, placing 11th in slopestyle.

Olympic gold medalist and world slalom champion Mikaela Shiffrin also was a one-year Core Team participant, while Konrad Mitchell, of Hanover, is a Core Team product who has gone on to compete in FIS freestyle skiing’s National Championships and the North American Cup circuit.

While the Core Team has shown to be a sufficient training step for such talent, the most rewarding aspect of the program — for both participants and its many volunteer coaches — is bearing witness to the development of students both athletically and socially.

“The personal growth is a huge part of it,” said Myles Cotter-Sparrow, a former international ski cross competitor and one of the Core Team’s most devoted coaches. “Not everybody is going to aspire to be in the Olympics. Everyone has their own path. Another reason I think the Core Team is invaluable are just some of the life lessons that it provides. You have to be persistent and dedicated and put in the time to get better. You also learn to work with your peers and respect them because we’re all in it together.”

Dan Gaudet, the Core Team’s third-year president, enjoys the diversity of the body of athletes the program attracts.

“The sense of community is fabulous here,” he said. “Kids come from all of the place — Windsor, Bradford, Plainfield, Claremont, Lebanon, Hanover, Norwich … They’re hanging out with each other all the time and many of them are building lifelong friendships.”

The registration deadline for returning Core Team members is Dec. 15. Returners enrolling after that day may face a late fee. There is no late fee for first-time members, Gaudet said.

T-Bar Installation May Be Delayed: An 800-foot T-Bar acquired thanks to the Upper Valley Snow Sports Association’s recent fundraising efforts may not be installed this season because of timing conflicts, Riess said.

“The engineers who would install it are backed up, and it would be really expensive for us to have the process (expedited),” Riess said in an interview Thursday. “It’s a work in progress.”

Once installed, the T-Bar will provide better access to Whaleback’s expert lower face trail as well as the intermediate blubber trail and beginner lower ivory trail.

Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.