Vibe-Winter-2425 - Flipbook - Page 80
burned to the ground without casualties.
Harvey, who was sleeping in the building when the fire
began, escaped, thanks to his incredible dog Bud, told me that
following the fire, as the smoldering coals gave way to the
sunrise, Wemyss, without pause, said this was an opportunity
for the business to grow stronger.
The fire had destroyed the building, but not the reason people came to the Glen. They would renovate the Auto Road base
lodge, where the Mt. Washington Stage Company was located,
and operate both businesses under one roof.
In response to the fire, “Great Glenners” from all around
poured their support through letters and articles. Madeline
Ryan’s comment in a letter to the Board of Directors after the
In response to the fire, “Great Glenners” from
all around poured their support through letters
and articles.
fire was particularly poignant: “Although other good facilities
do exist in our area,” she wrote, “none of them duplicates the
sense of ‘completeness’ one feels at Great Glen.”
Her note exemplifies the sense of “place and placeness,” a
theory of geography espoused by Edward Relph in the mid-70s.
He argued that environments like Great Glen possess what
Relph would call “intrinsic insideness”— a quality where the
landscape’s geological history, ecological complexity, and sensory experience form a holistic, deeply rooted sense of belonging.
The emotional attachment to Great Glen Trails reflects
the ways places become repositories of memory, as people’s
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experiences accumulate over time, reinforcing their sense of
identity and attachment to the place.
THE FUTURE OF GREAT GLEN TRAILS:
MAINTAINING PLACENESS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
In late fall of 2018, the fifth iteration of the Glen House opened
its doors. Trailside, the hotel’s design honors the past, while
looking to the future. It boasts a state-of-the-art fire suppression system, geothermal heating and cooling, and a salt-water
swimming pool. With the installation of solar panels this
summer, the hotel is energy independent.
The Board’s vision from the 1980s was complete. Walking
through the award-winning bar, you are enveloped by the
mountain views—these same vistas that have brought travelers
for generations. Out the door, the Great Glen trail network
connects guests to the land and its collective story.
Nate Harvey commented that when you ask patrons what
they think of when someone mentions Great Glen, it’s typically
one of these things:
The view.
The ski trails.
The ski shop.
The 24-hour race.
The staff.
As we celebrate our 30 years, we’ve gone back through photo
and video archives, and had the chance to reflect on the incredible depth of talent from the employees at Great Glen Trails.
The staff are fundamental to guests’ experience at the Glen.
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