Amid a hurricane, Wolf Ridge Ski Resort gets brand new ownership and a fresh start from the ground up.
“We were finally able to hear not just ‘Oh, that place has so much potential, but it’ll never get there’ to finally, ‘It has so much potential, and they’re getting there,’” said Lauren Webb, strategic development officer and operations manager.
According to Webb, owners Deborah and David Hatley had no interest in the rundown 1970s ski resort. The couple owned another resort property in Tennessee, their native state.
Previous Owner Orville English talked the Hatleys into buying the resort. English owned Wolf Ridge for nearly 30 years before passing it on to the Hatleys. In March 2023, Deborah and David Hatley purchased Wolf Ridge and all of its rundown equipment, too.
“Wolf Ridge has been open since the ’70s,” said 19-year-old Guest Services Employee Campbell Moody. “It hasn’t really been renovated since.”
The resort had multiple owners throughout the ’60s and ’70s. When the Hatleys took over, it desperately needed some TLC.
“The old owner joked, but honestly was being serious, that the plans were just jotted down on cardboard with pencil,”Webb said.
Moody said the lodge, infrastructure, water lines, ski lifts and snow guns needed replacing.
“They definitely had a lot on their plate whenever they purchased — even more than they realized they were getting themselves into,” the operations manager said.
The Hatleys prevailed and began the renovation process. Unfortunately, in the final stretch of reconstruction, devastation hit. Hurricane Helene plowed through Western North Carolina, leaving the surrounding community devastated. Rather than giving up, the Hatleys saw the devastation as an opportunity to reach out to their community.
“We dragged out picnic tables, and pretty much had family dinner every evening up here,” Webb said.
The Hatleys used the brand-new resort kitchen to cook and serve food to hurricane victims. They were able to serve more than 1,000 plates of food to locals. The hurricane gave the resort a chance to reach out to local members of the community and reintroduce themselves as Hatley Pointe instead of Wolf Laurel. The lodge also served as a temporary communication center.
Webb said guests called the resort to check in on local family members.
“They were all like, ‘I have no signal, I have no Wi-Fi, is my family okay?’ And we’re like, ‘Yeah, your family got a hold of us and told us to check on you,’” Webb said.
The Hatleys finished the resort just in time for ski season.
Although some say they were skeptical at first, the resort’s first season has been a massive success in the eyes of customers and employees alike.
Snowboarder Jake Sheets, 30, said, “They’ve definitely cleaned up the trails a little bit. I definitely like the layout of the mountain, and it’s kind of got a fun little small town, with a homey feel.”
The Hatleys’ work is still far from over. They plan to resume renovations once ski season is over. According to Webb, they plan to add various amenities, including a boutique hotel, concert venue space, more homes, more restaurants and another base lodge.
“They’ve done really, really well for it just being their first season, it’s gone a lot smoother than, I think, anyone had anticipated,” Moody said.
