By Marty Basch

Dave Chandler's job is to safeguard and enhance the goods in the woods.

Long before the lifts started running at Wildcat and Attitash,  Chandler was laying out a plan, hiking the terrain and surveying the pockets of forested pleasure suitable for glade and tree skiing and riding.

"As we all know, both mountains have some incredible existing terrain and woods for skiing and riding so it made it a lot easier from the get-go," he said. "Once the area or section is decided on, I then organized the equipment and gear and headed up to the selected area."

He gets paid to do that.

And guess his job title.

He's the terrain advancement supervisor for the two Peak Resort-owned Mount Washington Valley  mountains.

Terrain advancement supervisor. That's right up there with director of skiing, right?

Not exactly. It's not all gravity and glory. Last summer he and a five-person crew cut, cleaned and hauled brush to construct natural features.

That's hard work.

Chandler's been skiing the Cat for years, long before he started working there. He'd been mulling the idea for a spell and knew the terrain potential at both mountains. About six years ago he'd worked with a Wildcat crew clearing  existing glades.

He always thought it would be cool to keep the locals happy with some new off-piste stuff.

So following Peak's purchase, Chandler approached new Wildcat general manager Josh Boyd with an idea.

"He listened to my thoughts and ideas, proposed them to Peak Resorts and so the job was created," he said. "I credit him for coming up with the job title of terrain advancement."

And it's a year-round gig.

Chandler and crew tended to several acres at both mountains last summer. At Attitash, they tweaked the trees below Straight Shot and next to Lower Cathedral, between Lower Highway and mountain coaster, and a small, short, steep section to skier's right on Lower Moat. On Bear Peak, they concentrated on terrain underneath the Abenaki quad and cleaned up the existing Barksville glade, removing lots of large, dead trees and logs. They also tended to a lower part of the woods between Illusion and Avenger visible from the Flying Bear.

At Wildcat, it was more clean-up like the wooded area between Wild Kitten and Lower Wildcat, and between Lower Wildcat and Cheetah. They also spent time in the Catacomb glade.

"After spending hours and days in the woods, to get back in there with snow and go down to ski it and it ski the way I envisioned it, is amazing," he said. "I haven't skied them all yet because we need snow."

Chandler's an outdoor kind of guy. Even the indoor portion of his day at Wildcat is about the outside. He also manages the Cat's rental, tune and repair shop. Been doing that for about three years now. That's on top of tuning skis part-time for about eight years there too.

Not only is Chandler a passionate Wildcat skier, the Intervale-living sports hound loves to bike, hike, kayak, golf and even play volleyball. He's been comfortable as a bicycle technician (again, indoor job for the outdoor set), working in the kitchen of a restaurant (people who play in the outside have to eat) and having been a manufacturer's representative (outdoor gear).

Of course, Chandler also loves snow. The snow gods have been stingy this season, but fanatics like Chandler always hold out for hope. Should it dump, point the car to Pinkham Notch and find Chandler.

"I also hope that once we get some snow, everyone will get a chance to enjoy the new and existing terrain we created and cleaned up," he said. "If you haven't found it yet, check out the trail maps or if you run into me, just ask cause I'll tell you, the goods are in the woods."