Lin-Wood Public School sits just a stone’s throw away from Loon Mountain Resort’s South Peak (Loon). For Ryder McAfee, that proximity shaped both his high school experience and his future career path. Most afternoons, Ryder would swap his book bag for his ski bag, heading straight to the mountain once the final bell rang.
While most skiers appreciate first tracks on bluebird days and wind chills upward of negative digits, Ryder has a passion for the mechanics and technical intricacies of ski lifts.
“In the future I want to be an engineer. Specifically, I want to build ski lifts,” said Ryder.
His passion brought him to Loon on December 10, 2021, at 5:30 a.m. to be on the first customer chair to ride Loon’s Kancamagus 8, or Kanc 8, one of North America’s most technologically advanced chairlifts.
Manufactured by Doppelmayr, the world’s largest ropeway producer, the Kanc 8 is an eight -passenger bubble lift with ergonomically shaped heated seats that comfortably carries 3,500 skiers per hour to the top of Loon’s most popular trails.
Ryder can recite chair lift stats most people reserve for following their favorite sports teams. “It’s got a travel speed of 1,100 feet per minute, so it only takes about five minutes to get up the mountain,” he recounts with a smile. “Plus, there’s a direct drive new technology which replaces the traditional gearbox system making the lift quieter, more efficient and more reliable.”
Ryder’s interest in how things work, especially ski lifts, helped him envision a future beyond simply riding them. During his junior year at Lin-Wood he enrolled in welding courses through White Mountains Community College as part of the Early College program offered through the Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH).
Through Early College, Ryder took classes both online and on campus that satisfied high school graduation requirements while simultaneously completing college prerequisites, earning him a certificate in Welding and an associate degree in Trades Management even before the ink dried on his high school diploma.
Now, as a high school graduate, Ryder has a welding job lined up at Portsmouth’s Naval Shipyard. While he awaits his official start date, he continues building momentum, taking courses through Manchester Community College which will earn him a second associate degree in Business Management. He hopes to parlay those credits into a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Mechanical Engineering at the University of New Hampshire, a path made more accessible through the strong transfer opportunities with CCSNH.
And in the meantime, Ryder has time to enjoy the mountain that inspired it all. As he waits to begin his welding career, he’s logging more ski days, with a deep appreciation for the semi-automatic safety bars, adjustable loading carpet and weather-blocking tinted bubble of the Kanc 8.
For Ryder McAfee, Early College didn’t just provide college credits – it provided a head start towards turning a passion into a profession.
