White Mountain Hall

Located inside of a mountain high in the Rockies, this school is definitely hard to get to. Unless you have magic, that is. ;)

The location was chosen for its deep-rooted magical history, as evidenced by the ancient paintings on the cave walls (these are known as the “White Mountain Petroglyphs” and are, of course, where the school gets its name). Obviously the school is hidden from Deficients who come to ogle at the mysterious paintings. White Mountain is located in the Red Desert in Wyoming, close to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons.

While one might at first think that rooms inside of a mountain would be damp and dreary, this is not the case (with the aid of magic). The rooms tend to be huge and spacious, and seem perennially sunny (during the day). Some rooms have enchanted ceilings to show the outside (but most still have magical lighting, as the outside is often gray and snowy). The outside of the mountain is also of course accessible to students; there are magically enhanced gardens, fields, snow-buildings, sports fields, and more.

Founding
White Mountain originated as a dragon conservancy to protect and revitalize the dragon population, since they were hunted almost to extinction (it is said that the tears from the remaining dragons, shed from the sorrow over their lost brethren, flowed together to form the Great Salt Lake). Because the two often go together, there is also an interest in treasure, be it ores and mining, ancient artifacts, jewels, or something more obscure. The mountainous regions give them the perfect place to keep dragons without attracting attention or putting Deficients at risk; the dragons can be both outside and inside, in other hollowed-out mountains (all dragons are of course kept separate from student’s residences). In fact, it is a little known fact that the eruptions of Old Faithful are caused by the underground dragon nursery (the steam eruptions are actually the dragons who are too young to breathe real fire)--Yellowstone is of course a couple of hundred miles away from the school, but this is a safety measure with the young, untrained dragons and their protective parents. Besides, a few hundred miles is no big deal for wizards who can teleport.

Location & Environs
There is a large goblin population in the Rockies, so they are a common sight at this school. Some are even teachers. The Banking & Finance and Wizarding Economics department of this school is, naturally, excellent (goblins are almost as good as Shmael D. Rockowitz when it comes to banking). The National Goblin Forge is also housed here. (Goblin Reservation à la Indian Reservations?)

Sports
Used to practicing in the extreme conditions around the mountaintop, this school’s sports team tends to dominate other teams when inter-school games are played. In general the sports program here is to be envied, with skiing and other snow sports getting only slightly less attention than magical sports.