Winterspring

For the lore of the zone and its status before the Cataclysm, see Winterspring (Classic).

For the quest, see  [70] Winterspring.

Winterspring
Level: 15 - 50 Battle Pet Level: 17 - 18
Races	Night elf  Furbolg  Goblin  Blue dragon  Wildkin  Mountain giant
Major settlements	Everlook Starfall Village Mazthoril Winterfall Village Ruins of Kel'Theril
Minor settlements	Goodgrub Smoking Pit Beryl Egress Snowden Chalet Timbermaw Post Dun Mandarr Ban'Thallow Barrow Den
Affiliation	Wintersaber Trainers, Darnassus, Explorers' League, Alliance, Furbolg tribes, Blue dragonflight, Steamwheedle Cartel
Location	Northeastern Northern Kalimdor
PvP status	Contested territory

“These cold and vast lands may seem dismal, but this is a place of many secrets...”

— Donova Snowden

Winterspring (also known as Winterspring Valley) is a snowy valley located in Northern Kalimdor, east of Felwood, northeast of Mount Hyjal, and north of Azshara. It holds the goblin trading post of Everlook, old night elf ruins, and the vast cave Mazthoril, the primary home of the blue dragonflight on Kalimdor. Many wild creatures roam this beautiful landscape.

History

Long ago, Winterspring was a home for many blue dragons, including Haleh.

10,000 years ago, the city of Kel'Theril was located here. The Highborne who inhabited the city stole the Crystal of Zin-Malor from the temple in Eldarath, but when they toyed with its tempting power its shattering cursed them all. Kel'Theril suffered until the Great Sundering destroyed it for good, and now the dead wander as ghosts.

One hundred years before the Cataclysm, a group of high elves left Quel'Thalas and traveled to Winterspring in order to obtain the crystal. Like their Highborne ancestors, the high elves were cursed by the crystal's power.

Third War

This section concerns content related to Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos or its expansion The Frozen Throne.

During the events of Third War, Thrall's Horde, the Alliance remnants, the Scourge, the night elven Sentinels and the corrupted satyrs made camps here. Tyrande Whisperwind and Malfurion Stormrage destroyed a human camp and the satyrs and awakened the druids of talon in the Barrow Dens. At the same time, a death revenant cursed a glade, raising skeletons and ghosts in the area. Tyrande, Malfurion, and the Sentinels defeated him and recovered the glade.

World of Warcraft

This section concerns content related to the original World of Warcraft.

Elementals invaded the area only to be fought by the adventurers of the Alliance and Horde.

The Burning Crusade

This section concerns content related to The Burning Crusade.

Prior to the start of the invasion of Outland, Winterspring was invaded by a group of Burning Legion demons led by Highlord Kruul.

Wrath of the Lich King

This section concerns content related to Wrath of the Lich King.

The area was also invaded twice by the Scourge in the years leading to the war against the Lich King.

Cataclysm

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

One year before the Cataclysm, the blood elves sought the Crystal of Zin-Malor as their ancestors had. They were cursed and became wretched.

A hunting party has set up camp in the northern foothills, and the bridge to Darkwhisper Gorge has been destroyed.

Timbermaw Hold's tunnels.

Getting there

Winterspring can be accessed through Timbermaw Hold. To reach Winterspring, head through the hold entrance in the northeastern tip of Felwood and continue straight after the bridge. It used to be that, in order to pass through the hold without the Timbermaw Furbolgs attacking you, you would need to have reached at least unfriendly reputation with the Timbermaw furbolgs. There are several quests in Felwood which can be completed to raise reputation with them. This is no longer necessary and Timbermaw mobs are unfriendly but will not attack.

Geography

Both the Steamwheedle Cartel and the night elves have established bases in the region. Though there are no instanced dungeons or battlegrounds in Winterspring, there are several micro dungeons in the area.

Maps and subregions

Map of Winterspring.

Map of Winterspring prior to Cataclysm.

Beryl Egress Caverns of Consumption Darkwhisper Gorge Dun Mandarr Everlook The Laughing Yeti Frostfire Hot Springs Frostsaber Rock Frostwhisper Gorge Goodgrub Smoking Pit The Great Sea The Hidden Grove Ice Thistle Hills Lake Kel'Theril The Ruins of Kel'Theril Mazthoril Moon Horror Den Owl Wing Thicket Snowden Chalet Starfall Village Ban'Thallow Barrow Den Timbermaw Hold Timbermaw Post Winterfall Village

Warcraft III Barrow Dens Cursed Glade Nendis (speculated)

Everlook.

Travel hubs

Flight paths from Everlook

• Orgrimmar, Durotar
• Bilgewater Harbor, Azshara
• Talonbranch Glade, Felwood
• Irontree Clearing, Felwood
• Moonglade
• Nordrassil, Mount Hyjal

Regions adjacent to Winterspring

Zone name	Faction	Level range	Direction	Access
Azshara		10 - 60	Southeast	By jumping down with [Slow Fall]/ [Parachute Cloak]/ [Levitate] from the small camp east of Frostwhisper Gorge.
Felwood		40 - 60	West	By foot through Timbermaw Hold or flightpaths from Everlook to Bloodvenom Post or Talonbranch Glade.
Moonglade		N/A	Northwest	By foot through Timbermaw Hold or flight paths from Everlook to Shrine of Remulos.
Mount Hyjal		80 - 90	Southwest	By flying.

Notable characters

Main article: Winterspring NPCs

Quests

Main article: Winterspring storyline

Quests in Winterspring mostly revolve around hunting the local wildlife or investigating the sources of madness plaguing them. Throughout their progression through the zone, players go from fighting the Winterfall tribe at the request of Donova Snowden, to studying Highborne spirits at Lake Kel'Theril, to game hunting from Everlook and the Goodgrub Smoking Pit, to helping the blue dragonflight exiles at Mazthoril reclaim their home.

Resources

Mazthoril.

• Herbs
  •  [Mountain Silversage]
  •  [Icecap] (Winterspring is the only region you can gather it.)
  •  [Black Lotus] (One of the few regions where you can gather it. Rare.)
• Leather
  •  [Thick Leather]
  •  [Rugged Leather]
  •  [Worn Dragonscale] (Skinning Azurous or General Cobaltann])
  •  [Warbear Leather] (Skinning level 50-55 bears)
  •  [Blue Dragonscale] (Skinning Azurous or General Cobaltann)
• Ore
  •  [Truesilver Ore]
  •  [Thorium Ore]

Wild creatures

Frostsaber Rock.

• Bears
• Chimaera
•  Dark trolls
• Deer
• Frostsabers
• Ghosts
• Owls
•  Satyr
• Thunder lizards
•  Wildkin
• Wolves
•  Yetis

In the RPG

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

Winterspring (also known as Winterspring Valley or Winterspring Grove) is a frozen land covered in snow similar to Dun Morogh. While most night elves find the land less hospitable than the nearby forests, a number of elves reside there for two main reasons: first, it is in close proximity to Mount Hyjal; and second, its mysterious hot springs may be connected to demon activity. Winterspring's perpetual cold is natural enough, and it is the closest area to Mount Hyjal's summit. This valley has long been involved in a struggle between malevolent blue dragons and the fearsome white frostsaber cats.

Home of dragons, goblins and filthy Dark Irons, there's a lot to be done in this frozen tundra.

History

The ancient ruins in Winterspring are evidence of the scars left by the Sundering. Once hinterlands, the entire eastern expanse was ripped away during the Sundering, leaving a sprawling coastline.

Thousands of years ago, this valley upon the slopes of Mount Hyjal served as a place for the night elves to start anew in the wake of the Sundering. It was also here, long ago, that dragons took up residence to watch over neighboring Hyjal and the nearby World Tree Nordrassil. The blue dragonflight keeps its vigil here, whereas most of the other dragonflights have moved to the base of the World Tree or other locations. The recent success of Everlook has brought more adventurers into Winterspring, which the natives hope will aid them in defeating the threat of the demons of Darkwhisper Gorge.

This otherwise cold and serene place shakes with periodic conflict between the forces of the sorcerer-dragon Cobaltann and the night elves who strive to drive them from the slopes of Mount Hyjal.

The goblins of Everlook recently discovered a new mine to the south of their city, not far from the dragon caves of Mazthoril. This mine is valuable due to a large amount of arcanite within it, but thus far it proves inaccessible. While not part of the blue dragon's cave complex, the dragons are territorial, and so the goblins are looking for a hero that can find a way to convince the blue dragonflight to allow them access to the mine, in exchange of a nice reward of course.

Geography

Winterspring lies to the east of Felwood and Moonglade, and to the northeast of Hyjal Summit. The easiest access to any of these locations on foot is through the caves of the Timbermaw furbolgs, although Everlook offers flying mounts that travel to Felwood or Moonglade — for a price.

Winterspring Valley is above Moonglade and is the last stop along the road that winds up to Hyjal Peak. The valley is separated from Moonglade, lower on the mountain slope, by a thick, white cloud bank. Once above the clouds, the air is crisp and clean and the sun shines often when the snow is not falling. The trees of Winterspring were bent and twisted into odd positions during the climactic Battle of Mount Hyjal. Many of the World Tree's massive roots are also exposed here, towering overhead like massive oak archways.

Only three major humanoid settlements exist in this region: the night elven village of Starfall, and more interestingly, the goblin town of Everlook. The third is Mazthoril, home of Kalimdor's blue dragonflight. Everlook is located on the far east side of Winterspring, near the center, and Starfall Village is slightly to the northwest.

Several creatures live in the icy terrain, such as chimeras, polar bears, and the rare and legendary frostsaber cats. Almost all of the animals here are vicious and dangerous predators. These animals are only rarely seen due to the high altitude. It is a place of cold medium forest and rugged mountains.

Notes

• Darkwhisper Gorge formerly occupied a rather large portion of the zone. It held elite demons of an approximate five-man difficulty who have guarded a non-functional entrance to Mount Hyjal. When the Cataclysm expansion was released, the subzone was merged with the Hyjal zone. However, the edge of the mountain drop between Darkwhisper Gorge in Hyjal and Azshara is still considered part of Winterspring, and players briefly enter and exit Winterspring when flying between Hyjal and Azshara.
• Prior to Wrath of the Lich King, Blizzard sometimes used footage of Winterspring as a stand-in for the continent of Northrend (such as in the Shadow of the Necropolis trailer and the portals in Kel'Thuzad's Chamber in Naxxramas).

Gallery

• 

  Winterspring location in Warcraft III.

• 

  Winterspring Valley in Warcraft III.

• 

  A base of the Corrupted Ancients.

• 

  A cursed glade.

• 

  Starfall Village.

• 

  Lake Kel'Theril.

• 

  Early layout of Kalimdor with Winterspring in a different location.

Videos

• Winterspring [HD] - World of Warcraft Cataclysm
• The Story of Winterspring

Patch changes

• Patch 7.3.5 (2018-01-16): Level scaling implemented, previous zone level: 50 - 55.
  
• Patch 4.0.3a (2010-11-23): Updated. Darkwhisper Gorge subzone moved to Mount Hyjal zone.
  
• Patch 0.10 (2004-09-18): Opened.
  

External links

• Wowhead
• WoWDB