Time to Make the Snow!

Like you, we are watching the temperatures very closely.  And we are happy to report that it looks like we could be firing up the guns Sunday night.  The temperatures on Sunday and Monday nights look good but after that it could be marginal.  We have heard some forecasts calling for a warm up so we are unsure how long we will be able to make snow.

But with opening day just around the corner, our plan is to make snow on trails that we typically open with.  Cascade, Canyon, Long John, a run over at Carinthia and the Discovery Center Launch Pad.  It would be ideal to open with that scenario with skiing and riding top to bottom and tied into Carinthia.  But we all know the saying about the best made plans.

Please don’t expect all of the trails listed above to be white overnight.  Often, we have temps up top but not below Somerset Rd.  Our snowmakers are adapting by the hour.  We will be stockpiling or what our Director of Mountain Ops, Dave Moulton, refers to as conservation piles – blowing snow in piles that can withstand warmer temps.  We won’t spread anything until we are confident that we have sustainable temps and a chance to get open.  And of course, this gives us a real-time opportunity to test the system and make tweaks as needed.

When will we open?  I can’t say for sure but when temps cooperate we’ll be taking advantage.  What we won’t do is make snow in marginal temps.  And sometimes temps that feel cold just aren’t good enough for snowmaking because it is too humid.  At this time of year, it takes most of the night to hit appropriate snowmaking temperatures, meaning that we may not fire up until 3 am.  I live close enough to the mountain that I can open my window and hear the guns.  It really peeves me when I open the window at midnight and can’t hear the hum of the guns.  But it happens, especially early season.  Be patient, we’ll get there.

Will we open the Discovery Center Launch Pad hill with a terrain park?  If Day, our Freestyle Terrain Manager has any say, the answer is, “YES!”  But getting temps in the base area can be tough this time of year, so again, be patient.  We hope to get that open so you can get your early season park kinks worked out.

I don’t want to get too excited about the first snowmaking of the season because I don’t want to jinx anything.  But right now, it is kinda hard for this “glass half full” gal to contain her excitement.  Stay tuned.  We’ll keep you hooked up with the latest info on opening day.  And always, think snow.

UPDATE:  We started making snow Cascade, Canyon, Long John, Beaver, the Gulch and Launch Pad on Sunday, 11/4.  The photos below were snapped from my window on Monday at 8 am.

 

Our goal is to open Launch Pad with a Freestyle Terrain Park and the Discovery Shuttle triple chair on Friday, the 9th.  Please check out our snow report for details.

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