Chase the Snow!

Old skier adage which still makes perfect sense… The best skiing will be found where the most snow is, right now the man-made stuff. Some of the mountains have been picking up a little natural (and it helps) from the Lakes. But, if you really want the best conditions this weekend think snowmaking.

When referring to the actual production of snow I have heard folks call it cultivating, manufacturing, creating, growing and blowing. When describing what has been produced; powder, gnar, sugar, sand, hail, and even Fake… Making snow is not easy.

Killington making snow. pic ~ S.G.

The Problem: A lot of resorts do not have snowmaking in the budget for late February. It has been a difficult season so far… They may be right, could be better of just sitting on their hands. March is the snowiest month.
The Reality: I recommend the mountains that are making snow for good skiing and riding until we get a sizable storm.
The Forecast: Lake effect snows will help certain areas. The masses may see ‘something’ of a few inches Thursday/Friday, stay tuned to the weather to find out where the squalls deposit snow.
Certain areas will be cranking out as much artifical snow as possible. Those are the places you want to be for the best conditions. Here is my shortlist of areas I would recommend for a weekend visit. Only, because they are lying down fresh. Some of the below information was provided by the resorts, the others I just know will provide…
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Mount Sunapee, NH – This is an awesome report, from the horse’s mouth.
Objective was to resurface all of our ski trails with 4″ of new snow as fast as possible following Friday’s rain and rapid temperature drop. We actually did about 5″ per trail.
As you can imagine, after having temperatures of 50° on Wednesday, 57° on Thursday and then 42° with rain on Friday, the mountain was no longer packed powder, but was frozen granular by Saturday morning with temperatures around 10° at 8am. Serious snowmaking and grooming was required to restore the skiing surfaces to packed powder.
Aggressive snowmaking operations on Sat night, Sunday day, Sun night, Monday day, and Monday night produced 84 acre-feet of new man-made snow. That is 1 foot of snow on 84 acres. An acre is 43,560 square feet. Or, in ski trail speak; an acre is like a 110 foot wide ski trail by about 400 feet of ski trail length.
84 acre-feet x 43,560 acres = 3,659,000 square feet of snow at a depth of one foot that was produced from Saturday night through Monday night.
We were typically running about 110 snow guns from 5pm to 7am during the night time hours, and about 30 guns during the day time hours (to minimize impacts to our skiing guests during the day) to meet our snowmaking objectives.
How much snow was made?
1.) A football field, say Gillette Stadium, is 120 yards long including the two end zones by about 40 yards wide. 360′ x 120′ = 43,200 square feet or about one acre. We made enough snow to bury a football field in 84 feet of snow.
2.) A two lane highway is 24′ wide. A mile is 5,280 feet long. So, one mile of highway is 126,720 square feet. 3,659,000 / 126,720 = 28.87 miles of highway with 1 foot of snow. Since our objective was 4″ of new man-made snow on all snowmaking trails, 12″ / 4″ = 3x, therefore, we would have covered 87 miles (28,87 x 3) of highway with 4″ of new snow.
Conditions today are packed powder and we are hearing many compliments. We wanted to give them the best possible skiing we can offer.
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The VT Amigo’s: As far as making snow goes, these guys have it down pat. You are fine at any of them. S.G. sure bets.
Killington, VT – The best snowmaking in the world. The biggest, the most, the best! Enough said. If you want some fresh Groomies get up early…on Killingtime = ‘Ouch!’ This place can chuck numbers with MM’s at the end (each M = 000).
Stratton, VT – They thrive by their ability to produce a product. The employees take pride in their work. Trails, parks, grins and service guaranteed. Always a good bet.
Okemo, VT – Since the Mueller’s took over this place has been one of the best run operations in the industry. The snow they make and product they provide echoes their dedication. The snow surface will be quality.
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Sunday River, ME – The resort is snowmaking. Honestly, they can hang with anyone, and actually burry most. Force natures hand.
From DJAK – When we are running full out we would average around 35 million gallons a week. Annually we convert in the range of 350 million gallons to snow. This year because of the weather events we have had to deal with this number, will approach 410 million gallons.
In terms of how much snow is being made when we convert the water during a normal year we would make about 1,500 acre/feet of finished product. An acre/foot is one foot of snow over 1 acre of terrain. This year we will make over 2,100 acre/feet of snow.
In terms of operating hours when we are actually making snow in a more normal year we would operate about 1,000 hours. This year we will approach 1,600 hours of operation.
On a cold night (single numbers) with low humidity (below 40%) we can run upwards of 225 guns.
We continue to resurface at a rapid rate and will be heading to the Jordan and OZ areas by the weekend.
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Sugarbush, VT – Oh boy…(breathe)…at least the Mad River is full for the pull. At least the lakes are not frozen. And there are still 31 days in March…
The resort, one of my favorites, is fighting. That I know for sure. One of the few (if not the only) areas that is picking up natural snow that still has the guns fully lit. Think: Blain (a.k.a. Jesse Ventura) in Predator…
The Blue Tooth—a legendary establishment—is not for sale anymore. It has been off the market for seasons now and the décor shows it, well… I was disappointed to hear the place has a date with demolition this spring. There will be a huge sendoff party. More details to follow as they are confirmed.
A storied ski bar as such will see some smile that only great skiing can put on face before is all said and done this season. Promise you that!
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Ski Butternut, MA – Raise one to the Berkshires. I 90 = unquestionably the “Greatest Turnpike in Massachusetts”
The report – Yes we are making snow at every opportunity and we are pushing our maximum. That means we are firing up the snowmaking system whenever temperatures dip below 28 degrees F. If temps like they have yesterday and will again today get warmer than 28 degrees we shut the system down and will start it up again when temps dip below that mark. Our snowmaking crew has been going around the clock with 12 hour shifts since the cold weather returned. Ski Butternut is committed to providing a quality skiing and riding product. The quality of the snow conditions is our main focus. By making snow in quantity we can extend the season. We will continue to make snow as long as Mother Nature & Old Man Winter will allow.
Use this link for more detailed snowmaking info on the Butternut web site.
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Crotched, NH – from the mountain.
Lately, we’ve been making enough snow to keep the conditions up to Crotched standards. We’ve vowed to not let people ski or ride on bad snow, so that’s a fairly large commitment to uphold. If it rains, or the conditions otherwise turn lousy, we make more snow. For a perspective, this season we’ve already made about 15% more snow than we made during the entire last season!
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Wachusett, MA – The ski area has a great snowmaking operation. That aside, if you want to see a ghost, this is your joint.
There is am employee there who still speaks of the night he saw Lucy Keyes, and it freaked him out. Plenty of clients/visitors/guests have seen her, and heard her mother. The apparition usually appears as she vanished. 4 years old on April 14, 1755. She has been seen in a variety of places on the property, best bet running across half a trial into the woods. Link for more info
I have skied Wachusett at night and there is a feel to the old hill in Princeton, MA. No doubt, you are not at all alone.
The mountain makes snow, go enjoy. Here is the skinny, from a ghost…
To date this season WA has converted over 95 million Gallons of water to snow. WA pumps between 3500-4500 gal/min—depending on temps. Snowmaking occurs when temps are below freezing, and the colder & dryer the better. Tuseday night (temps weren’t terrific – high 20’s w/ humidity) the guys pumped over 2 million gallons in an 8 hour period, that is the equivalent of a school bus sized pile of snow every 7500 ft (or the length of two buses)
To date this season we have pumped over 95 million gallons, last season we pumped over 108, but we also had natural as we sometimes call the stuff that falls from the sky. No doubt we’ll exceed that figure this season.
Tower guns, which we have over 200 of, are much more quiet and energy efficient than air/water ground guns. The general rule is the louder the noise the less efficient the gun, and on a cold/dry night the tower guns whisper.
So far this season the same water droplet has traveled up the slope 10 times due to all the rain & warm temps. If it weren’t for the amazing snowmaking technology, however, we would not have been open for much of Jan & Feb. I was constantly getting stopped in the base area today by people who were raving about the awesome conditions.
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Catch all that? Hope you were able to take something away for your ride on the chairlift. Get out on the snow this weekend.
Think about making good turns,
S.G.