Would you want to be a snowmaker?

[marzNC]

Another tidbit with numbers for a destination resort in the Rockies. According to OnTheSnow, Steamboat has 3471 skiable acres, with snowmaking for 333 acres. The goal is to have enough green/blue trails fully covered before opening lifts on Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving.

October 27, 2023

How do ski areas make snow?

Mountain ski resorts in Colorado have begun making snow with hopes to open up for skiers as early as possible. But how are humans able to do a job that is otherwise left up to Mother Nature in orde…

kdvr.com

" . . .
[Steamboat Snowmaking Manager Ryan] Olson said he watches weather conditions like a hawk all the time, waiting for the opportune snowmaking moments. When that time comes, teams of snowmakers work 12-hour shifts hiking up and down the mountain paying close attention to weather conditions and adjusting accordingly.

“A lot of work goes into snowmaking,” he said.

According to the resort, teams can pump over 5,000 gallons of water each minute and run 140 guns at a time. Water from the Yampa River travels through some 40 miles of pipe before it reaches the resort. Olson said there are 800 hydrants that they spray it out of.
. . ."

 

[snoWYmonkey]

@marzNC our home hill has apx 2500 acres and 210 acres of snowmaking. That 10 per cent ratio, give or take, seems to be popular. They've been blowing 24/7. The temps are climbing back to the 50s this week after nights in the teens and even single digits up high. Hard to believe how fast things can and often do change in November.

 

[marzNC]

@marzNC our home hill has apx 2500 acres and 210 acres of snowmaking. That 10 per cent ratio, give or take, seems to be popular. They've been blowing 24/7. The temps are climbing back to the 50s this week after nights in the teens and even single digits up high. Hard to believe how fast things can and often do change in November.

Thanks for the stats. I remember watching snow guns in action on groomers during the trip when Jason and I were at JH in early December.

JH snow guns in action during early December


The other aspect of snowmaking in the Rockies and other big mountains out west I noticed is that snowmaking ends by late December or early January. People on the snowmaking teams often transition to grooming or other jobs at the resort. Some major destination resorts have key members of the team who come from Australia and/or New Zealand since Oct-Dec is their off-season. Presumably they want to go home before Christmas.

In contrast, snowmaking for the ski hills in the midwest, southeast, and mid-Atlantic goes on all season. If Mother Nature blows in cold air in March, there can even be situations where a hill has closed, but then blows snow for a couple days just to re-open for a bonus weekend. For many of these ski resorts, snowmaking coverage is 100% since there is very little terrain that could be called "off-piste."

 

[snoWYmonkey]

@marzNC Cool into. Thank you. I honestly am just speculating but suspect many resorts have water restrictions limiting use after a certain point in the year, possibly the calendar year. Some years temps are balmy through December and it seems that snowmaking should go beyond that time limit. However, I much prefer not skiing to the sound and visibility challenges of snowguns especially when the mounds are huge and unexpected.

Grateful for the fake snow from a skier and income perspective but also at times a bit perplexed by it all....

 

[marzNC]

@marzNC Cool into. Thank you. I honestly am just speculating but suspect many resorts have water restrictions limiting use after a certain point in the year, possibly the calendar year. Some years temps are balmy through December and it seems that snowmaking should go beyond that time limit. However, I much prefer not skiing to the sound and visibility challenges of snowguns especially when the mounds are huge and unexpected.

Grateful for the fake snow from a skier and income perspective but also at times a bit perplexed by it all....

While water is an issue in the west, and for some resorts in the east as well, the cost of snowmaking is significant. Once there is enough natural snow coverage, no resort manager could justify paying snowmaker salaries and related electricity bills if it isn't absolutely necessary.

The fact that the American Thanksgiving holiday is in late November probably has pushed snowmaking at destination resorts in the Rockies as much as the advantages of knowing that there will be enough open terrain before the winter break holiday period. Otherwise, not much advantage to opening the last week of November versus the first or second weekend of December. I've been tracking opening dates in Oct-Nov for a few years. The list is getting much longer and that's clearly a function of snowmaking infrastructure additions based on an ROI business strategy. The number of big mountains with no snowmaking at all is very small.

 

[marzNC]

Blue Mountain in PA did an entire series in 2023 about their snowmaking. There are 11 short episodes, Episodes 1-10 plus one about installation of a stick gun. For a quick read, check out the recent DCSki article about improvements at Blue.

August 17, 2023 - Episode 1 about summer work on improvements to snowmaking infrastructure

November 16, 2023 - Episode 10 about watching the weather during early season

 

[marzNC]

I learned about Wet Bulb temperature/humidity charts when I started paying more attention to snowmaking in the southeast (NC, VA, WV) about 15 years ago. There are plenty of situations when people are confused as to why snowmaking isn't happening when temps are around 30 degrees but the humidity is too high to make it worth starting up snowguns.

For 2023-24, OpenSnow is testing out charts that forecast wet bulb, mostly for the midwest and Evan posted one for Park City during early season. Massanutten (my home resort) has put in a new weather station at the peak with data from WeatherSTEM that includes wet bulb.

Wet Bulb forecast for Granite Peak for Nov. 27-Dec. 1, 2023


Wet Bulb forecast for Park City for Nov. 26-29, 2023


Massanutten WeatherSTEM reading around 10:30pm on Nov. 25, snowmaking in progress

 

[marzNC]

One advantage Boyne Resorts had when it came to Big Sky is that they have more snowmaking experience than most management teams running destination resorts in the Rockies. After all, Everett Kircher invented a snowgun that helped make Boyne Mountain successful as a ski resort in Michigan. Big Sky announced a few months ago that the plan was to be open by the day before Thanksgiving in 2023 and in future years as well.

November 22, 2023

Opening Day: Thank a snowmaker

Big Sky opens behind a 272-hour, 34-million-gallon effort By Jack Reaney ASSOCIATE EDITOR Thanks to a multi-year investment in snowmaking infrastructure and tireless work, turkey isn’t the only thing being... READ MORE

www.explorebigsky.com

". . .
[Adam] West [director of mountain operations] said Big Sky Resort doubled down and began making serious investments in snowmaking a few years ago. They’ve added mid-mountain booster stations to bring water higher up the hill, installed nine miles of pipe and purchased more than 100 high efficiency snow guns.

All of those improvements put the resort in a good position to capitalize on cold temperatures. A mid-October cold snap kept temperatures below 20 degrees Fahrenheit above Big Sky Resort’s 7,500-foot base.

“We got out like 20 million gallons of water, which we simply could not have done just a couple years ago,” West said.
. . .

According to PR Manager Stacie Mesuda, Big Sky Resort began its season with the third-most open terrain in the country. West said the snowmaking crew is now entering phase three.

A recently installed water line will allow snowmaking on Lone Wolf—beneath the Explorer Chair—and that trail should be open by early next week, West said.

Hopefully tonight, he added, snowmaking will begin on Elk Park Ridge. The Swifty terrain park is another priority.

“So we’ll kind of be spread out on all sides of the mountain here, and we’ll be doing stuff at Moonlight and over at Spanish Peaks as well. But the core of Big Sky will be Elk Park Ridge, Lone Wolf and the terrain park,” West summarized.

He commended Big Sky Resort’s snowmaking department: “they’re experts.”

Some bring years of experience on Big Sky’s system, others are enthusiastic young contributors pitching in from other departments—instructors, lifties, park crew. West gave credit to Snowmaking Manager Cody Cavanaugh for leading the cold, dark charge.

“All of these folks, they work so hard. I really can’t state that enough,” West said. “I mean, these guys are working in single digits or below [zero] temperatures, so they’re working 12-hour shifts… a standard work week for these guys is 48 hours.”

There’s two daily shifts: 12 a.m. to 12 p.m., or 12 p.m. to 12 a.m., West explained. It’s a grind between dragging hundreds of feet of hoses, chiseling and shoveling ice.

“We all have them to thank for skiing,” West said. “… This year is one where [snowmaking] really shines, and you see the work that team does and how important it is.”"

 

[marzNC]

The finalists for the 2024 I AM A SNOWMAKER contest are out. Each team has a short video. Scroll down on the webpage to get to Vote Here if you want to vote for your favorite. Can vote daily for a few weeks.

I AM A SNOWMAKER - Ski Area Management

The I AM a Snowmaker contest—sponsored by HKD Snowmakers—highlights the hard work, determination and camaraderie of snowmakers, and recognizes their critical contributions to the alpine, Nordic, snowboard, and winter tubing industry. I AM a Snowmaker was launched in 2013, and has highlighted the...

www.saminfo.com

Gore, NY
Greek Peak, NY

Bretton Woods, NH
Waterville Valley, NH

Cataloochee, NC

Copper, CO
Mammoth, CA

Panorama, BC, Canada

 

[echo_VT]

These vids are awesome as per typical thanks for sharing @marzNC ! I have been voting (seems like they accept one vote per day)

 

[marzNC]

Over the last decade I've learned a lot about how much effort is required by a team of snowmakers. It says a lot that the finalists represent large and small operations in assorted regions. Mammoth in southern California has a team of 35 snowmakers, while Gore in the southern New York Adirondacks has 25 on their team, and Cataloochee in western North Carolina has 10. Mammoth has 700 acres of snowmaking out of 3500 skiable acres, Gore has snowmaking on 350 acres of snowmaking and 453 skiable acres, Cataloochee has 100% snowmaking on 50 acres. In contrast, Gore has The snowmaking teams in the midwest and east are more likely to work all season long, starting in Oct/Nov until some time in March.

Mammoth didn't install any snowmaking until the 1990s. Gore started installing snowmaking infrastructure in 1976.

Cataloochee wasn't founded until the 1960s because 100% snowmaking was required to have a viable winter business based on having lift served ski operations. Cataloochee was a family owned dude ranch before the family cut ski trails. It's still an independently owned ski area that draws from Altanta, as well as NC, SC, TN.

Past winners have usually been from one of the smaller resorts. Voting ends Feb. 2, 2024.

I AM A SNOWMAKER - Ski Area Management

The I AM a Snowmaker contest—sponsored by HKD Snowmakers—highlights the hard work, determination and camaraderie of snowmakers, and recognizes their critical contributions to the alpine, Nordic, snowboard, and winter tubing industry. I AM a Snowmaker was launched in 2013, and has highlighted the...

www.saminfo.com

 

[echo_VT]

Incredible how much effort is required. And the vids convey just how much it can be… It seems so difficult. Also dangerous. But so rewarding. Definitely a treat to see how motivated these teams are and what goes into providing this experience to so many passholders plus one off guests

 

[liquidfeet]

The finalists for the 2024 I AM A SNOWMAKER contest are out. Each team has a short video. Scroll down on the webpage to get to Vote Here if you want to vote for your favorite. Can vote daily for a few weeks.

I AM A SNOWMAKER - Ski Area Management

The I AM a Snowmaker contest—sponsored by HKD Snowmakers—highlights the hard work, determination and camaraderie of snowmakers, and recognizes their critical contributions to the alpine, Nordic, snowboard, and winter tubing industry. I AM a Snowmaker was launched in 2013, and has highlighted the...

www.saminfo.com

Gore, NY
Greek Peak, NY

Bretton Woods, NH
Waterville Valley, NH

Cataloochee, NC

Copper, CO
Mammoth, CA

Panorama, BC, Canada

Done!

 

[marzNC]

Last day to vote for the 2024 I AM A SNOWMAKER contest is Feb. 2.

 

[marzNC]

Got around to watching the Panorama SNOWMAKER video. There is a woman from New Zealand on the team of 24. Also a man from the UK. From the looks of it, Panorama doesn't have that much snowmaking with automated snowguns. The manager pointed out that there is year round staff so they can get off to a fast start if Mother Nature cooperates in the late fall.

January 2024

 

[marzNC]

As of 2023, Blue Mountain in PA has one of the most automated snowmaking systems in the country. There are over 1000 snowguns. In addition, Blue is using SnowSAT for snowmaking decisions and grooming. What SnowSAT does is provide a graphic showing the snow depth in real time. SnowSAT has been around for several years but hasn't been implemented much in N. America. I remember reading about Diamond Peak's implementation, which was the first resort to embrace the idea.

March 2023

 

[marzNC]

The finalists for the 2024 I AM A SNOWMAKER contest are out. Each team has a short video. Scroll down on the webpage to get to Vote Here if you want to vote for your favorite. Can vote daily for a few weeks.

I AM A SNOWMAKER - Ski Area Management

The I AM a Snowmaker contest—sponsored by HKD Snowmakers—highlights the hard work, determination and camaraderie of snowmakers, and recognizes their critical contributions to the alpine, Nordic, snowboard, and winter tubing industry. I AM a Snowmaker was launched in 2013, and has highlighted the...

www.saminfo.com

Gore, NY
Greek Peak, NY

Bretton Woods, NH
Waterville Valley, NH

Cataloochee, NC

Copper, CO
Mammoth, CA

Panorama, BC, Canada

Greek Peak in central NY won for 2024. Always great when a team from a small mountain wins. Greek had the best video in many ways. The President of Greek started out working as a snowmaker.

February 6, 2024

And the 2024 I AM a Snowmaker Winner is… - Ski Area Management

SAM Magazine—Mount Snow, Vt., Feb. 6, 2024—Nearly 12,000 votes were cast during the 12-day voting period for the 2024 I AM a Snowmaker contest. This year’s contest showcased eight snowmaking teams from across North America: Brettons Woods, N.H.; Cataloochee Ski Area, N.C.; Copper Mountain, Colo.;...

www.saminfo.com

January 2024

 

[echo_VT]

That is the mountain that was near me when I went to university…! I never went bc I wasn’t interested in going at that time lol. I’d ski the Pennsylvania hills like camelback and then moved to snowboarding

 

[marzNC]

Greek Peak has spent $3.5 million on snowmaking infrastructure improvement in recents years. The fact that the snowmaking team is working with the latest equipment, as well as older snowguns, came through in their I AM A SNOWMAKER video. Great way to celebrate 65 years in central New York.

February 9, 2024

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