Cold spells help ski resorts get early jump on making snow
Laurel Mountain slopes
Photo courtesy of Seven Springs
Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion started making snow early because of colder weather and early snowfall.
The recent cold snap has allowed some local ski resorts to start making snow ahead of schedule.
“The early drop in temperatures allowed us to fire up the snowmaking system on Nov. 8, the earliest start of snowmaking in recent memory,” said Katie Buchan, communications manager with Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, Hidden Valley Resort in Hidden Valley and Laurel Mountain in Ligonier.
According to the Seven Springs Mountain Resort and Hidden Valley website four inches of natural snow has fallen in the mountains. Laurel Mountain has reported seven inches of natural snow.
For the past two years, Buchan said the process of making snow, which generally occurs when the temperature is 28 degrees or below, started Nov. 10.
“Colder is better, and snow production increases significantly as temperatures and humidity drop further below the threshold,” she said.
Buchan said opening dates will be announced very soon as the resorts are focused on aggressively making snow at every opportunity and getting the mountain ready for skiers and snowboarders.
One improvement at Seven Springs for the upcoming season relates to snowmaking, as it replaced nearly 5,000 feet of the aging main snowmaking water supply line in the fall.
Running from Seven Springs’ Lake Tahoe to the bottom of Village Trail, Buchan said new steel piping is the main water source for snowmaking on the Front Face.
“While it’s an improvement that cannot be seen, this major project will improve the consistency and reliability of the snowmaking system for decades to come,” she said.
Last winter, Buchan said the three resorts had ample natural snow and frequent opportunities to make more.
She added that they surpassed their goal of offering skiing and snowboarding at Seven Springs for more than 100 days by being open 119 days.
“Great conditions lead to great attendance, and we were able to achieve both at all three of our mountains,” Buchan said. “With this year’s early arrival of winter weather, we’re very optimistic about what this season will bring.”
At Mystic Mountain at Nemacolin Woodlands in Farmington, Jennifer Noah, marketing manager with Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, said they plan on opening the slopes Dec. 20.
Along with skiing, Nemacolin also offers snow tubing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and dog sledding, as well as ski and snowboard lessons and a children’s snow camp.
At Wisp Resort in McHenry, Md., the website showed that snowmaking started Nov. 12 with snow guns beginning to blanket the front side and the snow tubing park, following two inches of snowfall on the mountains this week.
The website reported new high-tech additions for the winter season including five new snowmaking machines, a new radio frequency identification device ticketing gate system that will provide a more convenient and streamlined experience for skiers and snowboarders, a new mobile app and revamped food outlets and offerings.