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View Full Version : Sugarbush's snow making capability



itsallaboutpow
10-30-2011, 03:54 PM
From what I understand, the physical damage to the snow making ponds from Irene has been repaired but I hear that
there are still issues with the electrical or pumps .. bottom line, Sugarbush is still without snow making capability.
Can anyone comment on this .. hopefully I heard wrong ...

NorthLynx
10-31-2011, 09:35 AM
From what I understand they are pretty much ready to go at South. The pumps located across from the Fayston school that serve MT Ellen are being repaired.

However take one look at the forecast and we are in for some "typical early season weather" Ski season will be here soon enough. The issue of "snowmaking capacity" comes up every season.
But of course with the amount of money that is spent on snowmaking (thousands per hour!) premature snowmaking can turn about to be wasteful. I appreciate it when the resort shows restraint and
doesn't take unnecessary risks. It is quite easy to throw away a few hundred thousand dollars this time of year on snowmaking before anybody has a chance to ski it.

Snowmaking is also less efficient at warmer temperatures, although there have been improvements with technology. At least in the past temperatures of 25 degrees or below have been considered an ideal starting point. Once again technology has been improving but cold weather makes a big difference. Too warm and you end up putting on a show, and making a bunch of noise at a great expense without making much product. The colder it is the better.

K-Mart is only an hour away and I went there on the 29th for some early turns, which was well worth it until the crowds started to appear. Killington fills a great niche for early season skiing and
they have the snowmaking capacity, and lift setup to do it. However the side effect is that Killington is rather developed in ways you just don't see in much of Vermont. Sugarbush is very much the
perfect compromise between commercial skiing and the other extreme (hint: Mad River Glen!) It is quite clear that management makes upgrades to snowmaking infrastructure when the funding is available It takes money to make this sort of stuff happen. Its easy to draw certain conclusions as an industry outsider but when the money is yours to spend that becomes a whole new challenge.

It is rather amazing how all the discussion regarding snowmaking capacity, and trail count go away as soon as we get 2-3 feet of snow. This happens each and every season like clock work.

It is easy to speculate on how capacity could be improved. However management is aware of the "other side of the story" which is the reality of the costs, and planning associated with such tasks. Anybody in business knowns nothing is as easy as it might seem.

We will be skiing soon enough.

notorious
10-31-2011, 12:43 PM
It is rather amazing how all the discussion regarding snowmaking capacity, and trail count go away as soon as we get 2-3 feet of snow. This happens each and every season like clock work.

.

Amen to that.

Hawk
10-31-2011, 01:06 PM
Amen to that.

Ahhh, so I see you woke up from your summer hyberhation. Good. Great to see you up and about. It must mean the season is here. Finally!! ;-)

Tin Woodsman
11-03-2011, 09:14 PM
It is rather amazing how all the discussion regarding snowmaking capacity, and trail count go away as soon as we get 2-3 feet of snow. This happens each and every season like clock work.

Of course, the catch is that those 2-3 feet often don't come until much later in the season than most would prefer. I don't think anyone here is advocating an all-out early season blitz to be first to open - that's a total waste of money. The issue is how fast they can expand coverage once the temps drop for good, and/or how fast they can recover from the occasional thaw/freeze cycles.

Hawk
11-04-2011, 06:41 AM
Of course, the catch is that those 2-3 feet often don't come until much later in the season than most would prefer. I don't think anyone here is advocating an all-out early season blitz to be first to open - that's a total waste of money. The issue is how fast they can expand coverage once the temps drop for good, and/or how fast they can recover from the occasional thaw/freeze cycles.
This is exactly the discussion that we were having. But there will always be the people who think that everything is fine and don't like to question the status quo at Sugarbush in regards to the quality and volume of the snowmaking system. I for one fully understand the value and absolute necessity of a good snowmaking system. If you think that things have not been that bad you are partially right. Because of Mother Nature we have been very luck the last few years. But I can remember years that the mountain was a mess in January and even February. Weather is cyclical and us having a warmer and wetter winter is not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. What will separate us from the other resorts and make us grow to where we will thrive is the capacity to recover. I will remind everybody that it is not us the avid SB skier that supports the economy of the resort. It is the average Joe skier that comes on weekends and vacations and spends money. Joe wants good snow because he is not that good! ;-)

Look I am not even a person that skis on the snowmaking trials if I have to. I prefer the woods. But I do have a vested interest in growing and sustaining the resort. I feel that snowmaking is one of the keys to growth. I feel this way because every time I have an intermediate friend or colleague come up and ski and the conditions are subpar, I hear the same complaints about snow quality. In my opinion it is the major factor that hinders this resort from reaching its lofty goals. I won’t mention the “other” place I ski or YS will have a bird.

Brew Ski
11-04-2011, 07:38 AM
Hawk,

Just out of curiousity, which would you prefer with respect to snow making capacity?
A. Quick recovery and "prisitine" depth and grooming on a few select trails around the mountian to spread people out and meet needs of all levels of skiers
B. Quick recovery on all/most trails but low depths and partial grooming

Obviously we wish for all trails to be covered with 10 feet of snow (15 feet on liftline to cover those huge rocks) at all times from November 1st to May 1st, but keeping it in reason.

Hawk
11-04-2011, 01:41 PM
You need option A but on all trails. That is the ability to resurface the entire mountain (South that is) in a 10 day period on all snow making trails. Then you are in business. BTW you do not need 10' of snow on a trail to recover. You need 1-2'. At major snow making mountians they can blow 2 to 3 loops of pipe(4 to 6 trails) at a time. In 24 hours those trails have 1 to 2 feet of snow on them. Then they move on. That is what I call ideal.