Snowmaking Plan for Christmas to New Years

[random_ski_guy]

Win,

Given the latest forecast, what is the snowmaking plan for Christmas through New Years? Do you think you will manage to open Birdland, Murphy's and Lower Grinder by New Years; perhaps even more? How at Mt Ellen's what your vision over their for next week? Just looking to get a sense of what's in store as I'm probably coming up for New Years weekend.

Best of luck in these hard times for snow. -J

[teleo]

Don't know what the the plan is, but they just turned the guns on on Ripcord. Big temp differential top to bottom right now. Feels like spring at the base, winter up top.

[sglatham]

Just looked at Mt Washington web site and the temp change was 5 degrees per 1k feet. Thie "textbook" change is 3.5 degress per 1k feet, so a larger temp gradient than normal. This is probably a major factor in why, with such high base/valley temps, they expect it to snow tonight (in addition to the temp droping as the day goes on)......

[Hawk]

That would be otherwise know as the Adiabatic Lapse rate. We have a cold front moving in so there must be much colder air aloft. Sometimes it takes a while for the cold to settle in in the valleys. I hope they blow a ton for our sakes.

[ducky]

Just came off Mt Ellen. Snowmaking on FIS (7 guns going), and a few on the top of Elbow. Nothing middle of Elbow where Spread Eagle branches off, expect too warm. Getting colder though.

Given that is was raining hard yesterday, conditions were reasonably good. Rim Run was groomed, Looking Good not so much. Both were skiable and edge-able (sp) if you kept an eye out for gaps between groomer tracks and ice bunnies.

Looking up at LP, there were a few skiing Grinder. Maybe the best choice today.

My guess would be they will blast the maximum snow they can to be as ready as possible for the holiday.

Currently 41.2〫at 1740', level with top of Village Double chair.

[random_ski_guy]

Gang, I love the detailed - live - info. Thanks! Keeping my fingers crossed that the mtn stays below 32 degrees from here on out. Thats all I want for christmas.

[itsallaboutpow]

Yup .. much thanks for the details as I labor away at my desk wondering and dreaming about what tomorrow might be like on the Mnt. Keep the details coming

[Hawk]

Hopefully, if Waitsfield Telecom did thier thing, I will have internet access at my condo and will do some daily reports. Maybe even some pictures.

[win]

Lookiing at our forecast, it is likely we will be staying high tonight and into tomorrow. That means having guns running on Ripcord and trying to get down as low as possible. At Mt. Ellen it will be Elbow and FIS and if temperatures fall enough getting lower on Cruiser. It looks like we will have some colder temps starting Friday night , so we will be trying to complete the middle part of Jester so we have Jester top to bottom. Simultaneously blowing on Coffee Run to get than open, Slowpoke and touching up Easy Rider and the other areas at GH in need of some touch up. Plan to open Village Lift on Saturday. Once that is complete we will move over to Snowball and Spring Fling if temperatures cooperate. At ME our key objective is to get top to bottom by finishing up on Cruiser, Mainstream and Cracker Jack. We also want to get Express Way so beginners can ride Inverness and have an easy way down. We also want to start getting some snow made in Reimergasse for the Terrain Park. Organgrinder by the way is skiing really nice and we don't plan to groom it so we have a nice advanced mogul trail to complement the groomers.

Looks like a couple of inches tonight which will make is look nice and will add to the quality of the snowmaking trails. It did ski nicely this morning and the damage from the rain was not too great.

[random_ski_guy]

Thanks for the update Win. Its official, I'll be up for New Year Years, so my usual heavy interest in ski weather will shift to absolutely compulsive interest.

To give you a sense, if someone could run a log detailing when every snow gun is turned on and off, the air/water ratio, the location and angle of the gun, I'd read it.

[win]

Great base snow this morning and the Valley looks beautiful. We are going to have at least two days of really good snowmaking weather. I just hope Green Mountain Power doesn't do a curtailment and we will be expanding terrain.

[noski]

It was beautiful coming to work this morning. I only saw 2 cars off the road. I think people have forgotten how to drive safely in fresh snow... White Christmas, here we come!

[random_ski_guy]

Wet snow is the best snow...for base building this time of year.

I'm so pumped that at least the ground has returned to white. Halleluiah.

Win, I hope someday you reconsider about adding a sugarbush generator to supplement when GMP mandates curtailment. The ski business is challenging enough as it is. A shortage of local electricity in those short windows of snowmaking weather when you need it most is just cruel. Anywho, still love what you have done with the mtn. Just saying...

Think snow.

[random_ski_guy]

I hope I dont jinx anything but Burlington NWS radar is suggesting, just a bit, that a little bit of the orographic snow cloud maybe setting up. My fingers are crossed.

[HowieT2]

Great base snow this morning and the Valley looks beautiful. We are going to have at least two days of really good snowmaking weather. I just hope Green Mountain Power doesn't do a curtailment and we will be expanding terrain.

no worries Win, I told the kids no electricity usage during snowmaking operations.