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  1. #76
    Quote Originally Posted by Hawk View Post
    I missed you guys saying that the HG will open at 8. So that also means that the 7:30 people will be in line there first. Sounds like I will be going to Castle Rock and North Linx a lot more. This is going to change my routine completely. Have to adapt to get what I actually came here for. Not a problem.

    The other thing that I was thinking about is this. If they are going for a grant that the end result is to use less energy, how are they gong to blow more snow? I would think that they would not increase the amount of snow they make because that would eat into the savings that they are trying to achieve. Right? They will just blow the same amount they usually do or less with all new guns to have the energy savings they want to achieve.
    I think the point is that the new guns are so much more efficient, that they can make more snow and still be saving significant amounts of energy/money. Whether they actually will make more snow, only time will tell.

    But I will say, that all the statements I have read from mtn spokesmen (not just SB but Mt. snow, kton, stowe as they are all getting these new guns) and online say that these new guns will improve the ability to make snow in marginal weather conditions and open terrain quicker. While many skiers here and elsewhere, do not believe that to be the case and in fact believe the opposite to be true. I really have no idea what the truth is. No offense to any of you, but I'd love to read some kind of authoritative discussion of the issue.

  2. #77
    Quote Originally Posted by Hawk View Post
    I missed you guys saying that the HG will open at 8. So that also means that the 7:30 people will be in line there first. Sounds like I will be going to Castle Rock and North Linx a lot more. This is going to change my routine completely. Have to adapt to get what I actually came here for. Not a problem.

    The other thing that I was thinking about is this. If they are going for a grant that the end result is to use less energy, how are they gong to blow more snow? I would think that they would not increase the amount of snow they make because that would eat into the savings that they are trying to achieve. Right? They will just blow the same amount they usually do or less with all new guns to have the energy savings they want to achieve.
    on balance, we r better off with HG running at 8 even with the early birders getting a jump on it. In the past I would get there at 8:40 and stand around for 20 minutes. Even if I cant get there until 8:20, I'll still be up top a good 45 minutes earlier than before.


  3. #78
    Sugarbush is also not shy in announcing that they have a set snowmaking budget each year. They do go over some years, but I don't know how much over. Since they generally budget it based on water consumption, I doubt that the reduced electricity usage will equate to increased snowmaking. It will however help the overall bottom line because I know electricity costs increased substantially last season.

  4. #79
    Quote Originally Posted by Ride Delaware ? View Post
    Sugarbush is also not shy in announcing that they have a set snowmaking budget each year. They do go over some years, but I don't know how much over. Since they generally budget it based on water consumption, I doubt that the reduced electricity usage will equate to increased snowmaking. It will however help the overall bottom line because I know electricity costs increased substantially last season.
    Although, these improvements would make increasing the amount of snow sugarbush makes more feasible.

  5. #80
    Quote Originally Posted by Benski View Post
    Although, these improvements would make increasing the amount of snow sugarbush makes more feasible.
    If they gauged it by electric usage or cost then there would definitely be more snow made...

  6. #81
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    I sincerely doubt that these new guns are so efficient that they can both reduce the amount of electricity used and let them blow more snow. Remember that they already have a bunch of these guns they have bought in the last few years. They are just upgrading the rest is sounds like. How much of a leap will this actually give them? That sounds like a tall order Unless they have done other things to upgrade the system. The new snow making pipe on Spring Fling sounds like a start. I was told they really needed to fix that.
    Trouble with you is the trouble with me,
    Got two good eyes but we still don’t see!

  7. #82
    They will still run all the pumps and compressors and use the same amount of electricity. The new guns use less air so hopefully they can run more of them. The main reason that they do not perform well in marginal temps is that since they use less air they cannot throw the water as high into the air which gives the water more time to freeze on the way down to the ground. I agree with RD that the SR guns made great snow, they do use more air than the new guns but if you noticed last year they were running the old Ratnicks at South which use twice as much air as the SR guns. My issue is I wish they would stop making the production snow (slop) in huge piles and turn the water down and tend to the guns to try and make an even spread.

  8. #83
    Quote Originally Posted by Dblshot View Post
    They will still run all the pumps and compressors and use the same amount of electricity. The new guns use less air so hopefully they can run more of them. The main reason that they do not perform well in marginal temps is that since they use less air they cannot throw the water as high into the air which gives the water more time to freeze on the way down to the ground. I agree with RD that the SR guns made great snow, they do use more air than the new guns but if you noticed last year they were running the old Ratnicks at South which use twice as much air as the SR guns. My issue is I wish they would stop making the production snow (slop) in huge piles and turn the water down and tend to the guns to try and make an even spread.
    If the issue with new guns is how high the spray gets, wouldnt mounting them on poles resolve that???
    I've heard others say that the old guns are better in marginal temps because they are lower to the ground. So I dont really know what to believe except what I see as to how quickly trails are opened and of course that is largely dependent on the weather, making comparisons from one season to the next difficult, if not impossible.
    From what I understand, the efficiency improvement is derived from the ability to spray the water into finer droplets, so one would think it would freeze/crystallize quicker, no?

  9. #84
    Quote Originally Posted by Hawk View Post
    I sincerely doubt that these new guns are so efficient that they can both reduce the amount of electricity used and let them blow more snow. Remember that they already have a bunch of these guns they have bought in the last few years. They are just upgrading the rest is sounds like. How much of a leap will this actually give them? That sounds like a tall order Unless they have done other things to upgrade the system. The new snow making pipe on Spring Fling sounds like a start. I was told they really needed to fix that.
    I was just basing that off the report that it would save 2,000 mega-watt hours of energy. As I stated before however, the snowmaking is based off water used, so those savings wouldn't translate to more snow necessarily.

  10. #85
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    So I was out downhill mountain biking yesterday. I can confirm that all new snow making pipe was installed up Spring fling and snowball with new hydrants. It appears that they will reuse the tower attachments as they were still laying at the locations but not installed yet. It appeared to be the air pipe that was replaced because the water pipe is smaller and looked to be still there. I also saw the boys distributing new guns on lower organgrinder. Things look good up there. It must have been a bitch to get some of the pipe back in the same locations. They actually did not cut out that much tree growth and snaked it through. Some locations were pretty tight.

    On a MTB Downhill note.......If you like downhill, the mountain bike maintenance guys have done a great job re-doing Turkey tumble and maintaining the other trails. Everything is rippin fast and the berms are smooth. Now is the time to ride. Also the valley trails are in good shape.
    Trouble with you is the trouble with me,
    Got two good eyes but we still don’t see!

  11. #86
    ImageUploadedByTapatalk1409335837.445172.jpg it's tuff to see from this photo but I think the mall was widened on skiers left. Am I correct?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  12. #87
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    Ill check that out tomorrow when I am on the hill. Maybe they are starting the work for the VH lift upgrade? I didn't notice that when I went by on Monday.
    Trouble with you is the trouble with me,
    Got two good eyes but we still don’t see!

  13. #88
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    It does not seem like a widening of the Mall trial. More like regular maintance of the trail edge. They did not take down a bunch of large trees but mostly of the brush. It also seems to be mostly below Lexi's They did run a cat or something up the entire length. It looks like they may be working on the towers or something. Just a guess based on the pattern of the tracks.
    Trouble with you is the trouble with me,
    Got two good eyes but we still don’t see!

  14. #89
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    The new Sap Line trail opened yesterday. Super fast and the berms are perfectly formed. Nice job guys. All in all the downhill runs are in the best shape of the year.
    Trouble with you is the trouble with me,
    Got two good eyes but we still don’t see!

  15. #90
    Quote Originally Posted by Hawk View Post
    The new Sap Line trail opened yesterday. Super fast and the berms are perfectly formed. Nice job guys. All in all the downhill runs are in the best shape of the year.
    Didn't make it to the mtn, but the blueberry lake and camels hump trails are in great shape. Fun weekend of riding. Even got a swim in yesterday.

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