I am just returning to the SKIMRV after the summer off, so I will catch everyone up on this stream of posts. Dopplemayr's contract with us is to turn the lift over by November 11th and while there is still a lot to do, they say that will happen. Of course, weather and other things could cause that not to happen but we are planning on it now.
The big building to the right of the new lift looking up hill is for Mountain Water and Lift Maintenance. The bottom floor contains two sand filters where water from Clay Brook flows to be filtered and fed into the overall water system in the winter. Only our wells are needed in the summer. These filters were in the old building basement which was torn down. The second and third floors of the new building with be for lift maintenance. They will have their lockers there, storage for parts and a work area for repairs. They were in the Vehicle Maintenance building previously but this is better space for them and Snowmakers will now use their space which is better for them.
The bottom terminal is supposed to arrive today and then a crane is scheduled to install it tomorrow. The towers are waiting for the ladders to get delivered and attached. The helicopter is now scheduled to fly next Tuesday, October 13th. It is a one or two day job. The bottom lift shaft is water tight so the electrical work can now begin by Dopplemayr. The Drive is assembled offsite and brought in for installation.
Much of the work on the Valley Traverse has been completed including the new snowmaking pipe and new 18' retaining wall in front of the top terminal. Once the bull wheel and top lift shack are in, the final grading will be completed.
Yes, we would expect that skiers and riders traversing over to The Gatehouse lift would be doing so safely. I think you will find that shorter lines because of the two lifts may actually make that easier.
With respect to snowmaking, a few major investments have been made this summer We replaced the pipe on Straight Shot at ME. This not only insures the integrity of the line but allows more water through it up the mountain. We purchased two new 3,000 CFM compressors at ME. With the new Low Energy guns, we will not need more than one much of the time to maximize the water going up the mountain. We are buying 75 new low energy land guns (HKDs and Snowlogics) for trails like Upper Jester, Upper Rim Run, Hot Shot, Birdland, Lower Downspout where towers do not work. And repairs to valves and pump at Lincoln Peak will increase our GPM by around 10%. These were all planned CAPEX items, but we are also replacing the snowmaking pipe that runs from the Pond to the Sugarbush Access Road. This was planned in a couple of years, but a break this summer showed us the walls were dangerously corroded and thin and having it break in the middle of winter was not a risk we wanted to take. Fortunately, we are in a position to take on this extra chore without stopping other projects.
In temperatures permit, we are planning as in the past to start snowmaking on both mountains around the first of November.
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