Powerhouses of Snowmaking

[ga2ski]

I know many of you do not like the ASC resorts, but I thought this was a cool comparison of how much snow they have made. Maybe I just like it because I throw out some of the ideas on the SRMB.

http://www.peaks.com/snow/

 

[Greg]

Interesting. I wonder how each ASC resort compares to others in the area. In addition to ASC resorts, what other ski areas in the Northeast do you feel are snowmaking powerhouses? Hunter no doubt puts down as much snow as just about anybody. Jiminy Peak has recently emerged as a true powerhouse. I always hear good things about Crotched's snowmaking abilities (haven't skied there). Finally, I give a big nod to my own little local hill, Ski Sundown. Pound for pound they are one of the most aggressive snowmakers in SNE.

 

[Paul]

Interesting. I wonder how each ASC resort compares to others in the area. In addition to ASC resorts, what other ski areas in the Northeast do you feel are snowmaking powerhouses? Hunter no doubt puts down as much snow as just about anybody. Jiminy Peak has recently emerged as a true powerhouse. I always hear good things about Crotched's snowmaking abilities (haven't skied there). Finally, I give a big nod to my own little local hill, Ski Sundown. Pound for pound they are one of the most aggressive snowmakers in SNE.

I'd add Pat's to your list. They got a lot down in a pretty short time-frame.

 

[ga2ski]

I was going to add Pat's as well. Condition sare great there every monday night.

 

[snoseek]

sunday river has really done well opening up the mountain this year. the last week or two have been extra good. they always seem to shine on shitty years.

 

[millerm277]

I find Hunter to have the best recovery rate of pretty much any area I ski, and generally great snowmaking (as long as you aren't one of those people that minds skiing through guns midweek).

Blue Mountain and Sno Mountain (formerly Montage), in PA both have very quick recovery as well, with a lot of powerful guns there.

 

[dmc]

Hunter Snomaking thingies...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY7zHs-Tp-E&eurl=

 

[SnowRider]

mt sunapee has opened everysingle snowmaking trail, two mogul fields, a park, a mini park. that seems ok to me considering they did it in two weeks or less.

 

[Vortex]

Well...I give Loon a nod here as well. The plan is always burry a trail before moving on. Sometimes expansion is slower, but coverage is always good considering the volume of skiers. Ow SR IMO has no peer though..

 

[rob56789]

Windham has been doing great with there sowmaking everytime i go up there its been better than the last.

 

[andyzee]

I think the two biggest powerhouses are Hunter and Killington. However to be fair, Hunter has less terrain to cover. I think the snowmaking that Killington has done this season has been unmatched by other mountains. Taking into consideration the conditions, the amount of terrain they have been able to open is remarkable.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

As far as shear size of their systems, kmart, SR and Okemo are at the head of the class. I recently read that SR has 2000 guns.

 

[andyzee]

As far as shear size of their systems, kmart, SR and Okemo are at the head of the class. I recently read that SR has 2000 guns.

Yeah, but do they have the power to use those 2000 guns simultaneously? Don't quote me on it, but I think Killington has stated the most guns they can use at one time is something like 200

 

[ga2ski]

Andy - Of course they can't use all 2000 guns at once. I believe the number is 170-200 at a time. I have been to K only once this season and they make alot of snow because they have a lot of trails, but not sure the quality of the conditions are the same as "lil sis".

 

[snoseek]

i ski an even mix of both sunday river and killington. I think killington has a more$$ system, but sunday river is pretty close in power and can bounce back from bad weather twice as fast. This year i think sr has been alot better conditions than killington, but will spend more time at killington when it finally decides to start snowing.

 

[56fish]

Hunter, K and, 7 Springs - home of HKD.

 

[Newpylong]

Sunday River and Killington hands down. Possibly Okemo but given the mellowness to their terrain they come second. Hunter too, but its so much smaller it can't compare (because you could throw others in like Jiminy)...

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

There are certainly a lot of places pulling out all the snowmaking stops this season (out of necessity). K-mart's done a great job, Crotched (although only from looking from the road) has done outstanding, Stratton has layed down plenty, and I'm certain Okemo, Sunapee, Loon, etc, have all risen to the occation.

The problem I see with this discussion is that it's all subjective. Yes. Killington has the "Largest". Well, they better. They have the most acreage to cover. The most guns, doesn't mean the most capacity. A smaller resort might be able to make more snow in a given period of time.

A much smaller place, like the Crotch, can damn near bury the hill in a short time, yet runs with many fewer guns.

Now I'm not a snowmaker, but do know a little about the process. The snowmaking capacity is ultimately limited by the out put of the pumphouse(s). If resort A can pump 1000GPM and resort B can pump 1500GPM, then Resort B should be able to make more snow than resort A.

So how do we include the smaller operations? Divide the Pumphouse output by the skiable acres.

You do this and I think you'll see that the Crotchs, Jimminiminiminny's , the Mount Why-choose-it's and the B'Easts rise to the top. (Not to ake anything away from the big guys.)

 

[Greg]

You do this and I think you'll see that the Crotchs, Jimminiminiminny's , the Mount Why-choose-it's and the B'Easts rise to the top. (Not to ake anything away from the big guys.)

Don't have anything other than experience to back this up, but Berkshire East doesn't seem to me to fall into the overly agressive snowmaking camp...

 

[Newpylong]

Don't have anything other than experience to back this up, but Berkshire East doesn't seem to me to fall into the overly agressive snowmaking camp...

I was going to say, Berkshire East????

I think the nail was hit on the head: Killington has the most acreage to cover so they better have a large system... that's why I nominated them.... in my opinion this constitutes the mother of all systems to me... the most terrain one must cover...the combination of pipes, guns, water supply, air supply, etc. So far they have 67 miles of terrain available, and you can take off probably 15 of that for Pico... which puts them roughly tied with Sugarbush for mileage at 50 or so. Keep in mind Sugarbush is 100% open and has gotten significantly more snow this year than Killington and it shows how much snow they really have made. Okemo? 33 miles.... Sunday River? 41...