That too. It might get reversed like other things that Q has done.
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Big Burke announcement
- Thread starter the original trailboss
- Start date
That too. It might get reversed like other things that Q has done.
VTKilarney
Well-known member
Snow report says that 25 guns are blowing. That's pretty much the same as last year before the "improvements ".
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MEtoVTSkier
Active member
They bought a booster pump for water, but haven't publicly stated doing anything about the increasing compressor capacity... Doesn't sound like they fired up the new fanguns either. You'd think that they'd want to brag about the new fanguns and how quickly/early they can open the training slope and therefore the Poma. Just think of all the extra schools/colleges they could attract to buy passes.
Oh wait...
Masskier
New member
There were 4 super pole cats going this morning around the mid Burke area. They really cover a large area. I didn't realize that they rotated.
Sweet. That will really help them. I know that they have that option.
I saw their posting earlier last week that bragged about 25 guns going and almost commented here because it seemed pretty weak when you consider that Sunday River had 300 going the same day. It's such a competitive market that it might have been better to just say that they were really working hard to open and had snowmaking going on X trails. That said, it is great that they give you such detail and they need to really work to earn back the credibility that Q has lost them.
VTKilarney
Well-known member
They promised better snowmaking this year. If they don't deliver its going to set their credibility back. So far it appears that they can't blow more snow, or at best can only marginally do so. 25 guns is what they could do last year.
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from_the_NEK
Active member
This week's forecast does not look good for a Dec 5th opening.
VTKilarney
Well-known member
I just tried to order 20 gift cards as part of their Cyber Monday promotion. Shipping is $100.
WTF.
WTF.
Seriously? $5 shipping per card?
VTKilarney
Well-known member
I would kindly write Ary a note explaining a stamped envelope is 62 cents and you opted to buy Visa gift cards from another vendor due to their unreasonable mark up
MEtoVTSkier
Active member
Thought that they were going to be able to do both at the same time with the new fans and pump?
VTKilarney
Well-known member
I've seen conflicting reports from Q Burke. Depending on which email you read, they are either opening lower Warren's Way first or they are opening Lower Willoughby first.
VTKilarney
Well-known member
Snowmaking stopped at 7:00 pm last night due to water levels. That's too bad. They missed a great window last night and this morning. It's in the teens as I type this.
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MEtoVTSkier
Active member
Really? After what little snow they've made so far? Thought they continually pumped into the pond when snow-making... Well, guess the hope of increased capacity with the new equipment isn't going to show as much improvement as hoped. Maybe with a another phase or two of the planned snow-making upgrades will pay bigger dividends.
VTKilarney
Well-known member
Here is what it looks like as far as I can tell:
They are following the traditional plan of making snow on Upper Willoughby, cutting over onto Bear's Den, and onto Lower Warren's Way. This will give them their first top to bottom offering on the main mountain. As of now, there does not appear to be any snow made on Lower Warren's Way, so they still have some work to do to get a top to bottom trail open.
If history is any indication, once they get that trail set up they will turn their attention to the lower mountain. They will get just about everything open on the lower mountain before they re-focus on the main hill. They need High Meadows open in order to connect the hotel with the lower mountain. They also seem to be convinced that they need the terrain park open for Christmas week, which takes quite a bit of snow. And of course they need the J-Bar hill open as well. So with only 25 guns going at a time, it's going to take a while to get the lower mountain set up.
A lot can happen between now and Christmas, including a lot of natural snowfall. But if we don't see any decent natural snow, and temperatures continue to be warmer than average, my guess is that they won't have more than two top to bottom trails open by Christmas - and quite possibly less than two full top to bottom runs. Hopefully I'm wrong about this, but it's definitely becoming a real concern.
Keep in mind that Ary promised that we would not see a repeat of last year. And while I am sympathetic to the issues with the weather, what rubs me the wrong way is that after assuring everyone that snowmaking would improve, I'm just not seeing any improvement to snowmaking capacity. I'd love to be proven wrong, but if 25 guns at one time is the best they can do, that doesn't seem to be any better than last year. Maybe they can do better on the lower hill compared to last year.
They are following the traditional plan of making snow on Upper Willoughby, cutting over onto Bear's Den, and onto Lower Warren's Way. This will give them their first top to bottom offering on the main mountain. As of now, there does not appear to be any snow made on Lower Warren's Way, so they still have some work to do to get a top to bottom trail open.
If history is any indication, once they get that trail set up they will turn their attention to the lower mountain. They will get just about everything open on the lower mountain before they re-focus on the main hill. They need High Meadows open in order to connect the hotel with the lower mountain. They also seem to be convinced that they need the terrain park open for Christmas week, which takes quite a bit of snow. And of course they need the J-Bar hill open as well. So with only 25 guns going at a time, it's going to take a while to get the lower mountain set up.
A lot can happen between now and Christmas, including a lot of natural snowfall. But if we don't see any decent natural snow, and temperatures continue to be warmer than average, my guess is that they won't have more than two top to bottom trails open by Christmas - and quite possibly less than two full top to bottom runs. Hopefully I'm wrong about this, but it's definitely becoming a real concern.
Keep in mind that Ary promised that we would not see a repeat of last year. And while I am sympathetic to the issues with the weather, what rubs me the wrong way is that after assuring everyone that snowmaking would improve, I'm just not seeing any improvement to snowmaking capacity. I'd love to be proven wrong, but if 25 guns at one time is the best they can do, that doesn't seem to be any better than last year. Maybe they can do better on the lower hill compared to last year.
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