Killington skiing into June.!

[Jcb890]

Why make snow when you have 5' of natural in feb. Most places arent going for june. Actually no other place is

I was just curious if other mountains were making snow as well. I would just assume they would still blow some snow to keep the base building on days/weeks where there is no snow.

Waste of money for pretty much any ski area in New England to have made snow for the past month with all the natural we've had and especially with skier visits down from the cold weather. Only place it makes sense is Killington.

Without having to spend any money on snow-making this season, New England mountains must be raking in the cash this winter.

 

[deadheadskier]

Not with the attendance being reported. It was apparently a terrible Holiday week despite all the snow. Too cold. MLK and Xmas were off too based on bad conditions.

 

[slatham]

I think a good part of the reason there hasn't been much snowmaking since MLK weekend - besides the obvious plethora of natural and lack of need to resurface - is that with the new high efficiency guns areas were able to put down the budgeted amount of snow over their targeted terrain much, much quicker. For instance, Bromley was done pre-MLK and actually linked hoses together to stretch onto several "non" snowmaking trains to have them covered for MLK too. Since then I've seen nothing, though I am sure they are adding to base depth here and there so they can keep core terrain open into April (recall they face south).

 

[slatham]

"Without having to spend any money on snow-making this season, New England mountains must be raking in the cash this winter."

To my point above, I think most areas spent a significant portion of their snowmaking budget well before the Feb snows. So I suggest they only saved money from not having to do a resurface or two post a thaw. The core of the budget was spent pre-MLK to get all terrain open.

The real question is did they get their trails all covered using less money due to the new guns?

 

[Jcb890]

Not with the attendance being reported. It was apparently a terrible Holiday week despite all the snow. Too cold. MLK and Xmas were off too based on bad conditions.

I guess I'm in the minority of people who almost never get cold during a day of riding. 0* for a high with wind chills of -30*... I was the guy in the lift line taking my gloves off because my hands were too warm.:smile:

Just gotta make sure you bundle up properly and the cold should not be much of a problem.

 

[deadheadskier]

I'm with you. Rarely do I get cold as an adult. When I was a kid I did though. Kids do make up a large percentage of the sport's participants.

Lengthy discussion here on weather affecting area attendance.

http://www.forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php?t=135720

 

[Jcb890]

I'm with you. Rarely do I get cold as an adult. When I was a kid I did though. Kids do make up a large percentage of the sport's participants.

Lengthy discussion here on weather affecting area attendance.

http://www.forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php?t=135720

Yeah, it makes sense. My wife (new to boarding this year) also is not a fan of the cold and hasn't lasted a full day. I'm sure it drives some away. But, to those of us who love the winter and the cold, this is awesome. I love it. Sure, it sucks having to snowblow a ton, but hey, it means good snow up North and good riding. I say bring it on

 

[dlague]

I guess I'm in the minority of people who almost never get cold during a day of riding. 0* for a high with wind chills of -30*... I was the guy in the lift line taking my gloves off because my hands were too warm.:smile:

Just gotta make sure you bundle up properly and the cold should not be much of a problem.

And .... do not ski runs that require little work. Bumps, trees, steeps etc. heat you up and are great to keep you warm on cold days!

 

[drjeff]

I think a good part of the reason there hasn't been much snowmaking since MLK weekend - besides the obvious plethora of natural and lack of need to resurface - is that with the new high efficiency guns areas were able to put down the budgeted amount of snow over their targeted terrain much, much quicker. For instance, Bromley was done pre-MLK and actually linked hoses together to stretch onto several "non" snowmaking trains to have them covered for MLK too. Since then I've seen nothing, though I am sure they are adding to base depth here and there so they can keep core terrain open into April (recall they face south).

Bingo!

Most ski areas now actually have a good idea, based on data from years past how much snow they'll need the majority of seasons to make it to a target closing day, and once they get to that volume of snow on a trail, unless it's likely before Presidents Week and the trail needs a quick "top dressing" before a big weekend, they'll be done with that trail snowmaking wise for the season and rely on the combo of natural snow and grooming to keep the snow surface nice for customers.

In the past there was a bunch more "let's just make a bunch of snow and see how long it lasts" and also costs at that time were far less, so if they made a bunch extra snow that just ended up melting out, no big deal.

Snowmaking for sure has a component of it that is an art, but there's also a heck of a lot more science behind it now that there used to be. And this February is a prime example of how many resorts knew that they've already hit their target base depths with the November through January typical snowmaking run, and are quite happy with that

 

[steamboat1]

I 2nd that. I hope the skiing community provides them enough business to justify their expense. That's the best way to ensure that it becomes the new norm.

(Clearly, their early season product has proven profitable.)

I think it's more dependant on weather. If they have a lot of sunny warm weekends late season it will pay off. If weekends are cold & wet a lot less people will show up.

 

[catsup948]

This may be the year I ski Killington in May.

 

[Jcb890]

This may be the year I ski Killington in May.

I've never even been in April. I think I'm going to have to go boarding there at least once in April and hopefully at least once in May.

I'll be up there in a couple of weeks and I'll have to remember to take some updated photos for the thread.

 

[chuckstah]

Snowmaking continues as of about 3 on th lower third of SS and also on problem areas such as th connecter from Skylark to lower Bitter. Mostly old school guns with a few snow logic mixed in. 4 snow logic guns still hammering the summit glacier. The giant pile with hoses over the trail is at SS summit. Access to Skyelark.

 

[deadheadskier]

What about skiers right at the bottom? That has been a problem area in the spring. They do have hydrants on that side of the trail they can use.

 

[chuckstah]

All guns are on skiers left, but it looks fairly deep all over. I could see skiers right melting out first once again. Never have seen those hydrants used.

 

[jimmywilson69]

Looking at Webcam hoses are extended all of the way to the far right 1/3 of trail

 

[chuckstah]

Lookers right from cam, skiers left.

 

[steamboat1]

It's all about the headwall. Once that melts out it's all over. Doesn't matter how much snow is left below that point. I've yet to see the bottom melt out before the top.

This was closing day a few years ago. Had to walk down the headwall, trail was wide open below that point.

 

[jimmywilson69]

they seem to be trying to alleviate that problem this year... not only is the pile high up top, but it appears to have basically grown the width of the trail over towards Skyehwak...

 

[freeski]

They're going full Festivus on SS this morning.
Blessed are those who turn spring back to winter for they are pretty f'n cool.