Snow guns are on in NJ

[Rob A]

I'm amazed, but it seems Mtn Creek turned on the snow guns last night. I can't recall a time when they had the guns on in November. Pretty good sign, maybe they will actually attempt to get more than just piddly trails open on the 8th? Atleast it seems that way.

 

[millerm277]

Which mountain? South/Bear or Vernon?

 

[JesusBuiltMyCrotchRod]

A good sign, but don't be fooled by marketing hype. My friend lives in the condos and they only have a handful of fan guns on at South/Bear, nothing at Vernon. SOmething to do with electric reasons, but compressors don't get started until after 12/1.

 

[ERJ-145CA]

I was up at Hidden Valley today and asked when they think they'll open and they said as soon as they can start making snow consistently. Judging from this long range forecast it looks like it will be good after Wed. 11/28 or Thurs. 11/29.

http://www.accuweather.com/forecast-15day.asp?partner=netweather&traveler=1&zipcode=07462&metric=0

 

[Rob A]

A good sign, but don't be fooled by marketing hype. My friend lives in the condos and they only have a handful of fan guns on at South/Bear, nothing at Vernon. SOmething to do with electric reasons, but compressors don't get started until after 12/1.

Ah, I was hoping they were blowing at Vernon and Granite. Oh well, guess they aren't preparing to have more terrain open on opening day afterall, probably just piddly stuff like Horizon and maybe a run in Great Northern.

 

[ERJ-145CA]

It's not NJ but it's very close. Mt. Peter in Warwick, NY started making snow last night too.

 

[Method9455]

my rule of thumb has been, when the pictures show blue fan guns it is south and bear, yellow it is vernon. It seems to hold true. Note also the picture zooms in on the gun, not on their progress, I wouldn't expect anything other than their usual opening, just hopefully sooner. I guess they are feeling the pressure with Boulder having 5 trails already, and Blue & Camelback not far behind.

 

[ERJ-145CA]

Hidden Valley started making snow last night. Here is the photo of the day from their website:

 

[polski]

Hidden Valley started making snow last night.

Very happy to see this at my long-ago "home" mountain, especially considering that earlier this year they seemed to have one foot in NELSAP and the other on a banana peel. Anyone know what the ownership situation is now? All I could find via Google were a few references to several recent failed efforts to sell the area, including one via eBay.

 

[ERJ-145CA]

It was bought by a couple of guys from Newton, NJ. They are skiers and want to revitalize and improve the mountain. I think they also want to build a hotel and create a summer sports camp there but they may be limited by the Highlands act which limits development in the area. The previous owner had his snowguns repossesed during the summer, apparently the new owners aquired new guns recently.

 

[Dr Skimeister]

Mountain Creek Blows

Snow guns going this morning at Mountain Creek. Seems to be at the part formerly known as Vernon Valley.

 

[polski]

The previous owner had his snowguns repossesed during the summer

You can have my snow guns when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers. heh

Anyway, thanks for the update. If I were the new owners I wouldn't try to get overly ambitious ... I wish them luck though.

 

[Rob A]

Ah Damn MC. The live snow report says they are blowing snow on only green terrain on Vernon. No way do I waste my time on opening weekend with that as the only selection. Hopefully they intend to get the other stuff going ASAP.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Ah Damn MC. The live snow report says they are blowing snow on only green terrain on Vernon. No way to I waste my time on opening weekend with that as the only selection. Hopefully they intend to get the other stuff going ASAP.

Vernon Valley/Great Gorge has such crappy snowmaking compared to the Poconos..

 

[Dr Skimeister]

Vernon Valley/Great Gorge has such crappy snowmaking compared to the Poconos..

Obviously you haven't been there since Intrawest took over.

Believe me, I'm not a fan of Mountain Creek (formerly VV/GG). My dislike rises so much more from the crowds and rude people than from the man-made. Intrawest installed a new, greatly improved snowmaking system when they took over the property.

Of course it's NJ, so freeze/thaw is a given. Plus the zillions of novice skiers/riders will scrape the place up pretty quickly. But the snow that they blow is decent as long as it's in it's original frozen form.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Obviously you haven't been there since Intrawest took over.

Believe me, I'm not a fan of Mountain Creek (formerly VV/GG). My dislike rises so much more from the crowds and rude people than from the man-made. Intrawest installed a new, greatly improved snowmaking system when they took over the property.

Of course it's NJ, so freeze/thaw is a given. Plus the zillions of novice skiers/riders will scrape the place up pretty quickly. But the snow that they blow is decent as long as it's in it's original frozen form.

Yeah Mountain Creek suffers from being a few degrees warmer than the Poconos..when was the last time they were 100 percent open? I'm going to hit up Mountain Creek sometime when I'm doing business in Newton..

 

[Rob A]

Obviously you haven't been there since Intrawest took over.

Believe me, I'm not a fan of Mountain Creek (formerly VV/GG). My dislike rises so much more from the crowds and rude people than from the man-made. Intrawest installed a new, greatly improved snowmaking system when they took over the property.

Of course it's NJ, so freeze/thaw is a given. Plus the zillions of novice skiers/riders will scrape the place up pretty quickly. But the snow that they blow is decent as long as it's in it's original frozen form.

Sorry but I have to agree with him. The snowmaking at Mtn Creek is almost embarrassing considering they have over 1000 snowguns. If their snowmaking system is so great, then why are they only blowing on on Horizon and Sugar Slope on Vernon right now? If their system was good, then they would be blowing on alot more than the horrendous beginner terrain at Vernon. No intermediate or advanced run has a gun on it, and Granite has no snowmaking at all at the moment. The temps allow, but they aren't blowing.

 

[Dr Skimeister]

Sorry but I have to agree with him. The snowmaking at Mtn Creek is almost embarrassing considering they have over 1000 snowguns. If their snowmaking system is so great, then why are they only blowing on on Horizon and Sugar Slope on Vernon right now? If their system was good, then they would be blowing on alot more than the horrendous beginner terrain at Vernon. No intermediate or advanced run has a gun on it, and Granite has no snowmaking at all at the moment. The temps allow, but they aren't blowing.

Maybe I should qualify my statement.

I have no idea how many guns Creek has or where they're placed. What I do know is the "quality" of the snow made since Intrawest took over is far superior to what Mulvahill had them making when it was still VV/GG.

I would guess that what trails have snowmaking now is forecast dependent. This is NJ. It wouldn't make sense to spend the bucks to make tons of snow now to see it melt in a week. I don't doubt they'll do everything they can to get as much coverage as possible for the Christmas school break.

Even the next week is calling for mixtures of snow and rain in McAfee.

 

[Rob A]

Maybe I should qualify my statement.

I have no idea how many guns Creek has or where they're placed. What I do know is the "quality" of the snow made since Intrawest took over is far superior to what Mulvahill had them making when it was still VV/GG.

I would guess that what trails have snowmaking now is forecast dependent. This is NJ. It wouldn't make sense to spend the bucks to make tons of snow now to see it melt in a week. I don't doubt they'll do everything they can to get as much coverage as possible for the Christmas school break.

Even the next week is calling for mixtures of snow and rain in McAfee.

Point is they are opening on Saturday. So they NEED to get the guns going now to make it worthwhile.

 

[JesusBuiltMyCrotchRod]

Intrawest installed the "greatly improved" snowmaking system nearly 10 years ago and by todays standards that system is no longer on the forefront of technology. In the midatlantic places like Big Boulder/JF, Sno Mountain have much more modern technology and it shows. Mountain Creek is all hype, and the fact that big boulder has been open for nearly 3 weeks is testament to how crappy the system is at Mountain Creek. BB is only a few degrees colder with a much better system...