Snow making news from Sunday River and Boyne

[Vortex]

http://www.sunjournal.com/news/oxfo...river-invests-1m-new-snow-making-guns/1233776


“Snow-making is certainly the difference between a bad season and a good season, which is exactly what we saw last winter,” Bullen said. “Anyone can make snow. Last year’s success came down to us choosing to make snow when other resorts couldn’t or wouldn’t.”


pretty good quote IMO. Can't wait from October.

 

[Nick]

Yup, late season with Sugarloaf blasting the guns is what made the summit possible at all.

 

[skinowworklater]

Speaks volumes about their commitment to the skier/rider and the quality of the snow they produce, and when they produce it!

 

[thetrailboss]

Interesting and good to hear. One thing that was not clear was the comment about a "hurricane producing rain" that closed resorts. Are they referring to Irene? If so, SR let Killington open first and I don't know of any other specific resorts that were delayed in opening due to Irene. IIRC the issue for most was the warm weather.

 

[deadheadskier]

There was some pretty bad rains in April that killed off pretty much everyone but Jay. Maybe they were referring to that? dunno

 

[thetrailboss]

That's what I was wondering. I didn't think that was a hurricane.

 

[drjeff]

That's what I was wondering. I didn't think that was a hurricane.

Technically by the time that Irene made landfall on the CT Coast, "she" had already been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm (not that that technicality made any difference with the immense amount of damage that ensued), so none of New England actually was affected by a true hurricane last year. Not that any ski area marketing department would ever "massage the message"

 

[WWF-VT]

"But Sunday River was able to pick up extra business from resorts in Vermont that were unable to stay open after heavy rains from a hurricane struck that state. "

That's just bad reporting, Tropical Storm Irene was in the fall and had nothing to do with early closings in VT this spring. Lower than average snowfall, above average temperatures combined with a stretch of days with 70 and 80 degree temps resulted in an early closing for a lot of resorts this spring.

 

[thetrailboss]

"But Sunday River was able to pick up extra business from resorts in Vermont that were unable to stay open after heavy rains from a hurricane struck that state. "

That's just bad reporting, Tropical Storm Irene was in the fall and had nothing to do with early closings in VT this spring. Lower than average snowfall, above average temperatures combined with a stretch of days with 70 and 80 degree temps resulted in an early closing for a lot of resorts this spring.

That was my point (and question).

 

[AdironRider]

Is this even news? Sounds like a marketing promo to me.

 

[bdfreetuna]

Calling it a hurricane is more acceptable than calling it by it's true name... global warming.

 

[riverc0il]

Calling it a hurricane is more acceptable than calling it by it's true name... global warming.

:roll:

Not a climate change denier but I gotta call you out on that one. Increasing global temperatures should produce stronger storms more frequently, that is accepted scientific fact. But you pretty much just equated any strong and devastating storm to man induced climate change and you also essentially said that Irene wouldn't have happened if we reset society to the 1800s. Fact is, a lot of strong and powerful storms have happened in the history of this planet. And it is just absolutely silly to attribute a single storm to climate change. That is just nuts. You're just playing into the hands of the deniers by using that type of emotional and illogical statement.

What you could attribute to climate change is a sustained trend of storms significantly increasing quantity and power. I don't know what the data is on that, but that type of trend you might be able to attribute to climate change.

 

[deadheadskier]

:roll:

What you could attribute to climate change is a sustained trend of storms significantly increasing quantity and power. I don't know what the data is on that, but that type of trend you might be able to attribute to climate change.

The prediction for such storms was in full affect after Katrina, but outside of a few isolated localized events (like Irene in VT) the amount of devastating storms in the US has been relatively benign since that time. I lived in Florida the summer of 2004, which was perhaps the worst hurricane season on record for the state with Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne causing massive damage. Nothing since has been remotely as bad.

Truthfully I think droughts in America's bread basket are a bigger concern than major storms and rising sea levels. Maybe not in terms of immediate economic catastrophes, but certainly in terms of long term economic / life quality concern for all US citizens.

 

[Vortex]

Cross post from the River Board From Darcy.

I think its News. News is quite often marketing too.



Hi all,

Below is a press release which was released this week to various media. Hopefully this will answer some questions about what is new for the coming year.

I know many of you are wondering about new glades and Trail 72 - both are still part of our Five-Year Vision, but not part of this year's capital investment plan. I think you'll agree, last winter, snowmaking was the difference between a bad season and a great one, and allowed us to provide an unmatched guest experience. While we are certainly the best in the business at making snow, continuing to invest into snowmaking is essential for Sunday River’s future success and will enable us to commit to other future investments as outlined in our Five-Year Vision in the coming years.
Hope this helps answer some questions.
Sincerely,
Darcy
PS: I am signing off for the evening but will be back tomorrow. Life with a 5 month old is busy!
[h=3]Sunday River Invests $2.7 Million in Capital Enhancements for the 2012/2013 Season[/h]
Newry, ME (Winter 2012/2013)—New this year, guests at Sunday River will see $2.7 million in capital enhancements thanks to the generous support of its parent company Boyne Resorts. Those resort enhancements, which impact skiers and snowboarders directly, include the purchase of 300 new energy efficient snowguns, two new groomers, a new Kid’s Adventure Trail, and two new real estate developments.


-More Snowmaking:
This winter, Sunday River will allocate $1 million of its $2.7 million capital enhancement budget to the purchase of 300 new HKD SV10 Impulse guns—a project also made possible via a $300k grant by Efficiency Maine.
Known for having the most technically advanced snowmaking system in the East, Sunday River’s new snowguns will cover some of the resort’s most popular trails, including Moonstruck, Ecstasy, Monday Mourning, Lazy River, and Grand Rapids.

(Personal note: Here is the full list: Moonstruck, Green Cheese, Assumption, Monday Mourning, Ecstasy, Lazy River, Lower Lazy River, Sundance, Grand Rapids, Downdraft, Dream Maker (upper part), Sensation, Paradigm, and Northern Lights.)


Part of Sunday River’s Five-Year Vision, this $1 million dollar investment moves the resort closer to its goal of doubling its water capacity and pump capability all while becoming more energy efficient.

-Better Grooming:
Last winter, Sunday River opened before Halloween and stayed open until mid-April. Synonymous with state-of-the-art snowmaking and unsurpassed slope conditions, the resort will add to this reputation with the investment of two new PistenBully 400 grooming machines with “Alpenflex” tillers, designed to create a better corduroy surface than any other groomer.
This purchase marks the second year that Sunday River has partnered with PistenBully; the resort purchased two PistenBully 400s in 2011.


-Real Estate Developments:
Until this season, Sunday River has not seen an on-mountain real estate project since the townhomes in Tempest Ridge were built in 2006. Today, in addition to a second phase of the Tempest Ridge townhouses, Sunday River Real Estate is offering not one but two new real estate developments—The Glades at Ridge Run located off of the Ridge Run trail and Village Off The Green located at the Sunday River Golf Club.
The Glades at Ridge Run will include 13 single home ski-in/ski-out lots each sized at a little over one acre. With direct access to the popular South Ridge base area, these centrally located lots are perfect for the family interested in being near all of the action.
The second development, Village Off The Green, will include nine single home lots ranging between three and four acres in size and provide stunning views of the award-winning golf course and surrounding mountains.

Finally, the second phase of the area’s Tempest Ridge development currently underway includes 12 new townhomes. The Tempest Ridge development is located on the Tempest and Road Runner trails near the White Cap base area; townhomes being built for the second phase are on sale now.


-Kid’s Adventure Trail:
For little rippers who want to tackle some off-trail skiing and snowboarding, Sunday River is designing a Kid’s Adventure Trail. The Kid’s Adventure Trail will start near the mid-mountain Peak Lodge on North Peak and travel down to the South Ridge base area, becoming part of the resort’s winter and summer activities.
In the winter, kids can schuss down the trail and take advantage of fun stops along the way, including Eddy the Yeti’s new log home and the resort’s Twin Zips. Come summer, educational signage will be added to the trail so families on foot can learn about the flora and fauna around them as they hike together or look for treasures while geocaching.
Part of Sunday River’s “Camp Sunday,” the Kid’s Adventure Trail moves the resort closer to its five-year plan to develop the resort’s 10,000-acre footprint with more family-friendly year-round activities.

For more information on Sunday River, visit www.sundayriver.com. To view Sunday River's Five-Year Vision, use this link: http://www.sundayriver.com/future/index.html.



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