Snowmaking and Terrain Expansion Thread (2024-2025)

[chuckstah]

the report says 5" up top. probably cement but good base building snow. some more tonite/tomorrow. lifts on hold for icing.

K & SR are still the only resorts open daily. waterville still doing the race camps (public 11/30). bretton & the ny state (on the taxpayers dime) resorts reopen this weekend. pretty amazing that bellayre is open. all others are on holding patterns. looking at the snowmaking windows, though i'm sure they all have their finger on the trigger, doubt anyone else opens before tgiving at best. thinking ttb at K friday.

To add to this, Jay Peak will be open tomorrow, for just one day, with daily ops starting next Friday. The Jet is buried. They claim they will have skiing for all abilities. We shall see.

[newpylong1]

Yes for Waterville the company who installed the lift (MND) licensed the detachable technology from the Bartholet group, but they stopped the partnership last year. Not sure how this effects ongoing support, but that will remain the one and only MND lift in the US for sure.

Waterville gambled because they are cheap. They have tons of European Sufag snowmaking gear because they are cheap. They put in a T-Bar in High Country because they are cheap, just like reusing a 4300 ft fixed grip triple for Green Peak.

[Southside_Bobby]

Pretty amazing that Belleayre is open.

I was debating going there tomorrow, with limited terrain off the Hawk.

Now I am hearing they have 18+ inches so far, with more tonight.

Not debating any longer.

Belleayre 11-22-24 a.JPG (93.3 KiB) Viewed 1152 times

Belleayre 11-22-24 b.JPG (118.24 KiB) Viewed 1152 times

[Ragged#1]

impressive indeed. not sure they've outdone what we've done overall including supe, but they've certainly outdone SR. and yeah maybe the answer is more fanguns. apparently there is money in race training.

I hope they have outdone SR. High country is more than 1000' higher elevation than the top of SR, forget about the top of Locke. The snowmaking buid out they did up there also sits ofairly unique high elevation terrain that has been cut basically wide open. Snow you make up there drops on trail and not trees due to that cut. And they have to get a good depth down, as the only lift up there now is a T-Bar on lookers right.

seems like the ideal setup for early season skiing. 400 vert ft served by a t-bar. maybe the size of snowshed but at 4000'. downside is they can't handle the volume in the NR. theoretically they should "win" every season. assuming you take the tecumseh express to get up & down - so no stairs.

It is the ideal setup and not just because of the High Country terrain. If needed they can take a second step down from there with the Northside double before expanding on towards the base . Those North side trails hold snow quite well.

After only skiing WV once since the 80s, I've really enjoyed it the past few seasons I've had the Indy Pass. Very manageable crowds on Saturdays. Only real complaint is they should have gone with a HSQ for the Green Peak expansion. That's a long, slow ride on the old triple they moved over there. The parking setup also kinda sucks.

Lots of potential though if they ever follow through with the village gondola and further terrain expansion on Green.

The Northside double is slated to be removed and not replaced on their master plan. But they had done just that back when they played the early open game for the public. Opened on High Country and added Northside before linking all the way back to base. Green having a HSQ would have been nice, but the FGT helps keep the glades on Green in decent shape. Their HSS will be interesting to see how it ages, being that it is an orphan type of lift now already.

Removing Northside double would be step in the wrong direction. Early season makes tons of sense over there and the pod is some of the better skiing on the mountain. Shame they don’t wanna keep it running often.

[ski]

Yes for Waterville the company who installed the lift (MND) licensed the detachable technology from the Bartholet group, but they stopped the partnership last year. Not sure how this effects ongoing support, but that will remain the one and only MND lift in the US for sure.

Waterville gambled because they are cheap. They have tons of European Sufag snowmaking gear because they are cheap. They put in a T-Bar in High Country because they are cheap, just like reusing a 4300 ft fixed grip triple for Green Peak.

How nice would a "cheap" T-bar be instead of the Stairway to Hell

[deadheadskier]

I actually like the summit T Bar at WV. It can be windy as hell up there and T bars are just rare and a treat. Glad they chose it instead of a new chair.

[Mister Moose]

How nice would a "cheap" T-bar be instead of the Stairway to Hell

How expensive would the permitting be at 3,900 - 4,100 feet?

[newpylong1]

It's a non-starter. They would never be allowed to cut a new line. So that leaves alongside K1 on Cascade or up Downdraft - and they aren't going to try to jam a 500 foot T-Bar in there for 2 weeks a year in average.

[snoloco]

The stairs were supposed to be a fail-safe, like the Locke mid station at SR. Not the operational norm until late-November. If they'd put in the same effort on snowmaking that they did before the pandemic, then they'd have shorter timeframes using the stairs, and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[newpylong1]

They sand bag just to piss you off Temple Jr.

[asher2789]

The stairs were supposed to be a fail-safe, like the Locke mid station at SR. Not the operational norm until late-November. If they'd put in the same effort on snowmaking that they did before the pandemic, then they'd have shorter timeframes using the stairs, and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

this year they never had the temps to go top to bottom. only now, with the recent snowfall, is it possible. killington doesnt control the weather. im sure if it was up to solimano it would snow a foot every night and be bluebird every day with no wind and perfect temperatures. but this isnt colorado, its vermont. during global warming. and burlington leads the country in terms of change in average temperature, it is up over 8ºF since the 1970s.

Historical opening dates at Killington Resort

2024/25: Nov. 14

2023/24: Nov. 3

2022/23: Nov. 17

2021/22: Nov. 5

2020/21: Nov. 20

2019/20: Nov. 3

2018/19: Oct. 19

2017/18: Nov. 8

2016/17: Oct. 25

2015/16: Oct. 18

2014/15: Nov. 3

2013/14: Oct. 23

2012/13: Oct. 13

2011/12: Oct. 29

2010/11: Nov. 2

2009/10: Nov. 7

2008/09: Nov. 2-6, Nov. 19

2007/08: Nov. 16

2006/07: Nov. 23

2005/06: Oct. 29-30; Nov. 19

2004/05: Nov. 9:

2003/04: Nov. 10

2002/03: Oct. 25

2001/02: Nov. 6

2000/01: Oct. 29

1999/00: Oct. 25

1998/99: Oct. 22

1997/98: Oct. 1

1996/97: Oct. 4

1995/96: Oct. 17

1994/95: Oct. 3

1993/94: Oct. 1

1992/93: Oct. 1

1991/92: Oct. 21

1990/91: Oct. 27

1989/90: Oct. 10

1988/89: Oct. 13

1987/88: Oct. 12

from https://mountaintimes.info/2024/11/20/s ... on-nov-14/

so for the last 6 years weve opened in november, half of them in mid november, and youre mad youre taking the stairs when theyve not even been open for two whole weeks yet? dude go work harder or win the lottery or something and go be a rich person somewhere else where the snow conditions and lifts meet your liking, or better yet just go heli ski around the world and change the weather like you change your underwear. because clearly you cant be happy with what youve got here...

[Mister Moose]

... because clearly you cant be happy with what youve got here...

Asher mic drop moment.

[wtf021]

The stairs were supposed to be a fail-safe, like the Locke mid station at SR. Not the operational norm until late-November. If they'd put in the same effort on snowmaking that they did before the pandemic, then they'd have shorter timeframes using the stairs, and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

this year they never had the temps to go top to bottom. only now, with the recent snowfall, is it possible. killington doesnt control the weather. im sure if it was up to solimano it would snow a foot every night and be bluebird every day with no wind and perfect temperatures. but this isnt colorado, its vermont. during global warming. and burlington leads the country in terms of change in average temperature, it is up over 8ºF since the 1970s.

Historical opening dates at Killington Resort

2024/25: Nov. 14

2023/24: Nov. 3

2022/23: Nov. 17

2021/22: Nov. 5

2020/21: Nov. 20

2019/20: Nov. 3

2018/19: Oct. 19

2017/18: Nov. 8

2016/17: Oct. 25

2015/16: Oct. 18

2014/15: Nov. 3

2013/14: Oct. 23

2012/13: Oct. 13

2011/12: Oct. 29

2010/11: Nov. 2

2009/10: Nov. 7

2008/09: Nov. 2-6, Nov. 19

2007/08: Nov. 16

2006/07: Nov. 23

2005/06: Oct. 29-30; Nov. 19

2004/05: Nov. 9:

2003/04: Nov. 10

2002/03: Oct. 25

2001/02: Nov. 6

2000/01: Oct. 29

1999/00: Oct. 25

1998/99: Oct. 22

1997/98: Oct. 1

1996/97: Oct. 4

1995/96: Oct. 17

1994/95: Oct. 3

1993/94: Oct. 1

1992/93: Oct. 1

1991/92: Oct. 21

1990/91: Oct. 27

1989/90: Oct. 10

1988/89: Oct. 13

1987/88: Oct. 12

from https://mountaintimes.info/2024/11/20/s ... on-nov-14/

so for the last 6 years weve opened in november, half of them in mid november, and youre mad youre taking the stairs when theyve not even been open for two whole weeks yet? dude go work harder or win the lottery or something and go be a rich person somewhere else where the snow conditions and lifts meet your liking, or better yet just go heli ski around the world and change the weather like you change your underwear. because clearly you cant be happy with what youve got here...

They had the temps and the window, they just didn’t have the capacity to do so simultaneously for both the customers and the WC.
Maybe with the conversion from diesel to electric compressors, mentioned in the other thread, they will have the capacity to do so in the future.

[skiadikt]

The stairs were supposed to be a fail-safe, like the Locke mid station at SR. Not the operational norm until late-November. If they'd put in the same effort on snowmaking that they did before the pandemic, then they'd have shorter timeframes using the stairs, and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

and at SR - "Cascades is currently open for skiing, but be advised that walking is required to make it back to Barker Basin. Our patrol team highly recommends downloading via the Locke Mountain Triple."

the horse has been beaten to a pulp many times on this. the "effort" is there. you don't think they wanna get ttb asap. given the demands for WC, there have been no real opportunities to get ttb and keep it open. also GN through lower bunny is over twice as long as t2>cascade and has some unfavorable exposures. a long shot at best, they could have "painted" it with it quickly melting out. as it is they barely got UEF open. and yeah their priorities have changed. they no longer throw good money after bad.

once again like or not, at this point K has made more snow than anyone else. maybe you should be bitching to FIS and mother nature.

[machski]

The stairs were supposed to be a fail-safe, like the Locke mid station at SR. Not the operational norm until late-November. If they'd put in the same effort on snowmaking that they did before the pandemic, then they'd have shorter timeframes using the stairs, and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

and at SR - "Cascades is currently open for skiing, but be advised that walking is required to make it back to Barker Basin. Our patrol team highly recommends downloading via the Locke Mountain Triple."

the horse has been beaten to a pulp many times on this. the "effort" is there. you don't think they wanna get ttb asap. given the demands for WC, there have been no real opportunities to get ttb and keep it open. also GN through lower bunny is over twice as long as t2>cascade and has some unfavorable exposures. a long shot at best, they could have "painted" it with it quickly melting out. as it is they barely got UEF open. and yeah their priorities have changed. they no longer throw good money after bad.

once again like or not, at this point K has made more snow than anyone else. maybe you should be bitching to FIS and mother nature.

Just got back in from skiing SR. Yup, Cascade you could "slide" down to the entrance to the old Over Easy cut trail and then it was walking from there. There is some minimal snow coverage below that but not enough to ski/ride on. That said, the summit is quite a bit colder and I could hear guns firing atop Barker as I hiked out. Won't happen down to Barker basin for a while yet, too warm down there. Hope K is firing up as well, seems further West you go with this systenm, the colder it gets.