Thursday, July 31, 2014

Snowmaking Outlook

The snowmaking outlook for the coming season is very good. The amount of water available to us for snowmaking is directly related to how much water is in the North Fork of the Snake River. The more  water in the stream, the more water available for snowmaking. Going all the way back to February of 2013, we have had consistently snowy or rainy weather. The current streamflow is still high for this time of year and it is still raining. We anticipate very productive snowmaking and a great start to the 2014-15 season.

We are allowed to divert water for snowmaking September 1 through December 31. Once the water reaches a minimum level, .5 cfs near the bottom of Pali, we can no longer divert water and have to stop snowmaking. That usually occurs towards the end of December. The stream level drops well below .5cfs January through March. Our snowmaking never draws the stream down to a level even close to the low level it reaches naturally during the January - March period.  

We still have a lot of summer to enjoy. I am resting easily knowing we will kick next season off in a grand fashion. Soak up every ounce of these long, beautiful summer days.