Inside The Motor Room

 Enjoy some photos from inside the almost completed LenX motor room.

A Chairlift?

That bottom terminal is starting to look like a chairlift.

 

5 Inches New

This has turned out to be a very nice October storm. We reported 5 inches of new snow overnight and may see 2 or 3 more inches during the day. Temperatures were in the low teens and the Snowmakers are cranking away on Ramrod. The precipitation has triggered a rise in streamflows and most of the next 10 days look like good snowmaking weather - at least at night. This is a good start to the season.

Winter In October

It has been a very wintery, pre-Halloween October day up at The Basin. With fun skiing on High Noon, it has snowed much of the day here. We have a snowcat working the Ramrod piles of snow. The next several nights appear to be good for snowmaking.

 

Terrain Park Features

The Snowmakers are putting some white stuff down just South of Black Mountain Lodge. We plan on installing a few park features here. The objective is to have that complete by the weekend.

More Ramrod Snowmaking Photos

 

Ramrod Snowmaking

Yesterday was a very fun opening day following by our best night snowmaking yet this season. The wet bulb temperature dropped into the single digits. The Snowmakers had a few guns still running on High Noon to buff that trail out. All of the Ramrod guns are running. We anticipate making snow throughout the day today and probably tomorrow also. Later in the week we may see another pop of natural snow. We will get Ramrod open before you know it.

Opening Day

I learned a long time ago, "Never underestimate peoples' desire to ski." Opening Day was a hoot. Skiers and riders loved High Noon. The tail gating started before dawn. Mug Club sold out. It snowed much of the day. Mostly, it was great to get the gang back here skiing and having fun.

Snowmakers and Cat Drivers

The Snowmakers and Cat Drivers are making this place look good.

 

Opening Day - Sunday

The time has come. We will open for the season Sunday, October 23 with Black Mountain Express and High Noon. The Snowmakers and Cat Drivers have done a tremendous job and the forecast for the coming week looks outstanding. Getting open brings a big smile to my face.

Opening Day 2020

Snowcat On The Hill

We have made almost enough snow to get High Noon open. The first snowcat has begun its work. The operator, Scott, will spread the snow around. This gives us a good sense of where we need to put the finishing touches of white stuff. Whenever you see the cat on the hill, it means we are getting close to opening day.

Progress On Thursday

 

Mid Mountain

 Early morning snowmaking images from Wednesday.

Tuesday Snowmaking

I just hiked/boot skied down High Noon. The snow is very good. Last night was cold with a wet bulb low of 19 F. We have made serious progress and are further along than I had expected. With snowmaking, the first couple nights are for practice and to test the system. The next few nights we start to make some real progress. And, after the last few nights, we have something to get excited about. No opening date has been set, but opening is clearly in sight. The forecast the next couple nights is marginal, but starting this weekend, the temperature drops down into the teens. It won't be long.

Also, I just read that two Minnesota ski areas opened for skiing. Congratulations to Wild Mountain and Andes Tower Hills for kicking off the season!!!  If you make snow and open a lift, they will come.

 

Still Snowmaking

We are still snowmaking.  Each night we make snow the closer and closer we get to skiing and riding.

 

Comm Lines

The two comm lines (formally the communication lines) have been installed on Lenawee Express. These lines extend from tower to tower between the heavy and light sides of the lift. They contain phone lines and they also contain intra-lift communication avenues. All chairlifts are loaded with lots of safeties and all of these safeties talk to the control system at the drive station. In case of LenX, the drive station is at the bottom of the lift.

 

Comm Lines

The two comm lines (formally the communication lines) have been installed on Lenawee Express. These lines extend from tower to tower between the heavy and light sides of the lift. They contain phone lines and they also contain intra-lift communication avenues. All chairlifts are loaded with lots of safeties and all of these safeties talk to the control system at the drive station. In case of LenX, the drive station is at the bottom of the lift.

 

Wet Bulb 23 F

The wet bulb temperature dropped down to 23 F this morning. The snowmakers are having a good session right now. The weather forecast for the week looks similar to what we saw last night. Each night we should come close to having snowmaking conditions. Odds are that we have a few decent nights. We are still not seeing that favored forecast of 72 hours of temperatures in the teens, but we will.

 

Wire Rope Has Arrived

This morning another issue that has been making me sweat has been resolved. The Lenawee Express wire rope arrived at The Basin about 10 AM. While most of the new chairlift is manufactured in Grand Junction, a few critical parts and pieces do come from Europe. The 8,000+' rope was manufactured in France. As near as I can tell, it took 6-8 laps around the Atlantic Ocean before it arrived in Eastern Canada. After clearing Canadian and US customs, it was transported via flatbed truck to A-Basin. And another WHEW!

 

Crane Is Off The Top

Building Lenawee Express, there are a few things that really make me sweat. To start, building the lift is a 6 month project and the road to the Summit is only open about 3 1/2 months. It doesn't take much snow and wind to make the last 1/2 mile impassible. So, getting all the lift equipment and heavy machinery to The Basin, to The Summit and fully assembled were some nerve racking tasks. I am very relieved to say all the big work is done and the crane came down the hill. Obviously, there is a lot more to do, but the Summit construction activities that would be thwarted by heavy snowfall are complete. Whew!

 

More Than A Test

The snowmakers fired up about 2:30 this morning. The wet bulb temperature dropped down to 26 F. We have 15 guns running. This is not incredible snowmaking, but it is pretty good. In the next few days, we may see some additional snowmaking windows. This morning was more than just a test.

 

From The Top

 

One Block At A time

 

Loveland, Copper Snowmaking

Loveland and Copper Mountain had a nice jump on snowmaking Tuesday night. We kind of just kissed the right temperature, but didn't really get cold enough for a meaningful effort. As always this time of year, we will be watching the weather every single night. When the temps say go, you can be sure that we will be making snow.

 

More LenX Images

 

Another Big Step

It took a huge crane, a couple of loaders, a couple of tele handlers, an excavator, a semi-truck and lots of other trucks to get all this equipment to the Summit. Watching the crane set these big pieces is always exciting. Kudos to the teams from A-Basin, Leitner Poma and all of our other contractors that made this happen.

Top Terminal

If all goes well, these top terminal pieces will look like a lift terminal soon.