Opening Day

I continue to get lots of questions about when opening day will be. We are making snow every chance we get and will open as soon as we possibly can.................................hopefully before our friends on the East side of the pass. As soon as I know, you will know.

More Snow Shots

Just went for an afternoon ride on Black Mountain Express and hiked down High Noon to check out the snowmaking and the new natural snow. Looking good. Current temeprature is 41 degrees in the base area. Rest assured, we will be making snow anytime that wet bulb temp drops below 28 F. On another note, John, our IT specialist, just fixed the Snow Plume Refuge webcam. If you look right now there are several mountain goats hanging out at the top of Norway. You can see the photo of the goats on our website at Mountain Snapshots.

Snowing This Morning

NICE !!!

And So It Begins

The Snowmakers got off to a great start last night. I saw them just after dawn this morning. Although they looked a little tired, their faces were beaming, knowing it had been a great evening. The wet bulb temp was down to 23 F at Mid-mountain. All guns were cranking. I am not sure we will be able to go all day, but the forecast for making snow again tonight looks good.

A Change in the Weather

As I look out the window snow is falling as it has been off and on all day. The forecast for tonight looks good for snowmaking. Right now the wet bulb temperature is 30 degrees F. As soon as the wet bulb temperature drops below 28 degreess, we'll fire up the snowmaking system. A wet bulb temperature actually takes regular temperature and relative humid into account. The lower the relative hudimidity, the better the snowmaking condition. As an example, an air temperature of 32 F and RH of 60%, gives a wet bulb of 28F. Under those conditions we'd start snowmaking even though regular air temperature is still only 32 F. From the pictures you can see the place is getting a little bit whiter.

Kid Stop

The Black Mountain Express will be the first lift in the United States with the Leitner Poma product called "Kid Stop." They have been used successfully in Europe and Canada. The Kid Stop rests on a person's thighs and provides a slightly snugger fit on the chairlift. It does bend upward to accommodate larger people. At no point is a there an awkward or tight fit. It is designed to help kids and parents feel a little more comfortable while riding the lift. Since the lift is only 3 minutes long we chose to exclude foot rests.

Black Mountain Express Is Turning

The chairs are on and she is turning. We completed our final load test with the Tramway Board and the Forest Service yesterday. We'll spend the next week buffing out the final details and the lift will be ready to go by the time we get some snow on the ground.

Snowmaking?

Sort of. Not really. The snowmakers were out today training and doing their final testing. All systems are go. It is hard to complain about this incredible weather. Be patient. We'll be making snow soon.