Weather, Snow, Slope and Mountain Updates

The Inside Scoop from Mountain Operations Director, Steve Crowley

February 2, 2012

“Ain’t no sunshine when he’s gone, It’s not warm when he’s away, Ain’t no sunshine when he’s gone, And he’s always gone too long, Any time he goes away, I wonder this time where he’s gone….”  (BW ’71) 

There was no sunshine at the top of Eagle slope this morning and although Punxsutawney Phil may have seen his shadow we did not see any Sunshine to cast a shadow here. So much for predictions. The fact is that today is 6 weeks into meteorological winter with six more weeks to go (December 15-March 15)! From the winter we have seen so far this year if Phil is predicting 6 more weeks of that, he can have it!! Our Alpine trails are covered with great snow but the Nordic trails are snowless. We could use a change in the weather so no shadows here is a good thing, and yes Shadows slope has great snow on it. As a matter of fact the snowmakers are going to work tonight and will make snow on the Chute, Wall south side, Morning Star, School Haus west, Slippery Streets, Mardi Gras, and Cross Cut to Days End. It looks like we will have snowmaking opportunities for the next 3 nights and Holiday Valley is committed to keep the snowmaking system operating through most of February this year when temperatures permit. Any snowmaking areas will be marked and the crew will do their best to limit operations during open hours to offer the best experience to our guests out there each day.

The Wall Headwall opened this week and the grooming crew will hook up and winch groom the skiers left side tonight  so we should have this terrain available all weekend. Moon Shadow will see some grooming action tonight as well. Jim has built an exciting terrain park/boarder cross course on Moon Shadow for the event last weekend and we are planning another cross on it two weeks from now.  Moon Shadow is a great area for riders and skiers to hone competitive skills or just take a fun cruise down the rollers and around the berms. I’d recommend this for higher level riders and skiers, it’s a hoot!  Grooming operations each night will keep improving our surface conditions all through the weekend as some favorable weather is headed our way, blue sky and temps reaching into the 30’s for daytime highs mean you just gotta get out here!

The Tubing Park is up and operating all weekend as well as the Mountain Coaster to round out your days at Holiday Valley. The Coaster is accessed from the upper level of Tannenbaum Lodge and you can buy your tickets there as well. Shuttle Busses and Vans are available to get you around the resort, just ask a lodge or lot attendant for assistance they are ready to help. Soooo even if it does not appear to be winter at your abode it is in full swing on the slopes and tows of Holiday Valley. I’ll see you out there, shades and sunscreen required !!

Snowmaking Automation

The new HKD Klik automation system on Mardi Gras has proved to be a wise investment, as all 28 guns can be turned on or off simultaneously, allowing for us to make snow in short windows of opportunity. So the capital plan of installing automation on Mardi Gras allows the crew to run the guns on in other locations. The weather ahead continues to fluctuate but we'll be making snow every chance we get. 

The photos to the right show some of the components of our new automated system on Mardi Gras. The top photo is the water-air control valve that's located in the hydrant underground. The middle photo is a complete snowgun with hose attached and the bottom photo is the gun controller that is at the base of each gun.

Opening Date and Past Seasons Trivia.

Early seasons, late seasons, amount of snowfall and length of seasons - is there a pattern? The earliest opening date was October 16, 1976. Snowfall that year totaled 191 inches and there were 136 days of skiing. More recently in 1995 we opened on November 16 for 151 days of skiing and 260 inches of snow. The year 2001 had the latest opening date in recent times of December 22 (that was a nail biter!) with 107 days of skiing and just 120 inches of snow. But the latest opening date...our first season of operation was supposed to begin in December 1957 but was delayed until January 7, 1958 due to lack of snow! (No snowmaking back in the '50's) That year we had 184 inches of snow and 89 days of skiing. Last season we had an incredible 261 inches of snow that started December 7 and lasted 123 days.

What we did on our Summer Vacation...

The Mountain Crew was incredibly busy all spring, summer and fall. Between the Sky High Adventure Park and Mountain Coaster, construction of the new SnowPine Quad chairlift, installation of several snowmaking upgrades and many other fine tuning projects, we barely had time to come up for air!

The Sky High Mountain Coaster is open! The new Mountain Coaster is located west of the Tannenbaum Lodge. Riders are pulled uphill to Raccoon alongside the Spruce lift then dropped into a ravine to twist and shout the way back down to the lodge. Add a coaster ride at the time of your lift ticket purchase for only $6! The coaster will operate from 2:00PM to 8PM when the Tannenbaum Quad is operating.

The SnowPine Quad Chair is complete. A completely new drive terminal has been installed at the base and the towers, cross arms, and return station have been replaced to accommodate the larger gauge of a four passenger chair. The grand opening ribbon cutting is Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 11AM.

Several improvements have been made to the snowmaking system to enhance operation, efficiency, and extend the reach of our extensive system. Pipe line and hydrants were installed along our newest trail, Bear Cub, to keep the trail open longer in the season. We also added an extention of Bear Cub below the condos to allow easier access to the new SnowPine Quad chair for all our little Cubs.

An automated snowmaking system was installed on the Mardi Gras trail with the goal of gaining efficiency, providing a great surface, and fewer hours that we'll need to make snow when Mardi Gras is open. This automated section includes 28 new HKD Impulse tower guns, 28 HKD Klik Auto Hydrants, plus the computers and software to run them.

Our grooming fleet has been upgraded with the addition of two new Pisten Bully 600 grooming tractors to bring the newest technology and energy efficiency in grooming to Holiday Valley’s slopes and trails. Our fleet of 5 Pisten Bully 600's is the largest east of the Mississippi! Each groomer has a computer controlled tiller and a more powerful, yet more fuel efficient engine. The results will be a better groomed snow surface with improved consistancy.