I can hear the noise………..sounds
like the snow guns are blasting away.
The snowmakers got some time off this week and now it looks like some
cold weather is on the way. It is
probably easier for me to list out what we are planning:
- Snowmaking Friday night is going to concentrate on some resurfacing of existing terrain, and also head towards some new terrain. Depending on the temperatures, this may include Sunburst, Escape, Mountain Road, Coleman Brook, Rimrock, and the rest of Count Down, Sprint, Moments rest and perhaps others. We will plan to run as many guns as we can and have water for.
- Galaxy Bowl in the Clock Tower base will be worked on this weekend as well as widening the beginner areas in the base.
- Jackson Gore continues to be a goal of ours for the middle of next week. We remain confident we can get there.
- This weekend the plan is to have 5 lifts and 15 trails.
- Looking out towards Christmas, the estimate for trails is that we anticipate expanding our terrain to between 25 – 30 trails for around Christmas and we are hopeful that this number increases up to 40 during Christmas week. Obviously there is a lot that has to come together for this to happen, but we are optimistic.
- Right now we have open 6.3 miles of terrain or 88 acres.
- Many people are inquiring about the ski in/ski out trails. They are a priority for us and we understand their importance. We will be heading towards many of them as we can prior to Christmas.
- The Sugar house lodge will be opening on Saturday with the cafeteria opening. Smokey Joe’s and Carvers will be open during the mid-week.
- Snowmaking will be on-going during the day and it is quite likely that there will be some skiing under the snow guns.
They say patience is a virtue
and we all need that right now. The good
news is that the staff here at Okemo is optimistic about a great ski season and
ready to provide the Okemo Difference for all our skiers and riders. There are
still some “rooms at the Inn or condos”, but they are filling up quick. Also, check out the new Sno-Cat excursions
that are happening as well as 4 limited seating dates during the season for the
Sno-Cat dinners.
Happy Holidays and see you on
the slopes……….
Bruce Schmidt
Okemo GM
Bruce,
ReplyDeleteSkiing was good today, considering you guys have not caught a break weather-wise in the last weeks.
Just wanted to ask if it was possible for you guys to start a weekend mid-day groom in this early season. With so many people and limited terrain, I have noticed that trails have gotten "skied-out" noticeably quicker than usual during the mid season. I remember Sugarloaf use to run a few snowcats down their main trails at 1 pm and maybe you could do the same. Trails that came to mind include Lower Arrow, Lower Mtn Road, World Cup. I understand that there might be significant costs in this proposed operation, but it would really help alleviate skier traffic.
Best,
Palo Peirce
Palo,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comments. And it is interesting you mention this... I am considering, just not sure on logistics. Also, I'm a bit concerned about the snow not being able to set up following a regroom. But stay tuned and thanks for the input.
Bruce
Bruce, Wachusett Mountain does a mid-day groom since they are also open for night skiing. And to add to Palo's comment, it might reduce the number of injuries and certainly improve the skier/rider experience. At one point we saw two sleds bringing people down Upper World Cup which was either ice or piles by 10:00 a week ago Saturday.
ReplyDeletePalo,
ReplyDeleteGreat news... we are going ahead with midday grooming. Tomorrow will be the first day. Thank you so much for your suggestion, which prompted us to take another look at this.
Happy Holidays,
Bruce