Christmas has come and gone and Santa was a little stingy with our gift of snow or cold weather! None the less we will stay true to the Okemo commitment and work hard to provide the best skiing experience we can.
We are doing all we can to get the snow where needed and make the experience the best we can with the temperatures we are facing. The mountain operations staff is leaving a Snow Groomer up on the summit during the day in the event that we need to try to move some snow or patch an area. We also have a groomer on staff ready to roll if need be. At this point the terrain on the summit is for advanced skiers and riders only.
Our multiple weather forecasts are showing that snowmaking is looking to return on Sunday afternoon into the evening. This forecast is showing cold temperatures lasting into Tuesday. This will be great news for everyone and Okemo will be firing up the guns as soon as we can. Our snowmaking plan at this point is to begin making snow on existing terrain. We want to get Nor’easter back on line, and patch up all the other existing trails we are skiing and riding on now. We also need to make snow around the top of the mountain near the summit lodge & top of Sunburst and Green Ridge. Depending on the temperatures, we expect to be able to max out our system and this will mean we can go on new terrain. Some of our objectives will be Wardance, Sweet Solitude, Coleman Brook and Southern Crossing.
There is a forecast for natural snow to fall. While this forecast is a long way out, we are hopeful for some natural snow. Normally the first snow fall does not allow us to be able to open up any new terrain. Depending on any new snow fall, we will seriously look at some of the trails near the condominiums and ski on ski off homes and decide if we should run a groomer on them to help pack things down. The trail then at least could be used by homeowners if possible. I don’t have to tell you that our snowmaking plan and natural snow fall forecast can be very fluid and flexible and may change quickly.
Okemo ski patrol and safety patrol will be out on the slopes with a presence to both help guests and enforce safe and in control skiing and riding. We all understand that there is limited terrain and at times it can be crowded. Our Ski Patrol and Safety patrol team will be visible around congested areas at different times during the ski day and will be working with skiers and riders to make everyone aware of the need to share the slopes and to do so at a speed that is with the flow of traffic. Education is key and will be our first goal, but Okemo will take unsafe activities seriously and we feel this is best for all of our guests.
There have been questions on our terrain parks. Okemo has been trying to balance the terrain we have with our guests needs. For this reason we have been putting some terrain features on existing terrain. You will notice we have been moving some around. We will continue to do this, but also realize that getting a terrain park up and going is a priority and we will do this as soon as we can.
Guest service is important to Okemo. As a reminder to help making purchasing a ticket easier, The ticketing kiosks located at the base of the Sunburst as well Solitude will be open beginning on 12/26 Guests with Real.Easy cards who have registered them can load tickets on their cards on line and go direct to the lifts. Okemo is also providing some other activities for guests to do beginning on 12/26. For the latest information: http://www.okemo.com/activities/holiday-week-activities/
Thank you for your support and loyalty during this time. We all are in this together and that statement sure rings true this season. I don’t have to tell anyone about the weather. Everyone at Okemo is working hard to make the skiing and riding as enjoyable as possible.
Bruce Schmidt
Okemo GM
