Greetings,
The Okemo blog is returning
and will be in the winter mode moving forward with more timely updates.
Skiing and riding at Okemo have been great for the Thanksgiving weekend. The snowmakers and groomers provided 20 trails and lift operations and lift maintenance crews had 5 lifts operating. The skiing has been good with very carveable snow and, even though we have had changing weather conditions, the snow has remained pretty consistent. This late fall/early winter pattern fluctuates dramatically, but the good news is that we have not seen a lot of melting of the snow crystals and thus, the skiing has stayed more consistent. The other good aspect of this time of the year is that even though the sun is out, the angle of the sun is lower and doesn’t heat things up as much. So there is your weather lesson for the week!
As the ski season marches on,
Okemo will continue to make snow when we can.
Don’t be fooled by looking at your thermometer and saying, “Hey Okemo
must have made snow -- it is 30 degrees
this morning”! When we talk about making
snow at every opportunity what we really mean is that there is a window to make
snow, not just that the temperature dropped to the high 20’s late at
night. Always keep in mind the old
saying, “It is always coldest before the dawn”. Okemo snowmaking needs
temperatures below 25 and we need a “temperature window”. 2-3 hours is a minimum most of the time, as
it doesn’t even make sense to get the system charged unless we will have some
consistent snowmaking time. It takes
between 90 to 120 minutes to charge both the air and water system to make snow
on the Summit area, Jackson Gore, Solitude or South Face so we want to be sure
we are getting a good window.
So what is the plan? Snowmaking this week we will be working on Jolly
Green Giant, Defiance, Coleman Brook & Mountain Road. We also will put some
guns on some of the existing terrain to keep the surface up to snuff. Our plan is to head towards the Jackson Gore
area by the end of the week if the weather cooperates. We can only begin
snowmaking after December 1st in the Jackson Gore area because of
wildlife permit conditions. Looking at
the weather it looks up and down this week but there does look to be a pattern
change the first week of December which hopefully be positive for winter
weather returning and staying around. We
also have Wardance on the list and will be heading toward some of the lodging
trails like Sachem, Ledgewood & Kettle Brook. No promises can be made but we fully
understand the need to get those open as soon as possible for our loyal guests.
As for grooming, we have our
groomers hired and most are working now. We have a lot of returning staff which
is great as they know the product that our skiers and riders are looking
for. The groomers are working at night
to get the skiable terrain done and most importantly to set up the snow so it
is ready for the morning. We also have a couple who come in at 5am and take
care of any snowmaking or other small projects.
The Mountain Operations staff are always looking to make the on-mountain
experience even better than the day before.
Thanks for your support and
as always let us know how we can improve.
Bruce Schmidt
Okemo GM
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