Off and Running here at Okemo

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 1^st 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