Greetings,
Okemo has just surpassed Day #50 for the ski season and we
are in full mid-winter mode. The ski
season has been going along well and we are looking forward to a strong Martin
Luther King 3-day weekend.
The weather has been challenging off and on this winter and
that is true this week. There has been
some wet weather, some sunny weather and some cold weather. The great news is
that this weekend we are looking at the sunny and cold. The January temperatures are welcome and will
make for a great ski weekend. There is
no doubt that the skiing surface will be variable…we can’t prevent that. But I
can tell you that Okemo groomers will be diligently working the snow with
mountain tilling, blading and power tilling the best we can. We will also have the winch cat out on the
steeper terrain each night pulling snow up from the bottom and moving things
around. Also helping out will be the
snowmaking team. Snowmakers will be
doing their part with an aggressive push on existing terrain. This will mostly focus on the main line
trails in the center of the mountain and head out towards Jackson Gore and
Glades peak into South Face. While we
won’t be able to tackle every trail, the plan will be to run and gun, lay out
some manmade snow and then move. We are hoping to cover a large percentage of
the trails over the weekend both during the day and night.
Work on the Amp Energy Superpipe has begun and between the
snowmaking and grooming we are coming along well. If you haven’t seen the photos, check out the picture above or on our Facebook page. Lots of snow has been
made and now we will push the snow down the superpipe and onto the walls. After
that comes more snowmaking and then more shaping. It is a long process but
worth it in the end. I can assure you
that the work on the Amp Energy Superpipe is not impacting the snowmaking
effort and grooming we are doing on the mountain at all. We always work on the ski terrain and then go
to the Superpipe.
There are times when our business levels are strong on the
slopes and around the resorts and I know that there is no doubt some
frustration with lines, crowded buildings, full parking lots and lots of skiers
and riders. I want to assure you that all of us here at Okemo are committed
each day to do our best to keep lines moving, lodges cleaned up, cars moving
and doing what is possible to have a great day on the slopes. I know that we won’t always reach the mark,
but the Okemo Team will try and provide the Okemo Difference every day. Thanks in advance for your support and
patience.
Bruce Schmidt
Okemo GM
