The Most Skiing and Riding in New England.....

Greetings,

If you have been out skiing or riding this week, you have probably seen a little of everything…..  10 days ago we were skiing powder, then some wet granular, back to loose granular then to Machine Groomed loose granular.  The past few days have seen a real swing in temperatures. Now that the temperatures have gotten colder, the snowmakers have been hard at work. 

Resurfacing has been the main focus, but so has heading to new terrain.  We have tried to balance the attack with heavy snowmaking happening over on Tuckered Out as well as the snowmakers were working on Promenade, Ledgewood and Kettle Brook to get them all open.  We also made on the main line trails from the summit. The plan will be to go to Easy Street & Home Stretch along with going to Punch Line and resurfacing Defiance.

The weather looks like we will have a warm up for the weekend which will probably affect snowmaking.  After the weekend a new cold front will be dropping in and with that we will head toward the Super Pipe and some of the terrain parks.  There is a need for more snow on Black Out to put in some features as well as some new snow on Nor’easter to add some character in the Super Park.  Also on the list will be the lower half of Timberline, Big Bang and eventually Upper and Lower Fall Line.

 

Because of all this aggressive Snowmaking and the committment to snowmaking with the purchase of over $1 Million in equipment, Okemo is leading New England with the most skiing and riding. 

 

           Most Trails open-74 Trails         

Most Lifts open - 18 Lifts

                 Most Miles open- 28.1 mile               

    Most Acres open - 445 acres

With the New Year coming all of us here at Okemo wanted to wish you a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year.  Here is to great snowmaking weather, sunny skies and lot of skiing and riding days.

Let me know how we are doing.  Email at bschmidt@okemo.com

Bruce Schmidt

Okemo GM

Snowmaking info and thanks for your support of Cares and Shares

Greetings,

For the past 8 days Okemo continues to have the most acreage open in the East….As we head into the second full week of December let’s hope the weather change stays this way for a while and not the back and forth we have seen.  These warm spells with some liquid moisture sure doesn’t help things out on the mountain.  The mountain operations staff is working to stay ahead of these weather changes, but no doubt there are struggles.  Snowmaking came back strong starting on Friday night.  The temperatures didn’t quite get as cold as forecasted. If you skied on Saturday, you probably noticed some great and no so great.  Limelight was a little off, but by Sunday things had changed quickly. Limelight was resurfaced with the new SV-10 guns and then left ungroomed.  The skiing was noticeably different and some of the best of the season.  Upper World Cup and Sapphire were also left which made for some great turns.

The plan has remained the same with snowmaking.  With the good snowmaking temperatures forecasted, we should meet our goals of opening Sachem, Quantum Leap, Vortex, Moonshadow, Line Drive, Moments Rest, Sprint, Rimrock, Bull Run and into South Face.  At the same time we will be using some of our snowmaking capacity and resurfacing some of the existing terrain we are skiing on now.  I’m hopeful to have 55 trails and 10 lifts by the weekend.

This past weekend Okemo sponsored our annual Cares and Shares day on Saturday 12/7.  Each year Okemo offers a reduced rate ticket for those who bring in 5 non-perishable food items.  This year we took in 2,275 non-perishable food items for Black River Good Neighbors.  Also in your generosity, Okemo Skier and Riders donated $1190 to the Good Neighbors program.  All of us here at Okemo can’t thank you enough for your support and kindness with this program. One of Okemos values is community and we are proud to support and help the Black River Good Neighbors.  A little unknown fact that many may not know, any leftover food at the end of the day from the Clocktower Base café and Sitting Bull is taken to the Mountainside house in Ludlow which is a home for Teens. We truly enjoy our relationship with them and grateful that we can help in a small way.

Come on up and check out the skiing. You will be impressed…  Thanks for reading and enjoy the snow.  Let me know how we are doing.  Email at bschmidt@okemo.com

Bruce Schmidt

Okemo GM

Where are the snow guns headed?

Greetings,

I wanted to thank everyone who spent their Thanksgiving and Hanukkah holiday at Okemo this past weekend.  We are so appreciative of the positive comments we have been receiving.  I can assure you that I pass them right along to our snowmakers and groomers.  The entire Mountain Operations team has been hard at work doing their part.

The weather this week has done a flip flop, so we have had to deal with some cloudy skies with some fog mixed in and temperatures above snowmaking thresholds.  It has allowed us to move some guns, make some minor repairs, give the staff some rest and be poised to go hard when it turns cold this coming weekend.  Snowmaking temperatures look to return by Friday. 

Guns ready to go on the Sachem trail

 

Jackson Gore is ready and will be opening on Thursday. The new guns have really helped us in many ways and opening of Jackson Gore with limited temperatures is just another example.  Our plan now will be to head towards Quantum Leap in Jackson Gore as well as head towards Sachem, finish Moonshadow, head towards Line Drive under the Morningstar lift, get Bull Run open as well as begin the trek into South Face.  We are anticipating winter to settle in somewhat more which should mean colder temperatures to stick around.  There is also some talk of snow early next week.  Look for some more different things done like we did on The Plunge this past weekend.  Leaving the snowmaking piles as they were made for some exciting skiing and riding and a little twist in things. There are also moguls on Sel’s choice as of today.

I know that early December is a busy time in everyone’s life, but I do hope that you can break away and sample some of this great early season skiing and riding.  Thanks for reading and enjoy the snow.  Let me know how we are doing.  Feel free to email at bschmidt@okemo.com

 

Bruce Schmidt

Okemo GM

Okemo takes on Boreas

Greetings,

11/27/13 – 2:23pm

Have no fear, Okemo will be returning to our prior form very soon.  Unless you live in Western NY, you have been experiencing the same weather as Okemo.  It has been wet and no matter how much we try to put lipstick on the pig, it is still a pig and you only frustrate the pig making them wear lipstick.  So it is wet and then it is going to get cold.  I think there is a saying like, “it isn’t the adversity that is recalled, it is how your react to the adversity”! 

Okemo is going to come out strong with snowmaking beginning Wednesday night.  Our plan is to let the snow sit and drain out Wednesday night and not groom during the 3pm shift.  We will have the Midnight groomers poised and ready to go to smooth things out and at the same time we will be getting the snowmaking going.  We are planning on trying to resurface the trails and then ski them without grooming.  We are hopeful that the new snow guns and the snowmakers skill we can do this.  At the same time we will be moving on to some other terrain.  Sidewinder isn’t too far away from being finished and we are planning on heading towards Wardance as well as Exhibition, which we already started on.

Saturday night as the clock strikes Midnight, we will be heading into Jackson Gore and working on many of the trails over there.  Blue Moon, Sunset Strip, Lower Limelight, Inn Bound, Expresso and Fast Track are some of the first ones.  At the same time we will look to begin on Moonshadow, Bull Run and begin to head towards the South Face area once Jackson Gore is finished. That is probably the middle of next week or weekend. 

We also realize the need for us to make snow on some of the trails with lodging on them.  They area also in our viewfinder with Sachem probably being our first one to knock off and then looking towards Line Drive and head towards Kettle Brook and Ledgewood.

This Friday, Saturday and Sunday are looking to be very nice. Sunny skies and temperatures 20 - 30 or so. Thanks for your support and confidence in all of us here at Okemo as we get through Winter Storm Boreau’s.  While he did have some bite, I don’t think he was as bad as was forecasted and we will recover in no time.

I hope that everyone has an enjoyable Thanksgiving Holiday and a Joyous Hanukah celebration

Thanks for reading and enjoy the snow either on your skis or board!

Bruce Schmidt

Okemo GM

What is the plan once the fog clears?

Greetings,

We are experiencing some Vermont November weather when it isn’t quite cold enough for snow and it stays overcast, foggy and a little dreary.  The good news is that this is only temporary and colder weather is right around the corner.  Okemo is experiencing one of the better starts to the ski season we have had in a long time. Research has shown me that this is the first year, A.R.S (After real snowmaking), that we have skied top to bottom on opening day.  Before snowmaking the resort did not open until there was skiing top to bottom! I have not spoken to one person who has missed the shuttle bus ride, except our shuttle drivers.   Okemo staff worked hard to have a great opening day, there were a few bumps, but my goal was to not be skewered by the SF and we almost met our goal, but not quite.

So where are we headed once the fog clears?  Snowmaking temps look to return early this coming weekend.  The plan is to head towards the Solitude area.  Work will begin on the Lower half of Sapphire, Village Run, Heaven’s Gate, Screamin Demon & Sunburst.  The snowmakers will also work at doing sections of Mountain Road. This is being done so as we head towards Jackson Gore in 10 days or so, we have a way out of the Gore.  If the temperatures hold, the plan will be to work on Southern Crossing and into the Jackson Gore Base area.  We can make snow in the JG base area, but cannot begin making snow above the upper railroad bridge as that property is owned by the State of VT and there is no snowmaking allowed until 12/1 due to bear migration.

In talking to Eb, our Director of Mountain Operations, we will be working on moving the rails and features off of Sapphire and onto Nor’easter trail during the next few days. It may take some time, but should be done before Thanksgiving.  I would anticipate having 30 or more trails and 7 lifts for the Thanksgiving holiday.

This coming weekend we will be skiing 18 trails and 4 lifts. Instead of operating the Green Ridge Triple, we will be operating the Glades Peak Quad to give skier and riders an opportunity to round trip Defiance and Upper World Cup if they would like.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the snow either on your skis or board!

Bruce Schmidt

Okemo GM

Opening Day 2013

Greetings,

Opening day at Okemo is here.  I hit the slopes, while not on first chair, I at least hit the 10th chair. What a great day to open. To go along with top to bottom skiing and riding, there were bright sunny skies!  The snowmakers and groomers had done their job getting the snow laid down and groomed out. Now no doubt it was opening day as the snow was firm and some spots narrow, but all in all pretty good.  Each day will get better with the snow being skied and worked from side to side and with the groomers out each night.

Moving forward the plan is to continue to add another way down from the summit to the base. It looks like we will be making our way down Sapphire, Upper and Lower Arrow and then Lower Mountain Road.  This will also allow the Base Quad to be opened. When we do that, we would not operate the F-10 carpet or the Sachem Quad at least until we had more terrain around those lifts.  We will probably operate the Green Ridge at least during the weekend.

 

There will be lots happening with the Snowsports shop sporting a new look, Base 68 Café will be open and the Sitting Bull will open over the weekend.  The summit lodge will also open and both will be open every day from this point forward beginning on Saturday.  If you do come up to pick up your seasons pass, our Resort Services desk will be open.  If possible, try to leave a little extra time as there may be lines.  When possible if a guest has a seasons pass which has been purchased on line and there is a wait, we will give a pass pending ticket to get you out on the slopes.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the snow either on your skis or board!

Bruce Schmidt

Okemo GM

Won't be long........

Greetings,

 

Okemo has had a couple days of snowmaking and now we will sit tight as some warm weather comes through.  After making snow for 50 hours or so, I can say we are happy with the new snow guns.  We have been hitting our marks with pumping water and the air being used is less, just as they were advertised.  This time of the year getting some rain like we are today, Thursday, is not a bad thing.  Replenishing the streams is always good when it is as dry as it has been.

With snowmaking going full steam ahead, there has been a renewed buzz around the resort.  The lift maintenance staff worked hard this past week with some other employees and completed the load test on the Green Ridge Triple chair.  This test is required every 7 years and involves loading the chairs with 110% of expected weight.  Okemo uses water in boxes lined with trash bags. The Green Ridge passed with flying colors.  The facilities department has been helping the culinary staff moving food into the summit lodge and sugar house before the snow flies to make it easier on everyone. The paper products and non-perishables are transported in early and stored in the buildings.  The maintenance staff is also finishing up capital projects, doing some carpentry, shampooing carpet and getting things looking good.

So what does next week look like?  Cold weather is forecasted to return soon. We are going to try and make snow on Friday night and thru the weekend as we can and the beginning of the week looks promising.  We are very close to having top to bottom skiing and riding.  My best guess is that we will begin with the F-10 carpet, Sachem Quad with skiing down to the Northstar Quad and then skiing on Upper and Lower World cup.  Work is going strong on Sapphire, down Upper Arrow to Lower Arrow and the Green Ridge to.  Okemo is going to be aggressive and it looks like we won’t have any problem opening on November 16^th or perhaps before?

I will work on keeping you up to speed here as well as on our FB page and Okemo.com

Thanks for reading and we can’t wait to begin skiing and riding with you all!

Bruce Schmidt

Okemo GM