Looking forward instead of backwards........

Greetings,

I recall a saying going something like, if we didn’t have weather what would we have to complain about?  As we head into the Winter Holiday week, we are facing challenges, but also some things positive. Like waking up Friday morning to 5-7 inches of snow on the ground.  This was one of those times when the weather man wasn’t quite right!  The forecast was for 1 – 3 inches of snow, but the temperature held below freezing up through the atmosphere and snow it did.  The challenge part is the rest of the day we will see a mixture and some liquid precipitation. 

So now you ask, what does that mean?  The new snow and wet weather are making for some wet snow skiing today.  The forecast is for this system to clear out of the area this afternoon and change over to flurries and perhaps some light snow.  Our plan will be to wait and see and check on the snow as the evening progresses.  We won’t take the groomers out immediately on the trails.  We want to let the snow dry out some and then begin grooming right around the time the colder temperatures arrive.  Our plan will be to begin snowmaking as soon as temperatures permit.  When the temperatures get into the 24-26 degree range we will turn on the guns.  Obviously that will be on the upper mountain, but we will work down towards the base areas as quickly as possible.

First Day of Winter 2012

 



What is the plan you ask for snowmaking?  It really has not changed from other blog posts.  Sachem, Wardance, base area trails and lodging trails all are on the top of our list. Rimrock opened today and Sidewinder is only one night away from being finished.  We are going to take a hard look at some of the lodging trails and see if it will be possible to ski them with the natural snow.  We are also beginning on Nor’easter to give us another route from the summit and working towards Quantum Leap.  Blind Faith and Wild Thing will be our first trails in the South Face area.

Since the World did not end today, Okemo will be working every avenue to get the skiing and riding in top shape quickly.  Some trails may open late this weekend as grooming continues and we will make snow on as many trails as possible and that may even include making on some trails while you ski and ride. 

Thanks for your confidence in Okemo and support and I hope to see you on the slopes.  As always, let me know how we are doing.

Happy Holidays,

Bruce Schmidt

Okemo GM

Heading towards the big Week......

Greetings,

In the ski business, we judge time as before Christmas, Christmas week, January, February vacation and Spring skiing.  Each time frame means something a little different and where we should be in regards to trails open lifts running, reservation etc.  As we leave before Christmas and into Christmas week, we remain cautiously optimistic with the weather.

Snowmaking looks to return tonight, Wednesday evening, and the plan is to go as hard, as long and cover as much acreage as we can.  The mountain operations managers have been looking at what is needed and it seems that there may be a couple trails to refresh, but we will be heading towards new terrain at the same time. Guns are poised to go to work on Sachem and Wardance in the middle of the mountain, beginner areas in the Clock Tower and Jackson Gore Base area as well as Rim Rock, Sidewinder, Moon shadow, Lower Fall Line and maybe Quantum Leap in Jackson Gore.  We are also looking at working on another access from the summit which may be Upper Chief or Nor’easter.   Once we get off of one of these trails we will be heading towards the rest of the lodging trails, as well as working on other terrain heading into South Face. 

The weather pattern looks to be active as we head into Friday and then colder temperatures are looking to settle themselves over our area beginning during the weekend.  This should set us up for some good snowmaking temperatures and if and when that happens, we should be adding trails quickly.  There will be plenty of priorities and we are aware of the need to get new terrain open as well as keep the surface skiing good.

So that gives you the plan for all you Okemo skiers and riders.  Christmas week is right around the corner and we are going to go hard and make it happen.

Happy Holidays,

Bruce Schmidt

Okemo GM

Okemo Remembers Newtown

Friends

This weekend was a tough one for all the Okemo staff as well as America.  I began Saturday morning with the following paragraph for our daily morning staff update:

“It is with a heavy heart that we begin this Saturday morning after the Tragedy that unfolded in Newtown on Friday.  While we can feel helpless during these times, we also can keep those affected in our hearts and prayers and hold our loved ones closer each day. This area of Connecticut is home to guests who may frequent Okemo and the Ludlow region, which brings this tragic event even closer to the Okemo family. The flags located around Okemo have been lowered to half-mast today as a sign of remembrance for those who lost their lives”.

This tragedy had such a profound impact on how we all look at life.  Okemo being a fun, kid friendly, family centered resort and to think we expected all our staff and guests to go about their day without a broken heart was impossible.  There were numerous conversations that staff had with each other, guests would tell stories of knowing the area of Newtown and where the school was located.  We all have been searching for an outlet and a way to express our grief. Things in life do happen, we all try to do what we can to mitigate the bad things in life, but in the end we are bystanders and never really know what might be around the corner. 

 My blog is dedicated today to thoughts and prayers, or anyway you might want to express your feelings, for those who lost their lives last Friday. Talking about snowmaking, grooming, weather or trails just doesn’t seem right today.  As the GM of Okemo, I want us all to take a moment, hug our family and friends and appreciate what we have here and now.  Life will go on, but in some ways it won’t be the same. 

Look for a new blog tomorrow and I will return to letting you know what to look for in the coming days and how we are going to make Okemo the place to be this winter.

Yours in peace,

Bruce Schmidt

Okemo GM

It takes a Village

Hello,

As the General Manager of Okemo it is expected that I know many things.  When it is going to snow? When is a trail going to open?  When will winter arrive?  Do I know so and so who works in this department?  The list goes on. Now I would say I know most of the answers, or can use my wit and wisdom to convince someone I think I know, but the truth is that I am only as good as the employees who work with me.  Okemo is actually another word for TEAM and that is what we have here.  I talk about snowmakers, groomers and the mountain operations staff a lot, but there are so many others who make my job easier and do so much to make the Okemo experience what it is.  During this Holiday season it is even more important to be grateful for all that everyone does in our lives, and I will surely say that there are so many who make me look good and make Okemo what it is.

 

 

I will answer some of the questions I got this week:

When will Sachem be open? 

The plan is to head there next week after we leave the bulk of Jackson Gore. The snowmakers will continue to make snow in Jackson Gore to get more skiing in that pod as well as the base area, but a bulk of our snowmaking capacity will be heading to other areas such as the middle of the mountain, main base area and towards Rimrock.

When will snow be made on Nor’easter?

Nor’easter takes a lot of snow, so we like to begin there when the temperatures are going to be in the single digits or low teens for an extended period of time.  Between Nor’easter and Upper Chief, the plan will be to begin on one of them as soon as there is some extended cold.

How many trails for this weekend?

The plan is up to 40 slopes and trails with 8 lifts.  Jackson Gore will be opening this weekend with all the services from the Jackson Gore base area.

What is going on with the Terrain parks?

We want to get the terrain parks open as soon as we can. Again, it becomes an issue of snowmaking temperatures.  The park staff has done a great job with making things work on Sapphire, but it is not ideal and we understand that. 

When will the Waffle Cabin open in Jackson Gore?

Saturday!!!!!

As always, keep the questions coming on Facebook, our competent staff will get right back to you as soon as we can.  We are all in this together and it is because of the great Okemo staff and you as skiers and riders that make Okemo what it is!!! Think snow and Happy Holidays.

Feel free to let me know how we are doing and enjoy the snow.

Bruce Schmidt

Okemo GM

Why I hate Fog and other tidbits........

Hello,

I’m not going to talk about Snowmaking until the very end of my blog to see if we can change our luck!!!   So if you read about the negative NAO tilt and the Arctic Air LaNina syndrome (I made that one up) it would lead you to believe that there is science for all of these weather happenings……….  I think it is a cycle and we are about to break out of it…….

To be honest, I hate fog more than rain. Fog has a tendency to hurt the snow more than liquid precipitation. With the liquid stuff, there is more draining off of the snow, fog seems to eat the snow.  So rain is bad, fog is worse and cold is great.   The other thing that makes a difference in these weather events is manmade snow vs. natural snow. Manmade stands up much better to different weather than natural.  Natural snow is a lot more water and will disappear quicker in the sun, rain or fog.  Think about the last time you had snow on your lawn and woke up the next day and it was gone? 

Christmas is 17 days away.  I’m pretty optimistic that we will be in good shape as the holiday week begins.  The good news is that our other departments are working hard to get their areas ready for the influx of guests.  The mountain operations staff is getting some other lifts ready to operate and we are taking lodging reservations to beat the band.  It is coming together.

Skiing can be enjoyed in all weather!

Noah Schmidt & Dave Creaser

 

So what about snowmaking???   It is going to return at 9:17pm on Tuesday night!  Well that is a guess, but it is going to return.  The snowmakers have made some headway into Jackson Gore.  There is quite a bit more to go, but it is coming along. I would anticipate skiing into Jackson Gore by next weekend.  The plan is to also go "snowmaking strong" on many more trails especially in the middle of the mountain and begin to pick off some of the lodging trails.  We have a long term plan, but each day we reevaluate and see what is going to be the most efficient and best use of our system.  There are a lot of options and you can be assured that myself, Eb our Mountain Manager, Barry our VP of Mountain Ops and Ray our Snowmaking manager hash out a viable plan each day and then adjust as needed.

Feel free to let me know how we are doing and enjoy the snow.

Bruce Schmidt

Okemo GM

Heading into December

Hello,

I looked at the calendar and I was reminded that today is the last day of November.  Hard to believe…..  I’m not going to bore you with the, “this year is better than last year”.. stuff, you’ve heard all of that and know that this year we had around 5 times as many trails this year vs last...(4 in 2011, 20 in 2012) . I will say that this year has been interesting. Snowmaking has been sporadic and I’m really happy with where we are with trail count at this time. Raymond and his staff have done a tremendous job!  The temperature has been all over the place this past week. You could see the temperature go up as soon as the clouds rolled in.  Then we would chase the temperatures up the mountain with snowmaking guns and back down in the early morning. The snowmakers were on the move this week making adjustments.  This time of the year is tough to move around as they need to use their walking sticks, 4-wheelers or snowmobiles depending on where we are making snow.

 

The plan will be to ski into Solitude on Saturday morning.  It looks like we will be skiing Heaven’s Gate and Coleman Brook and then down onto Mountain Road. From there to get back to Solitude, you will ski the rest of Mountain Road to Lower Arrow and then down Lower Arrow to Village Run and the base of the Solitude Express.  Also looking to add Upper Fall line, Sprint and Moments Rest from the Glades Peak Quad chairlift area.

With these weather patterns, the groomers are really doing their part.  They are out there every night and each morning cleaning up from skiing or snowmaking.  There are only 3-4 working right now depending on the day.  The groomers are also helping out the night custodial staff by getting them up to the summit lodge as well as helping deliver food to the summit lodge.  During a normal winter week we make 2 -3 food deliveries a week and the trash is also brought down each night.  A lot goes on during the night by this dedicated crew of staff.

Making snow in Solitude early morning

Looking at the Crystal ball, it would seem that there will be some downtime for the snowmakers for a couple days after this weekend with snowmaking looking to begin again Tuesday night into Wednesday.  Jackson Gore will be on the list as well as finishing the rest of Sapphire as well as Screamin Demon and also heading towards Lower Chief, Wardance, and Open Slope and begin looking at some of the Slopeside lodging trails.  There are many priorities and we are constantly shuffling and moving around.  This time of the year, there is a lot of chasing the temperatures!

Thanks as always for your support and I'd love to hear how we are doing.

Bruce Schmidt

Okemo GM

22-25 trails by the weekend!

Coming out of Thanksgiving weekend we are right smack in the middle of some cold weather and making snow 24/7. The skiing has been really good since we opened. The mountain ops staff and snowmakers brought back the conditions very nicely on Saturday after warmer weather changed quickly to a cold and freeze cycle. The conditions on Saturday, while not perfect, were pretty good considering the changing weather patterns. Snowmaking began early Saturday morning and on some trails, guests were enjoying the slopes while the guns were running. This isn’t something we normally do, but we felt it was important to help the conditions in some locations. Snowmaking will continue to be aggressive as we head into the first weekend of December. Our goal this weekend is to get the Solitude area opened up and then head towards Jackson Gore as well as some of the lower mountain trails like Wardance, Lower Chief & Open Slope. I anticipate having 22 – 25 trails for weekend skiing and riding.

I have been asked about the next 30 days which will be Christmas Day, and what is going to happen with snowmaking and skiing terrain. While it is hard to predict, I can assure everyone that we will work hard to meet our objectives. We will be heading towards trails in all parts of the resort. There are questions on the slopeside trails. Our plan will be to work on these as we go to the different pods. I can assure everyone that we realize the need to get those trails done quickly and will be doing all we can to make this happen.

Thank you to all our season passholders who attended the annual appreciation party this past Saturday evening. It was great to see so many returning guests and new faces. Okemo season passholders are a hardy bunch and very loyal to Okemo, and we appreciate your support.

Thank-you to everyone who supported our Hurricane Sandy Relief effort. Okemo will be making a significant donation to the Red Cross in the Tri-state area. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this weather event and especially the Okemo guests who were affected.

Thanks for your support and enjoy the snow.

Bruce Schmidt
Okemo GM