G.M. Update

Well we've gotten open for skiing and riding and it is looking good. Things had to be better than last year's opening and it has been!! Top to bottom skiing on the 2nd day of skiing is always a good thing. Can't say enough about the hard work of all the Okemo staff members to get the ski season started. Snowmakers have been hard at work making the snow and the groomers have been coming in early to lay it out. They even had the winch cat out on Saturday working on Defiance! The other behind the scenes staff are all those in the other operations. Maintenance, Culinary, season's passes, call centers, lodging, Housekeeping. The list is endlesss. With out the team work, it wouldn't be possible.

Our plan for the next 10 days or so will be to continue to add and expand terrain. We'll be concentrating on the South Face area with snowmaking on Rimrock and then down Blind Faith. I anticpate that opening before Thanksgiving. We'll also start moving towards the Solitude area with snowmaking on Coleman Brook & Heaven's Gate/Screamin Demon. At the same time of working to expand terrain, we'll also be trying to get Lower World Cup Open as well as trying to widen and adding base depths to the existing trails we have open.

I'd anticipate 25 trails opening for the Thanksgiving Holiday period and probabaly around 8 lifts. Of course this is contingent on the weather holding out.

Happy Thanksgiving

Bruce Schmidt
V.P & G.M.
Okemo Mountain Resort

It's a Top-to-Bottom Bluebird Day

Ahhhh, what a beautiful day it is. The only clouds in the sky are the low-lying ethereal clouds of snow being generated by the snowguns. From my vantage point, the base area appears in soft focus - like a leading lady close-up in an old-time movie. Were it not for the roar of the compressed air escaping from the valves of the HKD snowguns, I'm sure I'd hear a choir of angels singing the Allelujah chorus. After all, this is the weather we've all been praying for as this season gets underway.

We're skiing top-to-bottom on 13 trails today and we have terrain for all ability levels. Keep up-to-date on conditions at Okemo's snow report page or call the snow phone at (802) 228-5222.

More Terrain Just Opened!

Great news! We've just added 7 more trails to today's lineup for a grand total of 12 open trails!

Advanced and Intermediate skiers can now enjoy Timberline, Sapphire, Route 103, Upper and Lower Arrow, Double Dipper and Lower Mountain Road.

Check the snow report for full details. See you on the hill!

The Dawn of a New Day at Okemo

Yes, it's a new day at Okemo and the start of the season's first weekend of skiing and riding at the big mountain that gets the little things right. The snowmaking guns were blasting on 11 trails overnight and we'll continue to make snow on several trails today (not any that are currently open - so you don't have to worry about skiing through the roar of the guns). We're working hard to provide skiers and riders with top-to-bottom runs and will drop the ropes on more trails as they become ready. We're sorry we don't have anything available yet for you beginners out there. We're working on it. In the meantime, we have some nicely groomed intermediate and advanced terrain for you seasoned snow sliders chomping at the bit.

A couple of inches of natural snow that fell Thursday night and Friday has transformed the mountain into a portrait of winter - creating a lovely alpine glow in today's first light. Stay tuned to our website for conditions updates or give a call to hear Okemo snow reporters Chris and Samantha tell it like it is at (802) 228-5222. Cheers!

Gotta Love Those Perks

VP of Marketing Scott Clarkson took our new snow reporters for a special preview ski down Buckhorn yesterday. We like to make sure our reporters get a first-hand look at the conditions. There are some serious benefits to working in the marketing department at a ski resort.

The word is that the base has set up nicely and when the temps drop again, the guns will be blasting out some of that oh-so-good snow Okemo is famous for. That's when the groomers get to work their magic. In a recent issue of SKI magazine, readers recognized the resort’s commitment to providing an excellent snow surface by rating Okemo second in the East for grooming, and number three in all of North America – surpassed only by Deer Valley and sister resort Mount Sunapee, in N.H. In the snow category, Okemo placed fourth in the East.

Get the 411 on trails, lifts and pricing for our opening day, Friday, Nov. 16, at Okemo's official snow report page. Cheers!

OPENING FRIDAY!

It's true! Things are going so well with our preparation for the start of the 2007/2008 ski season, we decided to open a day earlier than originally planned. Although the mountain is a little socked-in today, snowmaking temps are expected to return Wednesday and we'll be firing up the system to add more snow to the trails we've already started covering.

We expect to offer up to to a dozen trails on Friday, Nov. 16, with five lifts turning for your skiing and snowboarding pleasure. The lifts will be: the F-10 Carpet, Sachem, Glades Peak Quad, Northstar Express and Green Ridge Triple. Check the snow report for pricing and up-to-the-minute information.

It's time to brush the dust off those boards and head to Okemo for opening day, this Friday! Cheers!

Snow Guns A-Blazin'!

I've always thought of snowmakers as the cowboys of the East. There's a certain romanticism associated with the wild west and the independent lifestyle of the rugged men who embrace the elements and roll along like a tumbleweed.

Like cowboys, snowmakers are a different breed. They are a hearty lot with a willingness to work in all elements, hauling hoses and lugging snowguns around in freezing cold and wet conditions - day or night.

It's not a job that I'd want to tackle. I like knowing that while I'm snug in my bed, those hard-working souls are out on the mountain, braving the elements to prepare a surface for me to experience the thrill of a well executed turn on skis. I get to come as close as a person can get to the sensation of flying, thanks to their willingness to combine compressed air and water in the chill of the night.

Opening day is just a few days away and it's looking like we could have as many as four lifts accessing up to a dozen trails. Stay tuned at okemo.com for up-to-the-minute info. Cheers!