Loggers Alley Opens Today

Another great snowmaking night has added Loggers Alley to the open list.  We plan to make snow again tonight in an effort to add additional terrain tomorrow.  Cross your fingers and toes for cold temps.

Operating Hours:

Skiing and Riding on 13 trails with 4 lifts operating.  Open 9a - 10p

Terrain Park:

Fun box
Box line - (2) 16ft boxes and an  A-frame box
Rail line - Urban style down rail, 8 inch pipe set up flat, side by side rail and a small jump.

Tubing:

The Plunge is open with sessions from 9a - 10p.

Ridgely's Fun Park is open from 11a-4p

Snowmaking Update:

Other than a few guns running on key spots, most of our capacity has been focused on opening new terrain.  Over the last several days, we have focused heavily on Upper Turkey, Lower Cliffhanger, Devils Elbow, Lower Diamond and the Terrain Park.  We want these open as soon as possible.  If the weather cooperates, we might get something on this list open for tomorrow.  More details later today.

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TYRO, TEQUILA AND LOWER SUNRISE OPEN!

Great day to ski and ride with great conditions, lots of sun and more terrain open.  Come up and enjoy a great day on the snow!

Operating Hours:

Skiing and Riding on 12 trails with 4 lifts operating.  Open 9a - 10p

Terrain Park:

Fun box
Box line - (2) 16ft boxes and an  A-frame box
side by side rail, 8 inch pipe set up flat and a small jump.

Tubing:

The Plunge is open with sessions from 10:30a - 10p.

Ridgely's Fun Park is open from 11a-4p

Pics from this am:

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MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas from all of us to all of you.

GREAT snowmaking conditions continue, allowing us to re-open the Upper Cross Trail overnight.  Tomorrow, we will re-open Tyro, Tequila and Lower Sunrise!  Next on our to do list - Upper Turkey and The Terrain Park!

Operating Hours:

Skiing and Riding on 9 trails with 4 lifts operating.

Open 10a - 10p Christmas Day

Terrain Park:

16ft up box, 16 flat box and an up rail.

Tubing:

The Plunge is closed for snowmaking and will re-open 12/26 with sessions from 9a - 10p.

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SNOWMAKING RETURNS!!

Much better day today, mild air is gone and Winter has returned.  The Ski Area is in rebuild and refresh mode with plans to be back up to 12 trails and 4 lifts on Thursday 12/26.  Re-opening recently closed trails (Tyro, Sunrise and Upper Cross Trail) is our number one priority.  All of these should re-open on 12/26.  At the same time, we are focused on opening additional terrain.  We are making snow in our Terrain Park and Upper Wild Turkey.  Snowmaking temperatures will allow more slopes to open during the Holiday period.

Keep checking this report for updates and pics.

Operating Hours:

Skiing and Riding on 8 trails with 4 lifts operating.

Open 9a - 8p Christmas Eve
Open 10a - 10p Christmas Day

Terrain Park:

16ft up box, 16 flat box and an up rail.

Tubing:

The Plunge is closed for snowmaking and will re-open 12/26 with sessions from 9a - 10p.

Pics from this AM:

 

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BEYOND THIS THAW - LOOKING AHEAD

It feels good to be on the downhill side of this unpleasant weather.  The rainy weather is now East of the resort and temps have started to fall off.  We are forecasted to see gradual clearing and a steady drop in temps on our way to a clear and cold snowmaking night.  Bring it on!

Today's gloomy weather does not spell disaster for the Holiday ahead.  Instead, today is the end of the thaw and the weather ahead supports snowmaking and improving conditions.  Bouncing back is the key for a great Christmas Week.

Bouncing Back 101-

Surviving an extended thaw is all about conserving snow.  Almost everything we do on the snow causes melting.  Skiing, snowmobiles, building terrain park features, foot traffic, and grooming all cause some degree of melting.  When temps go up, surviving requires a re-evaluation of normal procedures to minimize the melt.  Here are a couple of examples -

Grooming -  The tracks on a grooming machine cut deep into the snow surface allowing rain and warm air to penetrate.  Once opened up, the tiller comes along and turns the snow over mixing a warm top layer with a cold layer underneath.  Grooming in the rain causes even more snow loss as warm rain water is allowed to penetrate deep into the snow pack.  During a thaw, ski operators often use this grooming phrase - "till it to kill it"....

Pushing snow - Ski areas "stockpile" snow for use when times get tough.  In our region, warm periods are a normal part of our Winter.  Being strategic about how and when to use stockpiled snow is critical.  Pushing snow is one part muscle and the other part strategy.  If you push to early, you could run out of snow...  If you try and push snow when it is warm and/or raining, you sacrifice a large portion of what you push because you introduce warm air into the cold core within a pile.  The best use of stockpiled snow comes at the end of a thaw.  Once temps fall back to freezing, we go after our stockpiles of snow and use this to widen trails and cover thin areas.

Temporarily closing trails - Sometimes it is better to let a trail remain closed than trying to repair it.  When you consider the grooming and pushing examples above, leaving a trail alone allows for quick re-opening with minimal snowmaking time.  "Saving" the trail can be an important part of bouncing back.

What do the next few days look like?

We will be making snow and pushing our stockpiles.  This is where we bring SNOWPOWER into play.  We have one of the biggest and best snowmaking systems in our region and the system can produce incredible results quickly.  SNOWPOWER supports our goal of getting as much terrain open as quickly as we can.  Re-opening recently closed trails is priority number one, getting more terrain open will be priority number two.  We should have 12 trails and 4 lifts available on 12/26.

The Plunge - closed for snowmaking beginning tonight and re-opening Thursday 12/26.

Mini Terrain Park on Upper Dobie - Making snow in this area provides limited features until 12/26

Ridgely's Fun Park - closed until 12/26 - we will make snow in this area until then 

What does the rest of the Holiday look like?

The 15 day forecast calls for normal to below normal temperatures providing day and overnight snowmaking opportunities.  Conditions should be great with additional terrain opening during the Holiday period.  Santa is bringing us normal Winter temps and the opportunity to make snow! 

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Snowmaking returns tonight!

Operating Hours:

Skiing and Riding on 8 trails with 4 lifts operating.

Open 9a - 5p

Terrain Park:

12 flat rail, 16 flat box and an up rail.

Tubing:

The Plunge is open with sessions from 9a - 4:30p.

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Snowmaking Temps return Monday Night - Weather may cause operating delays today

The National Weather Service has issued a Thunderstorm Watch for our area.  Thunderstorms passing near the resort can cause operating interruptions.  Once severe weather leaves the area, normal operations can resume. 

Don't fret, Snowmaking temperatures return Monday night.  The next 24 hours are less than ideal, however, our weather pattern returns to normal when this weather moves out.  Overnight Monday, we will push stockpiles of snow and make new snow.  The forecast ahead will allow us to rebuild, recover and provide a great surface for the Holiday week.

Operating Hours:

Skiing and Riding on 12 trails with 4 lifts operating.

Open 9a - 9p

Terrain Park:

Two distinct lines.

First line - Propane tank, big wide fun box, small 16ft box, A frame box,

Second line - Down rail, 20ft pipe slide "slim jim", small propane tank, small progression jump

Tubing:

The Plunge is open with sessions from 9a - 8:30p.

Ridgely's Fun Park is open from 11a-4p.

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