As the season progresses, we are monitoring our snow depth targets to ensure optimal conditions across the hill. Here’s what’s our operations team is focusing on this week:
Snowmaking Targets
We are working hard to achieve target average base levels across the resort. While most areas are close to our goals, small sections of trails remain below our 1m average base target, which we can see on our heat map of the snow depth across the resort. Currently, we are aiming for a 1.2m average base on trails around the Silver Bullet, 80cm in the Orchard, and 1m in all other ski areas. To achieve these targets, we have adjusted our snowmaking efforts to focus on priority areas, running key snow guns selectively during the week. Snowmaking will shift to primarily take place overnight, with little snowmaking scheduled for weekends.
Grooming Challenges
The recent cold snap has created extremely cold, dry snow, which means fantastic conditions for skiers and riders, but presents unique challenges for our grooming team. Groomers are working on redistributing piles of snow, however, the snow sets up quickly and becomes firm in these temperatures, like pushing through concrete. Grooming trails and shaping park features in these conditions require additional time and effort, but with less snowmaking happening, our groomers are full steam ahead on pushing piles out.
Terrain Park Rebuild
Snowmaking in the Badlands has been productive this week thanks to favourable winds from the south. The area remains closed as we continue snowmaking through the weekend and into next week. We anticipate opening Badlands top-to-bottom by the end of next week, which requires approximately five days of build time. To achieve this, two groomers and up to six park staff are working daily to shape takeoffs, cut jumps, install features, set up fencing, etc., in hopes to make the best terrain park for our guests. Some of the jumps require a winch cat groomer to navigate the challenging conditions. The cold, dry snow mentioned above has made grooming Badlands a more labour-intensive practice and will require more time to shape snow piles into a park setup.
The Grove will open this weekend and will feature a dedicated section for The North Face Ride Share rail jam event on Saturday. Meanwhile, Yahoo has received a mid-season refresh with rebuilt features and fresh takeoffs.
Picture Perfect Skate Trail
The skating rink is in fantastic shape, reaching 5-6 inches of ice across most areas. Regular flooding and the cold temperatures have made this one of the best seasons for skating. We are pleased with the excellent conditions and encourage guests to head up to enjoy this awesome winter activity!
Heading into February, we are closely monitoring the two- and three-week forecast. Decisions about future snowmaking plans will depend on weather conditions and predictions. Stay tuned for more updates, and we look forward to seeing you on the slopes!
