Non lift improvement for 17/18

Remski

So far I've seen that the Spookie trail at CANNON is getting some widening and of course the rest of Green Peak at WATERVILLE is being polished into some great terrain. What else is happening in New England?

DrJeff

Mount Snow is bringing their 120 million gallon West Lake snowmaking project online that will not only increase their water storage capacity about 10 fold, but also basically double their water pumping capacity

newpylong

Two underdogs of the East - Magic and Whaleback are both doing fairly major non-lift projects, though both are undertaking related lift projects as well.

Magic is restoring snowmaking capabilities to the Lower East side of the mountain on many trails that have not seen it in quite some time such as Lower Magic Carpet, Vertigo and Mystery. They also are replacing uphill water mains directly upstream from the pumphouse to help increase pressure on the hill. A third yet related project, if approved, is to gain access to more water by bringing the river pump back online.

Whaleback has leveled their snowmaking pumphouse and is rebuilding it from the ground up centered around a new Variable Speed Drive on the water pump with automatic pressure controls. This will means 25-40% more water going up the mountain. They also are restoring the compressed air cooler and rebuilding all of the water distribution valve boxes on the hill. In conjunction with the new T-Bar, snow will be made on terrain that has not seen it in 17 years.

rickbolger

newpylong said:

Two underdogs of the East - Magic and Whaleback are both doing fairly major non-lift projects, though both are undertaking related lift projects as well. [edited for space]

Thanks for the concise update! This is a good sign that hopefully, these often-struggling ski areas are gaining momentum

mapnut

Berkshire East is cutting a new novice trail east of the Mohawk trail: http://www.newenglandskiindustry.com/viewstory.php?storyid=592

bubblecuffer

mapnut said:

Berkshire East is cutting a new novice trail east of the Mohawk trail: http://www.newenglandskiindustry.com/viewstory.php?storyid=592

 Really looking forward to that one.  I expect this will also serve as a maintenance road for the new area.

mtsnow123

Recent news article about the filling of West Lake at Mount Snow/Hermitage: http://www.dvalnews.com/view/full_story/27461407/article-Reservoir-filling-up?instance=secondary_stories_left_column

JMaul

Smuggs' is going RFID. 

mtsnow123

JMaul said:

Smuggs' is going RFID. 

Yes, I just read that. I remember going there for years and being checked only a handful of times. Good for them!

NewEnglandSkier13

JMaul said:

Smuggs' is going RFID. 

So is Wachusett

obienick

11,800 gpm? Damn. That'll be #2 behind only Killington IIRC.

obienick

Wasn't Wachusett RFID last year? I didn't ski there but I thought I saw pics of those gates up.

NewEnglandSkier13

obienick said:

Wasn't Wachusett RFID last year? I didn't ski there but I thought I saw pics of those gates up.

I think you're correct. It still says "new" on their website, so they must not have updated it yet for the coming season.

JAM614

Lot of improvements being done at Black Mountain of Maine;

• Destumping and grading of last year's new backcountry trails off the summit;

https://www.facebook.com/skiblackmountain/photos/a.465621247966.248442.168141422966/10154614053162967/?type=3

• At least (5) new glades projected to be cut, with (2) already complete.  East Bowl glades serving up 800 vertical feet of expert glade skiing in mature hardwoods. The Angry Beavers are busy. 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1835069679852958&set=p.1835069679852958&type=3&theater

• Expansion of snowmaking to include the Allagash
• Numerous Lodge improvements & The Last Run Pub expanding by about 25%.
• Same low price of $20 Fridays and $37 weekends.

4aprice

JMaul said:

Smuggs' is going RFID. 

Maybe they are getting ready to join one of the multi-resort pass products like Max or Epic.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

slatham

Sugarbush is also going RFID.

In addition to above, Magic is also doing some trail work, notably on Green Line and the connector from the summit of the "new" Green Lift onto Magic Carpet. I believe they also plan some trail work on some of those lower east side trails like Magic Carpet, Vetigo and Mystery. They for sure have worked to further clear the Disappearing Act glade.

mapnut

Disappearing Act - what a great name for a Magic glade!

Spunkyskier01

obienick said:

11,800 gpm? Damn. That'll be #2 behind only Killington IIRC.

How are they behind killington? Killington can only pump over 10,000 which given their size isn't much. Also the 11,900 from what I understand is false and a marketing ploy. Still I hope the best for them they have been plagued by water issues for too long.

obienick

My source shows 12,000 gpm for Killington.

riverc0il

mtsnow123 said:

JMaul said:

Smuggs' is going RFID. 

Yes, I just read that. I remember going there for years and being checked only a handful of times. Good for them!

You must have been there on an off day. They are one of the most aggressive ticket checkers for ski areas without scanning systems.

I'm fine with Smuggs going RFID because they have the largest damn paper tickets out there. Damn things are always flapping around in the wind, drives me crazy. 

It will be interesting to see how they implement RFID given their unusual line structure due to the doubles. I think they would need to have the scanning device just before the lift load. They'll probably need to have a slight adjustment to their queues to incorporate the scanning device.

newpylong

Spunkyskier01 said:

obienick said:

11,800 gpm? Damn. That'll be #2 behind only Killington IIRC.

How are they behind killington? Killington can only pump over 10,000 which given their size isn't much. Also the 11,900 from what I understand is false and a marketing ploy. Still I hope the best for them they have been plagued by water issues for too long.

Yes the number is pure Marketing. New Carinthia pumphouse can only pump 8,000 GPM as configured (they only put 8 pumps in not all 10) which is then boosted at the Roy Pumphouse (Drop trail). The seperate Upper Carinthia pump is good for 1400 GPM. Not even 10K total but still very powerful.

Remski

King Pine is replacing snowmaking pipes with larger diameter pipes so they can add more guns.

newpylong

Whaleback's rebuilt pumphouse going up.

Jonni

Just saw a nice piece on Bolton Valley getting some upgrades. Some improvements to dining and badly needed work on snowmaking:

http://www.mychamplainvalley.com/news/improved-snowmaking-dining-experience-at-bolton-valley-resort/800896827

mtsnow123

Jonni said:

Just saw a nice piece on Bolton Valley getting some upgrades. Some improvements to dining and badly needed work on snowmaking:

http://www.mychamplainvalley.com/news/improved-snowmaking-dining-experience-at-bolton-valley-resort/800896827

Great news to hear. I am getting a pass there again and snowmaking is super helpful. With that bad season 2 winters ago, it was sad to see only one way down from the Vista summit and Wilderness lift never running. I remember they didn't even open until after Christmas. Having Timberline open before Christmas would be quite the gift.

bobbutts

Gunstock is going with an RFID system too.  Article below lists some other improvements that aren't itt also.
http://www.unionleader.com/business/nh-ski-areas-implementing-new-features-improvements--20170827

joshua_segal

Anyone else agree with me that RFIDs are a pain-in-the-butt?  Perhaps they will be improved, but for now, I wouldn't categorize "installing an RFID system" as an improvement!

ski_it

I'm in complete agreement with you. Perhaps they help their bottom line because they make us buy cards at $5 each. Also they have to buy & maintain more equipment and cannot get rid of all ticket checkers because people always seem to have problems getting thru the gates.

joshua_segal

ski_it said:

I'm in complete agreement with you. Perhaps they help their bottom line because they make us buy cards at $5 each. Also they have to buy & maintain more equipment and cannot get rid of all ticket checkers because people always seem to have problems getting thru the gates.

Anybody know how much fraud we're dealing with in "theft of service" from people trying to ski without paying for a ticket? I've asked ticket checkers over the years and most tell me that they are more likely to find someone with a season pass who left it in his cubby in the lodge or someone who failed to attach their ticket properly which fell off somewhere on the hill. (I know, especially when we have school field trips that I find at least a couple of tickets on the hill that were improperly attached to their wicket.) 

jaytrem

joshua_segal said:

Anyone else agree with me that RFIDs are a pain-in-the-butt?  Perhaps they will be improved, but for now, I wouldn't categorize "installing an RFID system" as an improvement!

Yes, I've had 3 go bad on me during the day over the years.  Pain in the butt to go back and get a new one.  Most recent was Le Massif last year.

rickbolger

joshua_segal said:

ski_it said:

I'm in complete agreement with you. Perhaps they help their bottom line because they make us buy cards at $5 each. Also they have to buy & maintain more equipment and cannot get rid of all ticket checkers because people always seem to have problems getting thru the gates.

Anybody know how much fraud we're dealing with in "theft of service" from people trying to ski without paying for a ticket? I've asked ticket checkers over the years and most tell me that they are more likely to find someone with a season pass who left it in his cubby in the lodge or someone who failed to attach their ticket properly which fell off somewhere on the hill. (I know, especially when we have school field trips that I find at least a couple of tickets on the hill that were improperly attached to their wicket.) 

Agree on RFID.  Not so sure on the ticket thing; I think it depends on circumstances.  Some people are willing to steal.  I think most ski areas do a pretty good job of checking & preventing theft.  If anything the scanners would be the easiest to game, RFID harder to get your hands on one.   I think the hardest thing to scam would be an old fashioned metal wicket and a smart, focused person checking them at the entry.