The Mysterious Art of Snowmaking

FEATURED IN THE JANUARY EDITION OF THE WATERVILLE VALLEY WIG WAG

Prior to the "winter weather event" on Saturday, December 17th, Waterville Valley Resort had received only 8 inches of natural snow. Spells of rain and warm weather seemingly plagued the valley for weeks. Both Waterville locals and first-time visitors lamented the lack of snow, wondering if blizzards are a thing of a bygone era.

You can't open a trail with only 8 inches of natural snow, let alone an entire ski resort. When Old Man Winter goes M.I.A., there's only one group that can help: snowmakers. These gritty and passionate folk are perhaps some of the most hardworking team members at Waterville Valley Resort. And their work is incredibly important - without snowmakers, skiing at Waterville Valley would be a completely different experience.

I sat down with Andrew Barrie, Snowmaking Supervisor, to learn more about the ins and outs of the incredibly complex and physically demanding job of being a snowmaker. Entering the Snow Factory, I found Andrew working alongside a fellow snowmaker, Josh Pike, monitoring water, air, and pressure levels around the mountain. Through my interview with Andrew, I was able to learn a lot more about the mysterious art of snowmaking.

The current snowmaking crew consists of 10 full-time members and 3 part-time members. This crew works around the clock, with the night shift working from 12am-12pm, and the day shift working 12pm-12am. These gritty snowmakers work 12-hour days every day from November to March.

So what does it take to actually make snow? Essentially, all it takes is cold temperatures, water, air, and of course, a lot of hard work.

Let's start with cold temperatures. Depending on the temperatures, preparing a trail (from bare to snow) can take anywhere from 3 days to a week. Optimal snowmaking temperatures range from 5-10 ° F, but snow can still be made into the mid-20s.
Next up is water. Our primary snowmaking water supply comes from the Mad River. There is a pumphouse located along the river near the Town Water Treatment Plant. Water is drawn and pumped up to the mountain via three large pumps, traveling up an underground pipeline, which follows the same path as the Nordic Ski trail, fittingly named Pipeline Trail. Once the water reaches the mountain, it spills out into the Snowmaking Pond, located adjacent to the Junior Seasonal Building. From the Snowmaking Pond, water enters an intake pipe and flows downhill into the Compressor House (also known as the Snow Factory). Within the Snow Factory, there are 5 pumps and a variety of different lines. Snowmakers control where the water goes by opening and closing valves. There are water booster pumps located halfway up the mountain and at the top of Tecumseh Express, which assist with transporting water up the mountain and maintaining pressure. Our snowmaking system can pump around 3,200 gallons per minute.

Last but not least, we also need air to make snow. Using "Low-E" technology, our new fan guns use far less air, allowing us to run more snow guns per compressor. We've got approximately 1,500 snow guns in total, with snowmaking across 100% of trails on both Mount Tecumseh and Green Peak. When snowmaking is in full swing, we use around 4,000KWH of electricity, with a total pressure output of 575-625 pounds-force per square inch.

Despite finishing up his 12-hour shift, Andrew did not appear tired or lethargic. In fact, quite the contrary - Andrew was laser-focused, continuously checking pressure levels, water output, etc. Throughout our interview, I was surprised to witness such enthusiasm and passion. Yes, his job is hard, but Andrew loves it. "It's that sense of pride you get. You go from a bare, brown trail, to skiing down that same trail three days later. That's probably my favorite part of the job".