Year-Round Snowmakers
The winter season may only be five months long, but Waterville Valley Resort never stops working on the mountain. After all, 100% snowmaking across 265 acres of terrain and two mountain peaks is no easy feat. We are constantly updating and improving the ski resort throughout the off-season, beginning as soon as our lifts stop spinning and the ski resort closes up shop for the season. This on-mountain work is essential to making winter happen. And who is the best at making winter happen? Snowmakers, of course!
Snowmakers may seem like mystical winter wizards, emerging in early November, working their magic, and then vanishing by mid-March. But alas, Waterville snowmakers are year-round warlocks. I caught up with Snowmaking Supervisor, Andrew Barrie, to get the inside scoop on Waterville's off-season snowmaking endeavors. Our current snowmaking crew consists of nine full-time members, working on an eclectic mix of on-mountain projects.
During the off-season, snowmakers take on a large, extensive project list. Andrew walked me through their most important undertakings. Summer snowmakers spend plenty of time improving and maintaining the snowmaking system: welding snowmaking pipes back together, replacing hydrants and valves, and maintaining the river pipelines.
Just like in the winter, summer snowmakers are the real MVPs: their hard work benefits everyone - skiers, riders, and fellow Waterville team members.
Their work benefits the on-snow experience. Snowmakers plan to extend the pipelines underneath Tecumseh Express 6-Pack over the summer. This pipeline extension will improve skier traffic flow and expand the skiable area, creating more room for carves, turns, and full-sends.
When I interviewed Andrew, his crew was hard at work, cutting trees along the snowmaking pipelines at the top of True Grit. They cut trees along pipelines across the entire mountain, but they also cut trees along narrow trails with no pipelines, like No Grit. In doing so, they create more room to make snow come winter. And more snow is ALWAYS a good thing. Additionally, this work benefits our grooming crew. They help keep trees out of the way of snowcats, mitigating vehicle damage, and improving operation.
Snowmakers preserve and protect the well-being of our ski trails. They perform erosion control: managing and controlling the flow of water runoff on the mountain. This important work thwarts the deterioration of ski trails and prevents the formation of large, dangerous trenches.
You know that feeling, that special kind of euphoria you get from cruising down a wide-open trail? Well, snowmakers help make that happen too. They perform vegetation management by mowing every single ski trail throughout on the mountain. If ski trails were left to grow freely, our trails would quickly revert back to forest terrain. And while everyone loves a good glade, it's imperative to keep our existing ski trails free of trees, shrubbery, and other natural obstructions.
But that's not all. Snowmakers assist multiple departments across the resort. Last summer, they helped create our new Nordic trail, Rough Rider. Last month, they built the foundation and footings for the new Freestyle Lounge deck. Last week, they built pathways for Waterville's summit-top weddings.
Working on the New Freestyle Lounge Deck
Rough Rider Nordic Trail
It's important to remember that excavators, loaders, and trucks can only do so much. Around 80% of snowmaking work is labor-intensive, it must be performed by hand. Being a year-round snowmaker takes a certain level of dedication, passion, and grit. And without these year-round warlocks, there wouldn't be much of a ski season at all. So remember, if you're out and about and you see their telltale red helmets, be sure to #thankasnowmaker.
P.S. Think Snow!