Tower-mounted snowguns

[jamesdeluxe]

I think that the next great ski area innovation should be retractable snow guns. I know that it's a necessary evil in the NE, but nothing is more of a buzzkill for me than to see a trail lined with those things.

 

[ChrisC]

I think that the next great ski area innovation should be retractable snow guns. I know that it's a necessary evil in the NE, but nothing is more of a buzzkill for me than to see a trail lined with those things.

I really agree with this sentiment. It's quite odd to see them hulking over trails long after they have served their purpose. Like skiing through a skeleton/rib cage -- not so nice of an experience. This is a West Coast thing too.

 

[Skidog]

I think that the next great ski area innovation should be retractable snow guns. I know that it's a necessary evil in the NE, but nothing is more of a buzzkill for me than to see a trail lined with those things.

This is a West Coast thing too.

Hmmmm I dont see but a few snow guns at alta or snowbird....few at the base thats about it...dont know how this could be considered a "west coast thing too"???

M

 

[Tony Crocker]

It depends upon the area and how the snowmaking is set up. At Big Bear you can always see those black protective covers at the side of the trails. At Mammoth, and I imagine many western resorts, the snowmaking stops after the first big dump and the apparatus is buried under several feet of snow.

I've never been to AltaBird early enough in the season to even know where they make snow. But I suspect it's very limited and near the base areas.

For places that are snowmaking dependent, and the base rarely gets over 3-4 feet, I think you will see the equipment by the side oif trails most of the time.

 

[Harvey]

What they say at Gore is that the "towers" somehow help make early season snowmaking more efficient to get more terrain open sooner? Not sure how that works. Are those towers actually more efficient? Maybe because they are always in place but "out of the way."

 

[ChrisC]

I think that the next great ski area innovation should be retractable snow guns. I know that it's a necessary evil in the NE, but nothing is more of a buzzkill for me than to see a trail lined with those things.

This is a West Coast thing too.

Hmmmm I dont see but a few snow guns at alta or snowbird....few at the base thats about it...dont know how this could be considered a "west coast thing too"???

M

Well not at the high-snowfall areas. But at the busy low-mid snowfall areas, the major traffic runs/low elevation trails all seemed lined.

 

[Admin]

Skidog, ever been to Snowbasin? Those permanent tower guns dot the entire mountainside like Alta's July wildflowers.

I've never been to AltaBird early enough in the season to even know where they make snow. But I suspect it's very limited and near the base areas.

Alta has extended its snowmaking coverage in recent years to cover the primary groomed intermediate routes off both Sugarloaf and Collins as well as most of Sunnyside with fan guns. Tower guns, however, are limited to a couple near the base as well as one I can think of on Sunnyside near the base of Vail Ridge..

 

[Skidog]

Skidog, ever been to Snowbasin? Those permanent tower guns dot the entire mountainside like Alta's July wildflowers.

I've never been to AltaBird early enough in the season to even know where they make snow. But I suspect it's very limited and near the base areas.

Alta has extended its snowmaking coverage in recent years to cover the primary groomed intermediate routes off both Sugarloaf and Collins as well as most of Sunnyside with fan guns. Tower guns, however, are limited to a couple near the base as well as one I can think of on Sunnyside near the base of Vail Ridge..

Noope never been to snowbasin....but thats why i particularly mentioned Alta and the bird smartass..

M

 

[Admin]

smartass..

Good to know that you recognize my superior intellect. 8)

 

[Skidog]

smartass..

Good to know that you recognize my superior intellect. 8)

I KNEW i shouldve capitalized the A$$ part :lol:

M

 

[riverc0il]

I don't really notice them much any more. Though, I will readily admit that is because I rarely ski on trail. I think this thread branched from the Jay Peak thread and I never notice the tower guns on Jet during the winter even when riding the lift or skiing Jet or Haynes. As long as they get rotated so they are not hanging over the trail, I never really notice.

 

[Patrick]

Posted in the wrong discussion.

 

[jasdmd0]

What they say at Gore is that the "towers" somehow help make early season snowmaking more efficient to get more terrain open sooner? Not sure how that works. Are those towers actually more efficient? Maybe because they are always in place but "out of the way."

The towers serve 2 primary roles in not just early season snowmaking, but anytime they're used.

#1 the added height that the tower gives a snowgun, whether an air/water gun or a fangun, allows from greater "hang time" of the machine made snow crystals between when they leave the nozzles and when they hit the ground. This greater hang time allows for a greater degree of snow crystal formation and a generally "drier" product than a ground based gun

#2 the added height of the tower allows a greater throw/dispersion of the manmade snow over the trail

 

[Geoff]

For places that are snowmaking dependent, and the base rarely gets over 3-4 feet, I think you will see the equipment by the side oif trails most of the time.

Nope. Base depths on eastern double black snowmaking trails end up being far more then 3-4 feet. After a major thaw, they have to put down several feet of new base to cover up the bullet proof. Over the course of a winter of resurfacing, you end up with some really big base depths. At Killington, a lot of trails still have snow on all the steep parts. Trails like Outer Limits, Superstar, Cascade, East Fall, and Double Dipper all end up with way more than 10 feet of base by the end of March. Steins at Sugarbush is still covered with snow and I'm sure it's the same there.