The Mountain Times

The Room at the Top

As any snow sport slider knows, this season is all about snowmaking, i.e. the mixing of water and air under pressure and the wonderful white flakes falling from tower guns or gushing upwards from land guns.

We know the story of guns and hoses; how temps and "wet bulb," wind and rain, can affect snowmaking or even the ability to make it. In recent years when energy prices for diesel fuel and electricity have escalated, we've learned about huge investments in energy-efficient snowguns, better known as Low-E guns.

We also know that Prinoth snowcats can spread that machine-made snow with blades and lay out a nice bed of corduroy with implements like renovators and power tillers. We crave the snowfarming that creates an edgeable surface.

This winter, we who are lucky to hit the slopes regularly are not only aware of how art and science have made our mountain days possible, we appreciate it. For without snowmaking and grooming, we wouldn't be out there at all. We know who the heroes are.

What we don't know, though, is what goes on behind the scenes so that the curtain can go up every day - so that the skiing and riding can go on.



The Snow Surfaces Show

Any great theatrical production has many key components - directors, actors, set designers, script, et cetera - with a goal to provide the audience with a satisfying experience. It may be laughter in the case of comedy, sheer entertainment in a musical, or an enlightening look at humanity in a drama, or a combination of the above.

At Killington and Pico the name of that "production" is the Snow Surfaces show. And what goes into it is a planning process that has a large cast of players, from supporting roles to directors, a script for them to follow, and a goal to provide a good guest experience.

But unlike the play where the lines, scenery, and acts are the same from show to show, when it comes to the curtain going up on a ski day, the variables are numerous and the lines and details are ever changing. A mountain resort production more closely resembles Improvisational Theater (aka "Improv"), where the cast knows the general script but make changes as they perform their roles.

At Killington, Jeff Temple, director of mountain operations and facilities maintenance, knows from 32 years experience working in various departments that there can be challenges that wreck the best script and call for starting all over again. So back in the 1990s, he put into play a planning process and management systems that serve the mountain well in good times, and when something adverse does occur, better enable the curtain to go up.

"It may be that Plan A has become Plan B or even C or D," Temple notes, but thanks to a "talented team" the curtain does go up and "the show goes on."



The Snow Plan Room

The planning for that production takes place in a room at the top of the stairs in the mountain ops building. A table, computer, chairs, phones and Plexiglas-covered mountain maps line the walls of this "command center," which is known as the Snow Plan Room.

It is here that Dave Lacombe, snow surfaces manager in charge of grooming and snowmaking, and Greg Hiltz, snowmaking manager, work on production plans with Temple.

"During the heavy snowmaking production periods, the snow production planning process can take up to two to three hours a day, day in and day out, to map out not only a daily production and grooming plan but to develop plans for several days and weeks ahead," Temple noted, adding, "We also keep our focus on numerous areas around the mountain that might need attention on any given day."

They also meet with other key department heads to co-ordinate all mountain operations functions, including road plowing, lift operations, and ski patrol so that the mountain hums along on a busy day - or works smoothly when a weather event strikes.

Later, at the 2:30 p.m. Snow Plan info session, a host of resort personnel learn about production plans, give feedback and make requests. The Snow Sport School director may request more snow on certain learning trails, or the events coordinator or competitions personnel may request special venue grooming.

"We evaluate feedback at this meeting and take into consideration many of the daily requests for grooming and snowmaking and update our final plans accordingly, or take that input into consideration for the next day's planning," Temple explained.

Among those who attend are the snow reporter and public relations manager so they can communicate the latest snow surface information within the company and update customers and area lodges through the internet, Killington's website, radio and television.



Planning Process

When it comes to planning snow surfaces, the first matter of business is analyzing the weather and the "production window." With a New Hampshire service proving three-hour weather spreads, Temple, Lacombe and Hiltz look at production capability and factors like wind, wet bulb profile, equipment availability, energy availability and costs, staffing requirements, and overall needs.

They analyze and prioritize what they will do in accordance with the capability determination and in concert with longer-term plans, current needs, and the overall season's plan. For example, with little natural snow, there weren't as many bumps this year, so once the trails had received snowmaking, attention was turned to seeding and making bumps to meet the needs of the demographic that seek moguls.

With priorities set, it is on to the details for snowmaking, including where, when, and which guns will be used. Temple notes that the new Snow Logic guns use 5 cfm (cubic feet of air per minute) compared to older Low-E guns that use 100 cfms and even older standard guns that require 400-600 cfm. By using the newest guns, the resort has reduced the need for expensive compressed air and their rental of diesel compressors. Set-up crews must relocate the high efficiency guns and charge the trails receiving them with air and water so the snowmakers can go to work.

"We spend many hours a day every day forecasting and moving guns to get the most efficient plan for that night, and to make the most snow for the least expense," Temple noted. "Some guns do better in wind, others on narrow trails, so we use the appropriate gun for each particular spot," he added.

Another factor concerns the grooming plan and what is needed where. This is usually planned a week in advance for winching and regular grooming but is modified as different scenarios dictate. A popular trail might need renovating, in which case it calls for a groomer to "dig it up with a blade and till it to get more air back into the snow to get more cushion," Temple noted.

The weather forecast and customer demographics, i.e., who will be visiting the area when, are also taken into consideration. For example, last week's British invasion of hundreds of student learners resulted in an emphasis on learning terrain while the time of year also meant starting snowmaking production to prepare spring depths.

Once developed, the daily production and grooming plan is communicated at the aforementioned 2:30 p.m. meeting where the latest forecast is also shared. The final plan is implemented by the late afternoon snowmaking and grooming crews and completed by a second shift that arrives at midnight.


Change and challenge

While this process might seem easy, if a "weather event" like rain or a thaw-freeze cycle occurs during the night or early morning hours, that can mean coming in at 4 a.m. and devising Plan B or even C or D, Temple noted.

This can mean a plow truck has to back up the Access Road to sand it for workers to get to the mountain to begin de-icing lifts and a plan developed for which lifts can open on time. Checking trails served by those lifts - and more grooming as necessary - is followed by moving to other lift areas to repeat the process as they open.

With 18 rain events and warmer than normal weather, this hasn't been your average season, Temple noted, showing his reports that confirm considerably less natural snow to date (compared to last year and the five-year average.)

But no matter the scenario, plans are made and implemented, recovery happens as needed, and the curtain goes up. For planners, it's on to the next day and week's work as the process starts over.

While the weather and its challenges might seem daunting to us, it is reassuring that these planners get out on the hill every day to ski or ride so that they can experience the conditions and talk with people to see how the "show" is being received.

As with other information gathering (computer spreadsheets, weather forecasts, et cetera), it all goes back to the room at the top where their collective knowledge and expertise is pooled to provide us with what they hope will be a first-rate production.