Winterplace is in the middle of a 3-year program to upgrade its snowmaking system. The West Virginia resort has purchased 53 fully automatic SMI Polecats, bringing its total number of state-of-the-art fan guns to 88. During 2011, Winterplace hopes to achieve 100% automation in its snowmaking system.

Snowmaking used to require trudging out in the freezing cold to each gun, making manual adjustments in response to changing weather conditions. With the new automated guns, the resort reports that it can get the guns up and running with a “click of a mouse” using SMI’s Smartsnow software. More efficient snowmaking will translate to better snow conditions for skiers and boarders.

Winterplace is also adding a new terrain park on the Hickory trail, just off the top of Chairlift 4. The new park will double Winterplace’s available terrain park space.