All right if you folks at Timberline are listening I have a relatively CHEAP idea that will make your mountain stand out and attract tons of skiing customers. I'm sure no one in management skied the mountain during the last few weeks of great snow, but I did and I'll tell you a little bit about your mountain. There is so much snow in between trails and in the tress that it is unbelievable. YOur potential to double your skiable terrain without increasing snowblowing is unbelievable. If you hired a small crew of guys during the fall to clear out glade runs all over the mountain you would have twice the skiable terrain. You could market twice the number of runs!!! You are blowing snow in the woods already when you blow the trails why don't you take advantage of it. If you gladed the entire mountain you would have people traveling from all over the east coast to ski the trees at Timberline, hey and after they are done skiing they might even visit the cafeteria or a comedy show.
Glade runner is a good start-keep on going- all over the mountain. But if you actually decide to do it you should consult people who actually ski and snowboard to tell you where the priority spots should be, becasue no offense but it is obvious that management at Timberline are just not skiers or snowboarders and don't know what skiing and snowboarding customers are looking for as far as terrain goes. And here is an idea- instead of planning to do it in house and just end up not having the time of employees to do it why don't you do what contractors do - bid the work out!!! Call some landscaping or treetrimming companies.
If the entire mountain of Timberline was gladed I would never go anywhere else and would be getting fresh tracks for weeks.! Isn't that what you where thinking when you where ducking limbs, running over brush, and hopping over logs on your runs canaanman?