Here is the text of an email I received from Ski Liberty.
The Colonel
It's 'SNOW'VEMBER!
This Just In: Liberty Mountain receives first natural snow of the season!
You heard right! Liberty Mountain received its first natural snow of the season on November 21st! Outlined with snow, the slopes and trails are starting to take form across the mountain and may soon be ready for skiers and snowboarders! With favorable snowmaking temperatures, the Liberty Mountain Crew is ready to get the snow guns blowing tonight! New improvements to snowmaking equipment could allow Liberty Mountain to get up and running for the winter season sooner than ever before!
With Mother Nature's help, how could Liberty get the mountain ready sooner than ever before? We sat down with Mountain Manager Ron Crozier to get the facts on Liberty's most recent snowmaking improvements and as long as the weather cooperates, what we could expect from the snow guns over the next few days...
So Ron, I haven't seen much of you this summer, what have you been up to?
Well, we've been busy on the mountain. All told, I think we've spent about 1.5 mill in equipment, lighting, pipe. It's been a lot of work - hopefully it's all about to pay off.
Ok, what does that mean to our guests? What are they going to see different?
As far as snowmaking power, there should be a significant difference. Our mountain is now over 60% automated. My goal is for a greater quantity and quality of snow across the board and more consistent conditions all season long. Starting up, we should be able to get trails open more quickly, and once a trail is open, refreshing it is going to be much easier. We can maintain the trails quicker and more efficiently and move right on to getting more terrain open.
Aesthetically, no more old corroded towers on Whitney's and Ultra - there are 30 new Areco fan guns on those trails alone. We put all the ugly overhead electrical cable underground. It's just so much cleaner back there. And lights.we're on year four of upgrading all lighting - increased wattage and less consumption.
Elaborate on 'automated' and 'greater quantity and quality'.
Once we reach optimal conditions, automation allows us to fire up all the guns at once. It used to take a lot of time to build up the water pressure and to turn on the water and air to each individual gun. With automation, this all happens simultaneously. Our new fan guns will probably use half the horsepower as our old system and we can get to maximum water capacity a lot quicker than before. These guns are so much more efficient.ok, it used to be 20-22 degrees before we could we reach max water usage. Now we should be able to reach max usage at about 24-26 degrees - huge difference!
And max water usage means.?
Bottom line - it means more snow on more trails quicker.that's the goal!
How does this impact our guests? With Liberty's improvements to the snowmaking system, there is a possibility that the resort could open earlier than usual for the winter season. This means that you could have more opportunities to enjoy the mountain! An earlier open could mean a longer season to use your Season Passes, Advantage Cards, Night Club Cards, and Mountain Passport Cards! Start thinking about how you want to spend your winter!
So when will Liberty open for the winter season? Even though Mother Nature has blessed us with cold temperatures and snowmaking has officially begun at Liberty, there is no opening day scheduled yet! Keep checking our website and your email for up-to-date information on Liberty Mountain's opening day status.
Watch Liberty make snow! Check out our webcams to watch the snowmaking as it progresses over the weekend! Also, learn what it takes to actually make the snow! Visit Liberty's "Snowmaking 101" lesson to learn more!
See you soon...?
