Adirondack ski areas by the numbers: Gore energy efficiency

Some readers know that while I'm a skier in "real" life, I'm an accountant in my "other" life. I guess that makes me something of a numbers nerd, and explains why the page below, from ORDA's recently released 2013-14 annual report, caught my eye.

(click the picture to enlarge)

If the image is too small to read easily, here's the data from the chart:

	2012/2013	2013/2014	change
Lift days*	1071	1209	+13%
Gallons of water pumped	270 million	305 million	+13%
KWH consumed	13,646,411	13,539,776	-106,635
Total revenue	$8,956,910	$9,646,160	+7.7%

*One lift day is the equivalent of running one lift for one day. For example,one ski day with 10 lifts in operation is equal to 10 lift days.

Adirondack ski areas by the numbers: Snowmaking

Snowmaking can be a skier’s best friend, extending the season and providing good conditions when natural snow is in short supply. Early season may be the most crucial time of all, when skiing may not even be possible without snowmaking. That’s certainly been the case this year, with practically no natural snowfall to speak of yet. Here’s a quick overview of snowmaking systems at Adirondack ski areas.

Snowmaking Comparison

	Air cfm	Water gpm	acre/ft per day	acres	# of days
Whiteface	32000	6000	30	275	9.2
Gore Mountain	27000	6000	30	400	13.3
Killington, VT	n/a	12000	80	600	7.5
Hunter	90000	10320	60	240	4.0
West Mountain	n/a	2800	n/a	85	n/a
Willard Mountain	n/a	1200	n/a	60	n/a
Oak Mountain	n/a	500	n/a	20	n/a
Hickory Ski Center	No snowmaking
Big Tupper	No snowmaking

Gore and Whiteface begin snowmaking

Apparently both Gore and Whiteface got the message that today is my birthday. Both ski areas fired up their snowmaking plants last night for the first time this season. A press release from Gore this morning states:
“We had a really good first night of snowmaking,” commented General Manager Mike Pratt. “We ran over 70 guns, there was very little wind, and temperatures got down to the teens.”

Northeast pre-season ski stoke, "best of" edition

Some of the best pre-season images from ski areas around the northeast over the past week or so:

Whiteface, October 12:

How green is your snow?

Since Sunday was Earth Day 2012, here’s a quick look at the environmental impacts of skiing, what ski areas are doing to lessen their impact, and actions that individual skiers can take.

There’s no getting around the fact that ski resorts and the activity of skiing leave a large footprint on the environment, particularly in terms of energy consumption. Snowmaking, lifts and grooming utilized by downhill ski resorts have very large energy requirements. Lighting and heat for lodges and other buildings also contribute to a ski area’s carbon footprint. Snowmaking is by far the largest energy consumer, with huge amounts of electricity and/or diesel fuel required to operate air compressors and water pumps.

West Mountain: 01/11/2012, UPDATED 01/14/2012 WITH SNOWMAKING VIDEO

Wednesday telemark night at West Mountain, week 2. While those who skipped last week missed out on a fine night of skiing, those who skipped this week probably made the right call. Loose granular snow over a hardpack base plus crowded slopes (mostly school groups) added up to less-than-stellar skiing. It’s still skiing though, and those of us who braved the slopes were all smiles by 9:15 (in the bar) as the first beers were poured.

Gore Mountain Snowmaking Tour: 11/18/2011

If you’ve seen Gore Mountain’s announcements this fall or read my Adirondack Ski Season Preview, then you already know about the 130 new high-efficiency tower guns that have been installed on Sunway, Sleighride, Quicksilver, Otter Slide, 3B, Sagamore and Wild Air. The new guns are a big deal: they represent the single biggest upgrade to the snowmaking system since tapping the Hudson River 15 years ago. On Friday morning I met with Mike Pratt, Gore Mountain’s General Manager, to talk about Gore’s snowmaking operations and take a tour of the mountain, just as crews were shutting down the guns following the first night of snowmaking operations.

Mike: Last night was our first night of snowmaking. We ran more than 80 guns on Topridge, Sunway, and Quicksilver. We’re shutting the system down for now (9am) because the temperatures are warming up, but we’ll start back up late this afternoon and run through the night again.

Jeff: What’s the plan for opening day?

October Snow and Season Goals

The image below, widely circulated last Thursday, stoked the hopes of eastern skiers for the start of the 2011-2012 season:

Snowmaking on Rime, October 28, courtesy Killington

Teaser from Sunday River, Maine

For the past four seasons, Sunday River has been the first Eastern U.S. ski resort to open, and it is looking as though they will extend that streak. Last night and this morning, Sunday River fired 50 snowmaking guns in a pre-season test. If this short video clip doesn't get you stoked for the start of ski season, nothing will!

Whiteface Snowmaking Tour: 11/24/2010

Yesterday I had the opportunity to participate in the Whiteface Mountain Snowmaking Media Tour.  About a half dozen of us were met in the main lodge by Bruce McCulley, General Manager of the mountain, and Jon Lundin, ORDA Public Relations Coordinator.  We started with an overview of the past year, the outlook for this winter, and plans for opening day this Friday, the 26th.