The Snowmaking/Operations Outlook Thread

Wilmington has to open before they move them to Hoyt's.  I really hope it's just another error on the report.  Will be an absolute embarrassment and disgrace for them not to finish Wilmington this week with favorable temps and lots of help from nature.

Given Wilmington will likely be up by Saturday, anyone know if Hoyt's High has enough natural on it that they can open that too sans the snowmaking for those with rock skis?

No way Wilmington opens Saturday if they turned the guns off today.  Hopefully that'she just an error in the report.  But it could be equally likely that they decided to publicize snowmaking on Wilmington for the weekend, and immediately shut it down once everyone left.  Could've been trying to keep people from cancelling their President's weekend plans, and now are in the switch mode of a bait-n-switch.

Hoyt's is rocky and won't be open without snowmaking.  I'm hoping SVG is open the 11th 12th because I plan on skiing with Glade Runner and he can show me around there.  Not sure if I'm comfortable going in there alone and I'm not sure if there's a single person in all of Clarkson who's core enough to ski any non groomed trail, if there's anyone who will even get up early enough to leave at 6am to get there before it's all crowded and tracked out.  

snoloco wrote

No way Wilmington opens Saturday if they turned the guns off today.  Hopefully that'she just an error in the report.  But it could be equally likely that they decided to publicize snowmaking on Wilmington for the weekend, and immediately shut it down once everyone left.  Could've been trying to keep people from cancelling their President's weekend plans, and now are in the switch mode of a bait-n-switch.

Hoyt's is rocky and won't be open without snowmaking.  I'm hoping SVG is open the 11th 12th because I plan on skiing with Glade Runner and he can show me around there.  Not sure if I'm comfortable going in there alone and I'm not sure if there's a single person in all of Clarkson who's core enough to ski any non groomed trail, if there's anyone who will even get up early enough to leave at 6am to get there before it's all crowded and tracked out.

You are out of your mind.

So dramatic Sno.

I really doubt they would waste those labor and water resources to simply "bait and switch" the public for Presies weekend.

Just drop management another e-mail that you and Ethan will be there next week and they better have their shit in order. That should get everything done.

I never mentioned Ethan in my last post.  I'm skiing with Glade Runner in 2 weeks, either at Gore or Whiteface.  Not sure which one.

Dudes, back the f' off Sno.  He saw the man on the icy knoll!!

Right you are Captain!

It was sarcasm.

raisingarizona wrote

I really doubt they would waste those labor and water resources to simply "bait and switch" the public for Presies weekend.

I'd like to think this statement is true, but if it would end up being better for profit margins to do that than to open it, that's what will happen, just like what they did last year.

raisingarizona wrote

Just drop management another e-mail that you and Ethan will be there next week and they better have their shit in order.

When have I ever complained about Lookout not being open? I drove 4.5 hours each way to WF 3 times last year, and not once did I complain about Lookout not being open in my TRs. Also, Sno never did mention me. Albeit, in all honesty, I will be pissed this year if they don't open lookout this year considering they already started up there.

I'm not really one to check conditions reports very often. In fact, I think the only conditions report I visited this year was at Gore before MLK weekend. then, they had more open than they were even reporting.  I don't watch the reports all week long. cause lots of time they close stuff during the mid-week. I'm usually busy tending to my own snow guns. Headed out there now.

And another thought:

It's also possible that they had to perform some preventative routine maintenance on some of their compressors/pumps.

When they are blowing Wilmington full bore, they have to run all eight compressors and probably most of their pumps when it's cold. That equipment can't safely run for weeks on end without oil changes, and cleaning the babbit bearings during that time period.

On average, we change the oil in our cars every 5k miles. That's about 75 hours or 3 days on the highway. My guess is all that equipment has to be inspected and maintained every 3 days.

It's going to be marginal temps tomorrow, so they may take a day or two off. I'll betcha Willie is open on Saturday. They may continue to run the guns on Wilmington through the weekend. Don't freak out Sno.

I fail to see how 18 degrees is marginal temps (forecasted high for tomorrow at top of LWF).  Supposed to be 20 at the base and with 70% humidity that's wet bulb 18.  Lower wet bulb than when they were blowing it on Saturday.  Low is -5 tonight, so that would be a huge waste to not make snow during that time.

It could be another snow report fuck up because they said on facebook at 8:15 that there was snowmaking on Wilmington.

OMG!!  STFU!!!

These "bait and switch" conspiracy theories are laughable.  
Every little thing sets you off and you go off the deep end! Grow up!

It's not a conspiracy if it's true.  They lit up Wilmington over the weekend so that people would think they were going to open it, and then publicized it everywhere.  Since it's midweek and the crowds have left, they turned them back off and will continue to say that they will "open it in the near future" when people ask what's up.  Then when President's Weekend is coming up, they'll announce that "due to weather conditions we will not be able to open Wilmington this season".  It'll be too late for people to change their plans and go elsewhere, and they get the crowds that they'd get if it were open, but without the inconvenience to management to open it.

You're delusional, Sno. You're also changing your story slightly to make yourself sound less crazy. You originally said they lit up Wilmington because they knew YOU were there this weekend. That is seriously nutty.

We all know who's profile this is.

Hey, take it easy on le petit un!  He spoke with Zapruder, Jr, who was at WF this weekend, too.  He's got a film, proof of the tribesman on the icy knoll.  Little did you know that ORDA spent millions on the Lookout pod as an elaborate bait and switch hoax designed to sell a couple extra lift tickets that would never make up the cost!  But Sno knows, he super sleuthed that shit!!

Good work!!!

Sno....this will help all your writing, not just your insane bs on the blogosphere.

Write it, put it down, leave it for a few hours.  If you come back and read it, and it doesn't sound batshit crazy to you....post.  Do that and I think you might end up with a lot of material on the cutting room floor!

They highly publicized that they were "Starting up snowmaking on Wilmington this weekend" (the one that just passed).  Posted about it multiple times on all the social media pages they're on.  Snowmaking on a trail implies that it's going to be opened within about a week.  Looking at what the report says today, and given the weather forecast for the rest of this week with perfect temps, it looks like it was all a lie and part an underlying agenda to get more people on the hill and then stick it to them.  This is right up there, or worse than Plattekill advertising a powder daize when a private party tracked it out the day before.  I think it's worse because that was only one day, and ORDA's actions here will affect the entire season, and likely subsequent seasons.

I really didn't want to do this, but I put the petition back in my signature line.  I jumped the gun on taking it down, and now am seeing consequences.  It will remain up until I personally ski at least one run on Wilmington, so that I have proof that they aren't lying in the report.