ALPINE SKIING & SNOWBOARDING

Winter is on the Way! What's New at the Ski Areas

By Eric Vohr

Photo by Nancie Battaglia Schussing down the Skyward Trail on a frosty morning at Whiteface.

The men and women who make it all happen at the region's resorts have been working overtime pruning trails and priming snow guns as they prepare for the 2002-2003 ski season.

The Adirondacks two biggest resorts, Gore and Whiteface, both are boasting extensive improvements over last year.

Whiteface begins blowing snow the first week of November and plans to be open no later than Thanksgiving. This year the mountain will take the wrappings off of a new high-speed detachable quad lift that runs from the base to the top of Upper Valley in approximately 6 minutes and has an uphill capacity of 2,400 people-per-hour. The mid-station unload has been removed, so say goodbye to the platforms, fencing and towers that used to crowd the area, and hello to more ski terrain.

Whiteface also expanded its Kids Kampus at Easy Acres with a new Magic Carpet conveyor/surface lift. Whiteface purchased a new 2002 Zaugg Monster half-pipe machine that will allow it to create a new super pipe that follows strict International Ski Federation specifications. On the snowmaking end of things, Whiteface will be adding water pumps at two pump houses for additional snowmaking capacity.

At Gore, expect to ski and ride on four new trails on Bear Mountain — all serviced by the new Topridge Triple. These trails will be connected to the Hudson River pipeline for snowmaking. The mountain expects to begin blowing snow as soon as Mother Nature allows, with a targeted opening day of Nov. 22.

If you like to head south for your skiing and riding pleasure, Hunter's artillery of more than 1,100 snowguns will be fired on Nov. 1, with a projected opening date of Nov. 16. New for this year, expect to see a regrading of the Milky Way trail and a restructuring of Lower Hemlocks and Macombs road. The mountain also placed more guns on Milky Way and an upgraded computerized hydrant has been added to Racer's Edge.

At Windham, they expanded their reservoir to pump out more snow in less time and added a bunch of tower-mounted snow guns throughout the mountain. On the beginner trail newcomers to skiing and riding will be greeted with a new conveyer lift that makes getting up the hill simple.

Across the border, Jay Peak has added two new lifts, a high capacity quad chair and a moving carpet beginner lift. In addition, they've added more snowmaking and a new groomer to the fleet.

Stowe is planning to open Nov. 15. And, as always, Stowe plans to offer some of the best skiing in the East (it's on my top five list.) The snowdeck terrain park is new at Stowe this year along with upgrades in all its existing terrain parks. Lower North Slope trail has been regraded to accommodate a super pipe more than 400 feet long with a 16-degree pitch.

At Smugglers' Notch, they've greatly improved the Madonna I base-to-summit lift. The lift profile has been lowered to screen the chairs from wind, and a new drive motor and hydraulic tensioning top unload station are designed to provide a smoother ride and more comfortable access to the summit. Also, Sterling Mountain will have a new warming hut for those who like to take a little break before launching down the trails.

Sugarbush has installed the Green Mountain Express, a Poma high-speed detachable quad that gives skiers and riders fast access to Mount Ellen's 4,135-foot summit. The new lift will help cut down on weekend crowds and lift lines in the base area. Snowmaking at the mountain also was improved with the restoration of the Ellen snowmaking pond to its original capacity.

For the skiing purist, Mad River Glen — the mountain that likes to keep things simple — has added a new building surrounding the single chair's bottom return station. The mountain operations team also developed a new ventilation system to cool the engine room. This way the doors can be closed, cutting down on noise in the base area by 70 percent. And for those who aren't used to riding a fixed lift, you'll be happy to know the mountain installed nice new seat pads on its 54-year-old single chair this year. Hey, there's nothing wrong with a few minor upgrades.

Killington opened for the season on October 25 with top to bottom terrain and eight trails open. This was facilitated by a recent 30 percent increase in snowmaking made possible with a connection to Woodward Reservoir in nearby Plymouth, VT. Also, the mountain is putting in a kid's snowcross course at the base of Killington Peak near the Killington Base Lodge. Killington also is replacing its existing fleet of diesel air compressors with new, cleaner burning engines and new air pollution control technology.

Okemo started making snow at the end of Oct. in preparation for an anticipated opening date of Nov. 9. Snowmaking efforts will be concentrated on several summit trails and the World Cup trails, offering top to bottom terrain. Okemo's Jackson Gore area will feature seven new intermediate and advanced trails, complete with snowmaking, and one new high-speed detachable quad. Okemo also added a new kid's carpet lift in the Solitude area.

Magic owners say the mountain definitely will be open this year and plan to start blowing snow in the beginning of December with a projected opening date of Dec. 14. New at the mountain are added hydrants for snowmaking and two-dozen new towers. The mountain purchased two additional chairlifts and anticipates installing them in the spring.

Bromley will have three fan guns blowing snow on the Lord's Prayer on Nov. 10, with an opening day planned for Nov. 23. For snowboarders and twin tip enthusiasts, nine new J rails will be added to the Lord's Prayer terrain park. Bromley invested a lot this year in snowmaking to help it get through the rainy spells and take it further into spring.

Two new six-pack high-speed lifts installed last year have made Stratton's Sunbowl base area a new destination for skiers and riders who want to avoid the weekend crowds that form at the base of the gondola. The mountain's adding a new, larger, heated deck at the Mid-Mountain Lodge and more beginner terrain parks with easier hits and smaller rails.

Homegrown Olympic snowboard gold medalist Kelly Clark will make several appearances at Mount Snow. The mountain upgraded several grooming machines to the latest Bombardier BR-275s. It also has a new Terrain Master, a machine that allows an increased range of motion and larger pushing capacity ideal for moving snow and building and maintaining terrain park features.

At Jiminy Peak in Massachusetts, the water in their reservoirs is being cooled and snowmaking begins as soon after Nov. 1 as temperatures permit. Fifty percent more guns have been added to Grand Slam, the Foxes, Upper Slingshot, 360 and 180. This will allow the mountain to open top to bottom skiing-riding after only 20 hours of snowmaking. Brodie (owned by Jiminy) is open for only snow tubing this year, so one of the grooming machines has returned to Jiminy. Also, the Pipe Dragon will be at Jiminy full time, which means it can dedicate a machine to the alpine park and half pipe, 24-seven.

That's the news from the big resorts out there; if I missed your favorite local mountain stay tuned because we'll probably be covering it in future months.

If you haven't gotten your gear together yet this year, there is no better time than now. And don't forget to take a few turns for me.

Eric Vohr (ericvohr@adelphia.net) lives in North Bennington, VT, and writes for Ski Magazine and Adventure Cyclist magazine. He also writes a ski and outdoor sports column that runs in newspapers throughout the Northeast.

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