Industry News
The race to open has already started. Arapahoe Basin is often a front-runner for being one of the first resorts in North America to spin its chairs, and it looks like it is getting ready to be a contender this year again—the snow guns are out and firing.
- Related: Brain Post: How Snow Guns Work
Hot on the heels of Loveland, who started testing its snow guns a few days ago, A-Basin fired its guns early this morning.
“About 3 AM this morning the snowmaking team fired up the system. The wet bulb temperature dropped down to 25 F. The primary objective of the session was testing. The temps were a bit colder than we expected. The system components worked well. Over the next week or two, we will do this a few more times. At some point, the temps will drop even further, stay colder longer and the snow will start to pile up. You know what happens after that.”
– Alan Henceroth, COO
The resort also posted video on its Instagram:
“It’s happening. Snowmaking started this morning around 3 A.M. on High Noon.”
View this post on Instagram
This is not uncommon, as A-Basin will usually start snowmaking in late September in preparation for a mid-October opening. In 2007, they even opened on October 10th.
Ultimately, Mother Nature will decide when they open, as the temperatures will need to stay cold for an extended period. But this hasn’t kept people from getting excited about the thought of skiing soon.
