Industry News
Arapahoe Basin Ski Area (Colorado) will install four new tower fan snow guns on the Lower High Noon trail this upcoming season. The High Noon trail is a mellow intermediate run on the front side of A-Bay, taking skiers and riders from the top of the Black Mountain Express lift to the Base Lodge. A fun cruiser run, High Noon typically remains open until June.
The brand new equipment arrived at the ski area and its snowmaking team has already installed the foundations. Once a chopper arrives to assist with the new lift it’s installing, it’ll fly the new towers to their foundations. In addition to the new snow guns, The Legend will be replacing its original Lenawee Triple chair with a new, speedy detachable six pack from Leitner-Poma.
The new acquisitions bring the total fleet count of tower guns to nine. Unlike traditional mobile snowguns, tower guns offer distinct advantages. Towers can be set in place when snowmaking begins and hauling equipment around with heavy machinery is no longer necessary. Taller than standard conventional fan guns, tower guns also offer more loft time for water droplets to freeze. A-Basin’s COO Al Henceroth shared the news of the new snowmaking additions on his blog;
“Typically, we can make a little more snow with a tower gun. The one disadvantage is that the guns are not mobile. They only make snow in one spot. We will keep looking for places to strategically put tower guns, ideally looking for places where a tower has a bigger impact.”
The Basin has been a legendary ski and snowboard mountain for over 75 years and is always running in the race to be the first resort to open in America once the ski season beings. Will it take the crown again this year? I guess we’ll have to wait and see if its new snowmaking abilities will play a role.
