Okemo’s Snowmaking Transformation: Engineering a Sustainable Future for Vermont Skiing

Standing at the Sunburst Six summit at Okemo Mountain Resort, looking down at the Okemo Valley below, the scale of the mountain comes into view. For those used to the tighter, classic winding trails of certain Vermont resorts, Okemo is an expansive giant—over 600 acres of terrain that serves as an alpine playground for thousands of families making the drive from major Northeast metropolitan areas like New York and Boston. Because Okemo is a major hub of Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass network on the East Coast, what happens across these slopes ripples throughout the regional ski and snowboard industry.

Okemo is undergoing a technological evolution. At face value, the goal is straightforward: build resilience against unpredictable, fluctuating winter weather, reduce operating costs, and minimize environmental impact. Look closer, however, and this snowmaking overhaul reveals a coordinated, multi-year effort. As one of Vail Resorts’ largest projects this year, it represents a multimillion-dollar investment in the future of the resort. It is a complex feat of engineering driven by a stakeholder network that brings together Vail Resorts’ long-term capital investment, the strict environmental oversight of the state, specialized hardware and integrated iSno automation software from HKD Snowmakers, and utility expertise from Efficiency Vermont, the Vermont Public Power Supply Authority (VPPSA), and Ludlow Electric.

The communication and collaboration behind the scenes of the project are impressive. The engine that guarantees consistent coverage and expanded terrain is operated by a highly specialized local workforce. They began the project at the end of last season and will complete the work before the start of the upcoming season. Months before skiers and riders begin tracking winter weather reports, these mountain crews are out working under the intense summer sun. Overhauling a resort’s heavy mountain infrastructure in northeast humidity is admirable, grueling work, but the crew makes it look easy, maintaining a lighthearted, steady pace that keeps the project moving forward.

This physical infrastructure push is part of a green upgrade across Vail Resorts properties on the East Coast. SnowBrains first reported on the initiative in December 2025. The core of this work focuses on moving away from fossil-fuel-dependent methods that have defined snowmaking for decades. Historically, running a mountain this size through unpredictable early-season weather cycles meant renting 15 high-emission diesel air compressors.

• Related: Okemo, Mount Snow, and Stowe, VT, Upgrade Their Snowmaking Systems to Improve Efficiency

Diesel is being permanently phased out, replaced by high-efficiency electric compressors working in tandem with an entirely upgraded air system. The science behind the shift is substantial but straightforward. In traditional snowmaking, compressed air is the single most expensive variable, with an industrial compressor costing upwards of $60,000. Legacy systems relied heavily on massive air volume to blast water against frozen particles, forcing it through a nozzle under immense air pressure to atomize it into droplets.

The modern transition to over 700 new, ultra-efficient snow guns – specifically utilizing advanced HKD Impulse and R5 Phazer technology – flips the equation. By upgrading or re-nozzling more than 700 low-energy snowguns across the resort, this project modernizes a substantial portion of Okemo’s 1,000+ snowgun fleet and further strengthens the resort’s snowmaking infrastructure. By shifting to high-efficiency HKD technology, the system uses far less compressed air, allowing the water pressure to do the heavy lifting. This builds directly on the momentum of this multi-year overhaul, in which the resort swapped out nearly 300 snow gun nozzles to improve nozzle efficiency by 50 percent, a sustainability benchmark closely tracked by Vail Resorts’ enterprise conservation metrics.

The value of man made snow is its structural density. While natural snow is light, porous, and easily obliterated by mid-winter rain, manmade snowpacks have a higher water content, creating a durable base that acts as a sort of insurance policy against New England’s unpredictable freeze-thaw cycles. Managing that water volume across 600 acres is what makes Okemo the largest manual snowmaking operation in the East.

To feed this operation, Okemo utilizes a three-source water network. Water is pumped from the Black River, a natural spring-fed reservoir at West Hill, and an engineered main reservoir. Visible from the summit, this main pond is 62 feet deep and holds millions of gallons of water. The infrastructure is so sensitive that UV rays can degrade the synthetic pond lining over time, meaning the basin must always remain partially filled to keep the geomembrane structurally stable against direct solar exposure.

Mother Nature can be unrelenting. During a recent storm, the river’s high flows broke an intake pipe loose, sending it floating downstream and requiring a crane to retrieve it. Ice flows are another concern. To protect the local ecosystem, Okemo’s mountain operations team works in lockstep with the state, submitting strict monthly logs to the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Watershed Management Division to monitor water tables and flow rates, ensuring that they only pull water when the river levels safely allow it. The primary reservoir remains impressively quiet and clean, waiting for the winter push.

The true operational magic of the upgrade is happening inside the Base Pump Station. The station has traditionally relied on a mechanical control valve to manually restrict and regulate water pressure. That green giant is being bypassed by advanced Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs), part of a nine-motor array deployed across the mountain’s pump infrastructure. The VFDs are like a smart dimmer switch for the entire mountain. Instead of forcing a pump motor to run at 100 percent capacity and wasting energy against a closed valve, the VFDs safely automate the system, drawing and providing only the exact electrical current and amperage required to match the water demand at any given time.

What used to require a hands-on scramble across the pump room floor can now be monitored and adjusted by the team directly from their smartphones using advanced iSno management software, boosting water pressure all the way to the summit. For the skier, the efficiency gains are game-changing. Previously, legacy guns couldn’t efficiently produce viable snow if ambient temperatures crept above 18ºF. With the new HKD and VFD combination, the crew can comfortably blow snow at a marginal 28 degrees, allowing for faster and smarter recovery from mid-season thaws.

“We used to be the Flintstones, now we’re the Jetsons.”

– Charlie Hibberd, Okemo Snowmaking Manager

During an immersive tour of the mountain’s snowmaking infrastructure, the dedication of the veteran staff anchoring the culture is what stood out. Okemo Snowmaking Manager Charlie Hibberd, a 25-year specialist who brings his familiarity with these automated systems from his previous role at Stratton Mountain Resort, perfectly summarized the transition: “We used to be the Flintstones, now we’re the Jetsons.” Hibberd has spent a quarter-century blanketing high alpine peaks, operating on a level of unteachable instinct where calculating water chemistry meets tracking how wind patterns swirl and snow accumulates across a specific slope. In more practical terms, he is energized that the upgraded system means snow guns that were previously moved from one trail to the next will now have permanent fixed locations on the mountain. The guns being replaced will be given to other local ski areas. Nothing is wasted or discarded.

The result looks effortless, but what’s happening here is a far cry from the late 1960s, when Okemo first blew flakes over just 12 acres of lower slopes. A system is only as good as those tasked with overseeing it, and navigating an operation of this scale requires leadership. Okemo’s Snow Surfaces Manager, Greg Cartier, works alongside Hibberd. Previously Okemo’s Patrol Manager, Cartier left a Boston law career to return to Vermont, where he attended college. A military veteran trained in high-stakes rope rescue, his oversight extends beyond traditional safety boundaries. Together, Hibberd and Cartier balance snowmaking coverage and command the park crew – an effort that includes maintaining a rare 18-foot superpipe at The Zone terrain park. Down in the main lot with the rest of the heavy machinery, the specialized Zaugg pipe cutter sits waiting for the winter push to shape the walls.

• Related Link: Top 11 Public 22-Foot Superpipes Across the Globe

This dedicated focus carries into the control room. Stephen Wilson, the technician monitoring the grid, spoke about his genuine love for the new technology, while sharing that he also snowboarded over 100 days last season. Classic tracks from The Offspring hummed faintly in the background, proving that even as Okemo moves into the future, the mountain’s soul is intact. Dedicated work, dedicated play.

This project represents a positive, collaborative move forward for the future of resort management. When a company like Vail Resorts, with a footprint that stretches across the continent, uses its capital to phase out thousands of gallons of diesel fuel, upgrade the physical daily labor conditions for its workforce, and partner directly with state environmental entities, the progress is undeniable. This genuine, collaborative green transition is an undisputed win for the soul of Vermont skiing and snowboarding.

Is it winter yet?