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[Sponsored by Snowshoe Mountain]
Are you looking for the best snow conditions in the Mid Atlantic or Southeast regions of the US? Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia has you covered. The mountain has made some big changes to their snowmaking abilities in preparation for the 2018-19 season and beyond. Nearly four million dollars has been invested in upgrades with a large focus on high production and efficiency. This investment will cut the mountain’s annual energy usage by around 5 million kwh, which is enough energy to power 500 homes for an entire year!
Over 160 new snowguns were installed all over the mountain, 75 of which are the most powerful snowmaking machines available in North America- the DemacLenko Titan 2.0. The new fan and longer barrel of the Titan significantly increase the cannon’s range and lowers sound emissions, creating better trail conditions and less disturbance to the natural wildlife. The machine is also capable of producing large amounts of snow when pressure is low, allowing Mountain Operations to open more terrain earlier, as well as freshen things up after the inevitable freeze-thaw-freeze cycles that may leave the runs a bit hard and fast!
The upgrades will target the Central Basin trails first to get the mountain’s main runs open and ready for use. The focus will then shift to area known as “The X” that connects the Southern end of the mountain.
The Western Territory, the area that truly sets Snowshoe apart from other mountains in the region, will also receive some snowmaking love with the upgrades made to the system on the famous expert-only double black diamond run, Shay’s Revenge. The area consists of two parallel 1.5-mile black diamond and double-black diamond runs (Cupp Run and Shay’s Revenge) with a 1,500ft descent. In the past, opening and maintaining a good surface on the trail has been difficult, but now that it is lined top-to-bottom with brand new snowguns, the skiing is sure to be great!
The snowmaking team is a tight-knit crew with over 250 years of combined snowmaking experience. They work day and night to be sure that guests of Snowshoe Mountain are skiing and riding the best possible conditions. The job is grueling, but the team members are tough and take extreme pride in the work they do to get the mountain open and keep it looking fresh.
100% of all non-gladed terrain at Snowshoe has snowmaking capabilities. Snow can’t be made on all trails all the time, but when Mother Nature doesn’t deliver, the mountain can still reach it’s full potential of having all runs open (as long as the temperatures cooperate).
Snowshoe is so confident and proud of their snowmaking muscle that they guarantee there will be more skiable terrain open than any other ski mountain in the Southeast, or your next day of skiing is FREE. Purchase any regular price full-day or multi-day Snowshoe lift ticket and, if Snowshoe does not offer the most skiable acreage open versus any one of the Southeast US ski area options, that ticket can be redeemed the same day at the Snowshoe Ticket Window for a lift ticket voucher valid at Snowshoe through the end of the 2018/2019 season. Southeast US ski areas include all winter mountain resorts in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. For more information on this Snow Guarantee, visit snowshoemtn.com.
Snowshoe Mountain is one of 38 iconic destinations available on the Ikon Pass.
