Three seasons ago, Stratton Resort, Vt., added a new tool to its snowmaking and grooming arsenal—SnowQuest. First, Stratton uses a ground-penetrating SnowScan radar unit (a separate manufacturer) and a Global Positioning System (GPS) to measure snow depth. SnowQuest then analyzes the data from these two units and provides Stratton’s snowmaking and grooming staff with detailed, color-coded snow-depth maps of the ski trails. These maps show where snow is thin or deep so that groomers can distribute the snow more evenly and snowmakers know where to aim their guns—or if they have to turn them on at all.
“Before, we had to build ourselves a mental map of what was going on on each trail,” says Sky Foulkes, Stratton’s general manager. “This system takes the guesswork out of the equation. Last year, it paid off in spades. We prevented problems before they happened.”
Last spring, at the end of a relatively dry winter, Stratton used SnowQuest to determine whether its trails had enough coverage to last until closing—it did.
Although it is difficult to put a number on how much SnowQuest is saving Stratton in operating costs, Scott Fifer, a hydrologist who co-developed SnowQuest along with physicist Mark Williams, points out that it can cost up to $100,000 just to fire up the snowmaking guns. The initial capital outlay for the snow-depth system is about $25,000.
At present, Stratton is the only resort using SnowQuest on a full-time basis. Other resorts, such as Aspen and Park City, have asked SnowQuest and SnowScan engineers to scan specific trails in preparation for major events, like World Cup or Olympic races.
In addition, two other ski areas, Jiminy Peak in western Massachusetts and Snow Summit in southern California, use groomer-mounted SnowScan units by themselves, without the added analysis provided by SnowQuest. These systems show in real-time the depth of snow directly beneath the groomer. This allows drivers to find snow reserves on the trail and move them to thin areas. Snow Summit’s system also stores the snow-depth data and allows crews to print snow-depth maps (see sidebar for more on Snow Summit’s experience). Jiminy Peak’s system recently died after it became flooded with water, much to the chagrin of the groomers. “The guys were stoked about it,” says Brian Fairbank, president and CEO of Jiminy Peak. “It was a good tool. It gave us the ability to factually know where we had snow.”
The Stratton Experience
Throughout the past three seasons, Stratton has used SnowQuest across the resort, mapping trails one at a time (but to date, only those with snowmaking). “It’s not something that needs to be done every day,” points out Foulkes. Stratton uploads data to SnowQuest on average about twice a week, and Foulkes says that each trail gets about three readings per season.
“If snow depths build up to a certain point,” says Fifer, “we’ll go weeks without making maps for them. Then spring comes, and they’re wondering about their snow pack, so they hit us with a few.”
The system is relatively simple. It first requires the SnowScan unit, manufactured by Ontario, Canada-based Sensors & Software, Inc. The unit is the size of a lunchbox and is either pushed or pulled by a skier down a trail or mounted beneath a snowcat. As Snowscan travels over the snow, it sends radar signals down through the snowpack eight times per second. The return signals are recorded in a computer. Simultaneously, a GPS records location data.
At Stratton, snow reporter Katie Westbrook carries the computer (a small laptop) in a backpack, along with the GPS, and pulls the SnowScan behind her, much as a ski patroller pulls a toboggan. Her goal is to ski over as much of a trail as she can. “I ski as slowly as possible in [continued on page 60 — not in PDF]
