Peak compressor season is nearly upon us. In anticipation, we begin to think about our snowmaking priorities, feel the excitement of what we will accomplish, and reflect on what experience has taught us over the years. Which is: have a plan, and be prepared to abandon it at any moment.

Take last winter in the Northeast, for example. Winter didn’t really start until late January. Christmas was a wash, and after starting from scratch four times, we finally got consistently cold temps. We had three weeks before our make-or-break holiday to get enough terrain open to satisfy the thousands of hungry knuckle-draggers and two-plankers who scratched, clawed, and smashed their way to our parking lots.

Okay, so in the back of our minds we thought it might snow. But we also knew we couldn’t rely on Ma Nature anymore. She is focusing on different business now, like opening shipping lanes through the Arctic.

So we have to prioritize. We know we have to build our bread and butter blue runs, a couple of black diamonds, a beginner route off the summit. We’d also like a race course, bump run, superpipe, small park, medium park, large park . . .

Last year, we really did have to prioritize. Something had to give, and it was the large park—despite a massive pre-season marketing effort (sorry, folks) and change of trail. As a consolation, we built a deeper base in our medium park, to provide additional lines and more features and to brace for the increased traffic.

Not that this was an easy decision. Most folks still think it is a travesty to waste that much snow on one trail while the rest of the terrain opens with just a basic dusting. Was this really our plan?

Damn straight. While this did not sit well with all departments, a more global understanding of the importance of freestyle terrain usually prevails with management. Plus, the snowmakers were happy. If there is one thing snowmakers actually enjoy about making snow in the parks, it’s that they get to build “Volkswagens” like they used to in the good old days.

Obtaining that commitment from management is why Mount Snow hires a guy like Ken Gaitor, our freestyle terrain manager. He has a game plan and makes a good argument for needing all that snow, even while taking the rest of the resort into consideration. Having an advocate like Ken is the first step in building a successful program.

How does Gaitor know how much snow he needs? Does he have an acre-foot calculator? A degree in geometry and physics? GPS? Short answer—he was born with an instinct for it. Not all of us are, though, so the following guidelines come in handy.


BUILD IT AS YOU BLOW IT

Take your chosen park run and make enough snow to open it for regular skiing. Now, assuming you have already sketched out a park plan, grade that snow out. Leave the guns running, and work around them if necessary (never shut the guns down until you are done!). Guns can be focused in specific areas uphill or directly in line with where the features will go. I know, I know, you have heard this before. But even the most seasoned park builders take for granted that the snowmakers know this, and neglect to talk to them about it before it is too late. Taking 30 minutes each day to check up on the progress of the snowmaking will save hours in snow farming after the piles are all heaped downhill from where you want them.

Overall, communication between the visionary and the snowmakers is paramount. Your park leader has got to be out there supervising where the snow is going if he’s to be more efficient and provide an accurate timeline to management. Maybe he or she could even move a gun or two? The builder should also spend time in the park in a snowcat instead of on a sled, and stack snow daily. Building gradually as the snow piles up helps us to know exactly when we have put enough snow down. Otherwise, we run the risk of coming up short when the snow surfaces group decides that enough is enough. If construction is constantly in progress, there is visible evidence of how much snow has been made in relation to how much is needed.

Once enough snow has been made for some of the jib platforms—keep making it! A big jib pad is a happy jib pad. Building it larger than seems necessary provides the means to make changes to the plan and, God forbid, rob a little of that “extra” snow to cover up during tough times. Historically, we have boosted our number of rails to save on snow, but even rails really are better on larger platforms—they facilitate easier maintenance, longer landings, and creative flexibility on setups. Build up enough snow to put a takeoff on one side and a rail on the other, to provide more line options and the ability to eliminate one option without losing a feature.

Once the basic jump shapes—landings, decks, and general layouts—are close to final form, stop pushing snow during the final 12 to 24 hours or so of snowmaking. This allows the snowmakers to stretch out without crazy cat drivers all over the place, provides the opportunity to lay down a silky topcoat, and allows time for reflection on what the finished product will look like.

One more thing: Many of us have learned over the years to allow ample time for snowmaking, but have ignored the pleas of experienced park staff for more construction time. Setting rails and building jumps is extraordinarily time-consuming. If you rush it, you often build sub-standard setups, which then take weeks to make right. Work it daily and build it gradually and in layers, and you will avoid those dreadful overnight builds.


DON’T WAIT TO BUILD

Some areas wait until all of the snow is made before starting construction. This often leads to issues such as not having enough snow to build the features desired; breaking into steaming masses of wet snow that can be overwhelming; and that much-feared but so frequently asked question: “can you build it by tomorrow?”

Some folks argue that letting the piles drain for some time allows them to dry out and provides a better overall product. But I would ask for a show of hands from people who have cut into a 10-foot pile of snow made in marginal temps and found champagne powder even half-way down. Anyone? I have built from fresh piles under rattling coffee cans and I have built from three-day-old piles at 0º F, and have always found the snot. Personally, I would rather work that stuff and bury it at the bottom of the feature pile, then fluff up the top eight inches of snow at the end of the process. Eventually, the pounding this material takes from being moved hundreds of feet turns it into something less than powder anyway.

Okay, I feel better now.


THE REBUILDING PROCESS

So what about when you are really going for that rebuild? I mean the real deal? Well, everyone better be on the same page, from marketing to management to rescue to the staff in the snowboard shop. So many times we have run into this perception issue where, in the plan, the guns were supposed to have been fired up at 4 a.m., when they were actually started six, eight, or twelve hours later. That may not seem like a lot of time in the big picture, but when there is only a 24-hour snowmaking window it means the difference between a rebuild and a resurfacing—and a resurfacing in the park will only get you new takeoffs, not new landings or decks or even the rest of the trail.

Starting Sunday night is ideal of course, so that the park can be open for the next weekend. Plan on one night of deconstruction, two to three days of snowmaking, and two days for reconstruction. Perfect for a Friday test run.

Take the pressure off, do it right, do it once. Start by destroying takeoffs and roughing up the existing snow, so the new snow can mix in and bond with the old stuff. There is nothing worse than trying to build a new takeoff over an old one, only to realize that you are running into the old one and getting these persistent ice lines, so you need to tear it down anyway. I don’t know what the science is, but it seems like new snow over old really makes the old that much more bulletproof. Does the moisture leach down and hit that impermeable hardpack and freeze? Does the old snow get jealous?

What I know is this: when you apply an eight-inch layer of fresh over an existing landing break-over without first roughing it up, the new snow quickly ends up at the bottom. Usually, on a Saturday. When there are 10,000 jumping teenagers who will stop at nothing.

In the deconstruction process, pull rails unless they are just too massive to move easily. Show the snowmakers where to pile snow and then let the pros do their job unimpeded. Otherwise it is the same as major construction: consolidate the snow gradually, to allow ample time for the finishing process.


COMMUNICATION/PLANNING

Communication and planning are the first steps to efficiency. Making just enough snow, in just the right place, at just the right time, will save money and make for a better product. Diesel or biodiesel fuel, grooming time, equipment abuse, electricity, and wages can all be saved by proper gun placement. Proper timing can even lead to more ticket sales from the buzz created about the new or rebuilt park. And making enough means you don’t have to go back as quickly to resurface or rebuild. We are all concerned about energy—yes, even the park crew—and need to think about how we can make just as much snow, if not more, using less effort.

And that takes us back to the beginning: get your priorities straight. If it is one park or two, build with enough snow to accomplish what the visionary has planned. Recognize and accept that doing the job right for the park is contrary to typical trail construction. The formula is really pretty simple. Make tons of snow. Push it around. Then make more. Then build some jumps. Then watch the kids have a blast. That’s really what it’s all about.