SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH, VERMONT
In May 2012, Smugglers’ installed 35 Vermont-made AllSun solar trackers, which use GPS and wireless technology to follow the sun throughout the day, boosting energy production. With the ability to constantly face the sun and absorb the most sunlight available, the trackers’ performance is about 40 percent greater than fixed solar panels and is projected to provide 205,000 kilowatt hours each year. That’s enough to supply the energy for most of the resort’s Village Lodge.

The project is the result of a five-year Power Purchase Arrangement between Smugglers’ Notch and AllEarth Renewables, whereby AllEarth Renewables owns and operates the facility. Smugglers’ pays AllEarth for the power produced, and receives a credit from the electric utility. The project cost close to $1 million and the lease has several renewal options, including facility purchase, when it expires.

The thirty-five trackers were installed in a field located on the perimeter of the area’s cross-country and snowshoe trail network, just off of Vermont Route 108. The trackers sit on a parcel of about 2.5 acres within a 10-acre field. The entire project was completed in a little under seven weeks.

Smugglers’ continues to look for opportunities for solar and other renewable investments, including rooftop domestic solar hot water and other tracker installation opportunities, as it develops future master planning for the resort.


WHISTLER BLACKCOMB, B.C.
Whistler Blackcomb’s $18 million lift expansion includes the Harmony high-speed quad chair, to be replaced with a new Doppelmayr high-speed detachable six-pack chairlift, while the existing Harmony chair will be moved to Blackcomb Mountain to be installed in a new area in the Crystal Zone, currently accessed by a fixed-grip triple chair. The upgrades for the old Harmony chair, now known as the Crystal Ridge Express, include new roofs and windows on the terminals, new sheave trains, upgraded state-of-the-art electronic controls and all new lift towers.

The new Harmony Six chairlift will dramatically improve the uphill capacity by 50 percent, going from 2,400 skiers per hour to 3,600. The Harmony Six will service terrain spanning from the edge of the Symphony Amphitheatre all the way over to Glacier Bowl, adjacent to the Peak Express. This area, known as the Harmony Zone, makes up more than 1,200 acres of Whistler Blackcomb’s 8,171 acres of total terrain. The Harmony Six has the same alignment as the current Harmony quad.

The Crystal Ridge Express greatly enhances the skier and rider access to terrain in the Crystal Zone as well as the Blackcomb Glacier, two very large areas of terrain underserved by the old lift system that had the fixed-grip triple and a journey involving three chairlifts in all to lap the entire terrain zone. Guest carrying capacity will increase by 65 percent over the old triple lift, to 2,400 skiers per hour. The new quad will deliver skiers and riders to the same location as the current triple chair next to the Crystal Hut. However, the aspect of the new lift line is dramatically different, and will originate 518 feet lower than the old Crystal lift.

The new Crystal Ridge Express base station landing zone is currently the largest work site for the project, as the top of the Crystal Ridge Express, and top and bottom stations for the Harmony 6 Express are being built on the existing footprints from previous lifts.

Crews from Leitner-Poma have dissembled the Harmony quad to move it over to Blackcomb Mountain, and most of the work on Harmony was being done over snow to minimize environmental impact.

The lifts are expected to be open for the beginning of the 2013-14 season, with the targeted construction completion date of Nov. 1.


STEAMBOAT, COLORADO
As soon as the lifts closed for the 2012-13 season at Steamboat, the area set out to replace its Four Points Hut, originally built as the ski patrol shack at the upper terminus of the Four Points chairlift in 1967, and transform it into a 13,000-square-foot lodge that will be ready in time for the Christmas holiday.

Designed by Laurie Kohler Designs in conjunction with the resort, the $5 million lodge will be approximately 12,000 square feet larger than the original hut, with room for 200 indoor diners. It will also feature a large deck. The basement level will feature a retail store. On the upper level, a 30-person indoor bar will boast views of Storm Peak. The resort is incorporating LEED principles throughout the design and operation of the building, featuring low-flow fixtures and energy-efficient hand dryers, low-energy insulated windows, a compostable platform for leftover food items to dissolve, dark sky standards exterior lighting, and air locks and thermal breaks throughout the lodge.

The primary focus of the food service will be an upscale food court featuring locally-sourced ingredients wherever possible, fresh made salads and pastas, as well as grab-and-go items in the morning. Eventually, Steamboat’s culinary team plans to open fine dining service at the lodge in the evenings.

With a start date of April 15, weather was a considerable factor. Crews not only had to brave cold temperatures and snowstorms, but had to remove as much as 15 feet of snow from the site before construction could begin. And the location of the lodge, at 9,700 feet, required significant work on the dirt roads for construction vehicles as well as considerable clearing work to minimize runoff impact.


VAIL, COLORADO
The first installment of Vail’s $25 million dollar “Epic Discovery” plan takes place at Adventure Ridge, located at Eagle’s Nest, with the installation of four-line, 1,200-foot-long ziplines constructed by Zip-Flyer. It will be located west of the current tubing hill lift, the Adventure Skyway. At its highest point riders will be approximately 50 feet in the air. The expected turnover rate is one rider every two to three minutes.

Adding to the Adventure Ridge activity lineup this summer will be two aerial challenge courses constructed by Bonsai Design. The South and North aerial challenge courses will both feature beginner, intermediate and advanced levels of elements for guests to maneuver, including ladders, rope bridges, swinging logs, cargo nets and more. The South course is located southeast of the Adventure Ridge building at the top of Eagle Bahn Gondola, and the North aerial challenge course is located on the northeast side of the Adventure Ridge building.

The zipline and challenge courses are expected to be completed by mid to late July and open to the public at the beginning of August. As part of the large Epic Discovery plan at Adventure Ridge, additional activities are planned for the summer of 2014.


LOVELAND, COLORADO
Loveland’s new on-mountain developments include complete renovations on the Ptarmigan Roost Cabin at the top of Chair 2 and the Rockhouse cabin at the top of Chair 1. The interiors have been redone and the decks expanded to create more space for skiers and riders. The deck of the Rock House has increased by 180 square feet, about 1/3 of its original size, and the Ptarmigan deck has grown by 1,630 square feet.

Along with increased deck space, both spaces include better insulation and more efficient and larger windows. Bathrooms and limited food service will be added next summer.

The resort took environmental initiatives by using local beetle kill materials in the construction, installing energy-efficient windows, and heating the cabins with wood stoves fuelled by fallen or standing dead harvested trees within the area’s permit boundary.