LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON — A winter transformation is underway in the mountains, and it's not all coming from the clouds.
With their openings in just a couple of weeks, ski resorts are busy whipping up a blizzard. The last storm delivered Snowbird about 8 inches of natural snow, but more important, it brought with it colder temperatures that make it possible for the resort to run its 22 snow guns from the top of the mountain to the bottom.
“We’re going 24/7,” said Peter Schory, Snowbird winter operations director.
As long as the temperature stays below 28 degrees, the guns can create snow on the mountainside.
“The (snowmaking) technology has really come a long way,” Schory said. “They will turn themselves on, and they will turn themselves off as the humidity, dew point and temperature rise and lower.”
With the new technology, they don’t refer to it as artificial snow anymore. They call it “gunpowder.”
“It’s not really powder,” said Schory. “But it’s smooth like the corduroy that we make with our grooming. It’s really fun.”
With better efficiency, Snowbird expects to use approximately 20 percent less water while creating big mounds of snow. Snowcats push the powder onto the trails before grooming it.
But as good as the technology has become, when you’re in the ski business, you’re always beholden to the next big storm.
The snowmaking helps the resorts open sooner than they normally would, and that base also helps extend the season in the spring.
Go to skiutah.com to see the anticipated opening dates of Utah ski resorts.
Email: jboal@deseretnews.com