Western Snow Vs. Eastern Snowmaking–Which Can Guarantee You A Quality Experience?

David Shedd — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:19:24 +0000

We make no secret of the fact that we’re unabashed fans of Eastern skiing and riding. Not that we’re against what the West offers; skiing is skiing, riding is riding, and it’s all good. But we definitely aren’t fans of the “Oh, you simply have go West to have good conditions” mentality. And now come reports that the 2010 Olympic skiing events are in danger…no, not from terrorism, but from a lack of snow. Wait a minute…aren’t they out West? It’s February! How could they not have snow?

Mount Snow pulling out all the stops to make great conditions (Mount Snow photo)

Well, in a word…weather. It’s been warm and rainy there, and Cypress Mountain has been closed to the public, with muddy, bare slopes. The Olympic organizing committee is talking about bringing in hay bales and wood to build a substructure that they can then cover with trucked-in snow. And, of course, they’re hoping the weather will change just in time to add some of the natural stuff, right when and where they need it. It’s cold enough…but they don’t have the snowmaking capacity to make all the snow that they need.

Now, if the 2010 Winter Games were in an earlier Olympic venue, Whiteface, why, they’d just need to turn on some more snowmaking (although not at this moment, as they have already 68 trails open in a not-great natural snow year). In really horrible situations, they might need to move some snow from one trail to another, not from one mountain to another. The concern would be what was the easiest way to do it, not whether it was possible or not.

Mounds of manmade snow, waiting to be turned into fun moguls at SkiBromont (Francios Senecal photo)

The fact is, Eastern ski areas have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to bring in the finest snowmaking that exists IN THE WORLD. Case in point: even a little family resort like Black Mountain was able to recover from a crushing winter rainstorm in only 4 days to provide great conditions for their 75th anniversary party…and they probably have less snowmaking capacity than 90% of their Eastern brethren. A few weeks ago, I saw mounds at SkiBromont that were probably 30 feet high, being stockpiled to create a mogul run for the weekend. This isn’t making snow for survival…this is making snow to create a varied, excellent experience for their customers.

Even on a sunny day, it "snows" for skiers at Bolton (Bolton Valley photo)

You can argue that Western resorts offer more powder, and they certainly can . . . sometimes. . . . But would you rather have a vacation scheduled for right now at a Western mountain that’s muddy and bare, or for an Eastern mountain that’s got 30, 40, 70, 100 trails open with consistent manmade snow? As we found in “The Guns Of Attitash“, the quality as well as the quantity of manmade snow has increased dramatically in recent years…and we’ve enjoyed the benefits of snowmaking every time we’ve been out on Eastern Slopes. Greater base depths, more runs open…the areas are giving us good skiing in lousy times, and spectacular skiing when Mother Nature cooperates.

So, the next time someone brags about their multi-thousand-dollar 5-day trip to Aspen, or Whistler, or wherever…think about your 40 days of skiing on great surfaces in the East, plus enough money left over to buy new skis . . . If that doesn’t put a smile on your face, nothing will!

EasternSlopes.com » 2010 Winter Olympics

Western Snow Vs. Eastern Snowmaking–Which Can Guarantee You A Quality Experience?