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SANDY — If you haven't been up in the mountains in the last two days, a winter transformation is underway. A visit to the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon demonstrates how Snowbird is enhancing the real snowfall with the latest snow-making technology.
With their openings in just a couple of weeks, resorts are busy whipping up a blizzard. The last storm delivered Snowbird about eight inches of natural snow, but more importantly, 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 Fahrenheit, the guns can create snow on the mountainside.
"The (snow-making) 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."
- Alta - Nov 20
- Beaver - TBD
- Brian Head - Nov 27
- Brighton - Nov. 20
- Cherry Peak - TBD
- Deer Valley - Dec 5
- Eagle Point - Dec 20
- Nordic Valley - Dec 19
- Park City - Nov 21
- Powder Mountain - Nov 25
- Snowbasin - Nov 25
- Snowbird - Nov 21
- Solitude - Nov 21
- Sundance - Dec 4
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.
As of Thursday, Snowbird has a mid-mountain base of 15 inches of snow. The snow-making they're able to do helps them get open sooner than they would without it. That base also helps extend the season in the spring.
