Bogus Basin, the ski area with the best name in the industry, received final USFS approval for its ambitious $5 million snowmaking project. Bogus Basin is located approximately 20-miles north of Boise, Idaho.
The resort had serious trouble staying open during the 2017/2018 winter. Bogus didn’t open until December 26 and had to shut down for a few days due to the thin snow cover and warm temperatures. The general manager, Brad Wilson, estimates that a snowmaking system would have enabled Bogus Basin to generate an additional $1 million of revenue last year.
According to an Idaho Statesman article. The resort will build a reservoir that will store 13 million gallons of water that will be diverted from Bogus Creek.
“The snowmaking system includes 24 mobile guns with [the] capability of putting top-to-bottom snow from the Deer Point (Upper Ridge and Lower Ridge runs), Morning Star (Silver Queen and Lulu runs) and Coach (Coach’s Corner run) chairlifts. The system can make snow on the Deer Point or Morning Star sides of the property at one time. It also will be used on the tubing hill.
The $5 million project is being paid for through a capital campaign that generated more than $6 million for the non-profit ski area. Bogus Creek has been re-routed around the new pond, which has been excavated. Dam construction began this week.” – Idaho Statesman
According to Bogus Basin, the physical snowmaking system will be in place in the coming months. This will include the snowmaking guns and the pipes. That said, the reservoir will not have had enough time to accumulate water to have the entire system operational this winter. The full system is expected to be operational for the 2019/20120 winter.
Find the entire Idaho Statesman article here: Bogus Basin gets final snowmaking approval. When will the artificial snow fly?