Summer unofficially came to an end last weekend with the passing of the Labor Day holiday, and Arapahoe Basin Ski Area, CO is already gearing up for opening day.
A-Basin announced via email that a helicopter recently installed four new snowmaking tower guns on Lower High Noon (the first trail to open each Fall).
That’s great news for those of you that enjoy skiing in October.
The ski area also hinted that snowmaking could begin as early as two weeks from now. That’s right, folks- we will (mother-nature willing) see man-made flakes of white snow blanketing Lower High Noon in just 14 days.
That feels good to say.
Stay tuned here at Unofficial Networks for all opening day updates. You can bet your left ski that I’ll be on it. It’s one of my favorite times of the year.
Think snow!
Full details from the Arapahoe Basin email below:
2 weeks until snowmaking starts
On Wednesday, a K-MAX helicopter flew four new snowmaking tower guns onto the mountain, to be installed on lower High Noon (the first run to open in the fall).
GET EXCITED!
This addition brings us to nine tower guns. They have distinct advantages. The towers are in place when snowmaking begins and there is no hauling equipment around with heavy machinery. Also, the towers are higher than a conventional fan gun. The higher the gun, the more loft/time for water droplets to freeze. Typically, we can make a little more snow with a tower gun. We will keep looking for places to strategically put them, ideally looking for places where a tower has a bigger impact.
Image Credit: Arapahoe Basin Ski Area/Ian Zinner (2021)