In New England, the two typical contenders for first to open are Killington and Sunday River. For this upcoming ski season, a new challenger had emerged: Ski Ward.
The Massachusetts ski area made some headlines in August after conducting some snowmaking tests. This is thanks to the Latitude 90 & SMI snowmaking system, which helps make snow in warmer temperatures. Snowmaking with this system officially began on October 1st, with a projected opening set for November 1st for lessons. It should be noted that the vertical drop for its opening day compared to its competitors will be much smaller. The opening day lineup will likely be the Dream Weaver trail serviced by a magic carpet.
The latest update from yesterday shows the snow pile growing.
Here’s a description of the Latitude 90 & SMI L60, which is what Ski Ward has:
“A real power trip. The L60’s production capacity is pretty eye-popping: 120 cubic meters (156 cubic yards) every 24 hours. That’s 2 x 30 tons of automatic snow production with a total water consumption of 42 L/min. (11 US/gal). This unit has two outlets that can each to blow snow up to 100 m (328 ft). Fully automatic and remotely controlled.”
With Massachusetts winters getting warmer, this acquisition, which allows them to make snow in warmer temperatures is a smart move by Ski Ward. In terms of the race to be the first to open, what makes this move interesting is that Killington and Sunday River have had to wait to open until November in recent years due to warm weather, so Ski Ward has a shot to pull it off. With Ski Ward’s new snowmaking system, this likely won’t be an issue.
The question for East Coast skiers is this: if Ski Ward opens first, would you travel to Massachusetts to get your first turns in?
Image Credits: Ski Ward
