Shrewsbury, Massachusetts — Ski Ward is skiing in October for the third year in a row.
This past weekend, Ski Ward opened up the Dream Maker trail for skiing and riding. The ski area had its carpet open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for skiers and riders, along with its tubing lanes next to the slope. A few terrain park features were also there for those who wanted to pull off some tricks. Tickets were $8 if you bought ahead of time, and $10 if you bought on site.
The Latitude 90 snowmaking system made this early opening possible. The Latitude 90 by SMI helps make snow even at warmer temperatures above freezing, allowing Ski Ward to produce an impressive amount of man-made snow. This enclosed system produces the snow inside and then shoots it out. Here’s how SMI describes the Latitude 90’s L60 system, 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.”
This allows the Massachusetts ski area to start ski school lessons on November 1st, creating a new source of revenue during what is typically a slow period. The Latitude 90 is being used by more ski resorts, including Grouse Mountain in British Columbia and Ober Mountain in Tennessee.
Ski Ward hasn’t announced additional plans for skiing and riding this month, but the ski area did offer the activity during other October weekends in the past.
Does This Make Ski Ward The First To Open In North America?
It’s debatable. Wisconsin’s Trollhaugen did have lift-served skiing a few weekends ago, but it was from snow that fell or was made during the prior winter. Ski Ward isn’t open for daily operations, so it’s arguable whether they’re the “first to open.”
The first to open for daily operations could be coming this week, with Arapahoe Basin and Keystone racing to the snowmaking finish line. I believe the first to open for daily operations should get the official “first to open” title, but I also think Ski Ward should get a lot of credit for bringing the stoke. I’d say that Ski Ward was the first in New England to have lift-serviced skiing this ski season.
Image/Video Credits: Ski Ward, Alpacalpyse
