Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire — In recent years, Wildcat Mountain has struggled to keep up with neighboring mountains. This is due to having a weaker snowmaking network compared to its competitors.
There are various theories about this, aging equipment, a below-average sized snowmaking pond, and staff turnover. Ultimately, the consensus has been that the production hasn’t been good enough in recent winters. This has allowed the upstart noisy neighbor, Black Mountain, to take shots at them, which included an April Fool’s Joke stating that they bought the Vail Resorts property.
This offseason, it’s clear that Vail Resorts is putting in a strong effort to enhance snowmaking for next season at Wildcat.
Earlier this summer, Vail Resorts announced snowmaking upgrades at Attitash and Wildcat. The two ski resorts in the Mt. Washington Valley have struggled with their snowmaking output in recent years. At Wildcat, the plan is to add a new snowmaking air transducer, replacing key snowmaking pipelines, add new-to-Wildcat snowmaking equipment, and relocating snowmaking guns.
Wildcat gave an update to its projects this week. Last week, workers replaced a key snowmaking pipe on the Lower Wildcat and Polecat trails. These lines bring water and air up to the snowguns, which is core part of the recipe in making snow. They also revealed that more than 50 tower guns will be installed across the mountain. The vibes in Wildcat’s Facebook comment section, which can get pretty negative, were definitely higher than usual.
Upgrades are also underway at its sister mountain, Attitash Mountain. Their latest update also came yesterday, with pipe replacement work underway on the Lower Saco trail. That trail will also see new snowguns added to it.
Image/Video Credits: Wildcat Mountain, Beyond the Lodge
