Timberline Tests Snowmaking System UPDATE W/ PICS
November 12, 2004
32 posts
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Woke up this morning to the sound of snowguns running at Timberline. I have some pictures that I will try to post later.
GREAT, and to think i was excited bcause i had frost on the windshield this morning. We'll be sliding soon. Has TL made any additions/improvements to their system for this season?
jimmy
A guy who used to work at Killington told me that this is called blowing out the mice. Apparently mice like to nest in the hoses in summer. Quite a vivid image.
That fourth image of guns booming on White Lightning suggests that T-line is doing more than blowing the cobwebs out of the guns. Is Timberline shooting for an early opening this year???? Their calendar says 9 December.
Denis, At timberline they call it blowing out the salamanders.
John, is it too soon to mount my snow tires?
Rocks, thanks for the pictures!
jimmy
Don't know, I'll check and see if they are still making snow tomorrow morning. Most likely they are just testing the system in order to start snowmaking top to bottom. Lightning is usually the first trail from the top that they make snow on. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. BTW, it looked like they may have added a couple new tower guns this season. Or at least moved them to new locations. There is now one at the bottom of Lower Lightning.
The temps have slowly been dropping even more today in Gainesville, FL. The mid-atlantic ski season has officially begun! (Though they don't open for at least two weeks......)
Snowshoe claims they were able to blow through out the day today. This pic from their web page make me think they're telling the truth:
http://www.snowshoemtn.com/gallery05/slides05/11_08_01.jpgThe extended forecast looks good for snow making and some natural snow. I wouldn't be surprised if Timberline is planning on opening early.
If you look at the NOAA forecast, you'll notice that tonight, Friday night, and Saturday night offer good snowmaking weather. We may also get a snow event late Thursday.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/data/forecasts/WVZ041.php?warncounty=WVC093&city=DavisIt will be up to Timberline to decide how to proceed. Obviously, Snowshoe is pushing to open the basin on Thanksgiving or even earlier.
Few people ski the early season but it is great for marketing. People feel much more confident about booking December trips if they see terrain open on Thanksgiving. Maybe Timberline has finally gotten this point--Snowshoe certainly understands how the game is played.
I just noticed that I broke 1000 posts on that last response.
I better get a life soon. Skiing will help.
I talked with Doc this Fall and we discussed their increased snowmaking capacity. More water up the hill, More permanent guns in the high traffic areas. By the looks of it, this is for real. Maybe they want to push the season with the predicted snowmaking windows over the next two weeks.
Timberline has the coldest climate in the region and slopes with a Northern exposure. There's absolutely no excuse for the resort not to push for an early opening date, especially with their improved snowmaking capability. I hope they go for it.
They were making snow again this morning. Temps were around 25 at 5:30am
In years past, the mountain management has tried to build a deep base on lightening before moving the guns to dew drop and salamander. I imagine this is the philosophy again. It would be wonderful if there were more than the three main runs open on the 9th. If the temps hold, they could have most of the mountain open by the holidays!
White Lightning holds snow the best because of its North, North West, exposure, and its narrowness. That's why the management always makes snow on this trail first. Sally, by contrast, is much, much longer and more exposed. Parts of Sally also get blasted by wind--it's often the coldest trail on the mountain due to the wind. It takes a lot of snowmaking to get Sally open, but after WL it's always a priority because beginners need this trail to ski top-to-bottom.
Speaking of trails at Timberline, has anyone else noticed the addition to this years trail map?
Trail Map
I saw that trail... and thats PHOENOMINAL!!! That was an area I made comments about last year needing a top to bottom trail. My question is... will that be a green, blue, black or double black? Based on terrain in that area and already having two blues I'd suggest that be a green... or so I'd think. At least get the crowds off of Salamander.
The webcams are going to be installed Friday. The web cam supplier was backordered but both webcams are going to be set up this weekend. 1 will be on the top edge of the Lodge and the second one is tbd. The cameras are really nice. They are Sony SNC-RZ30N's with built-in heaters. Very exciting.
Here are some newer snowmaking pictures too:
Enjoy
-Doug
Quote:
The webcams are going to be installed Friday. The web cam supplier was backordered but both webcams are going to be set up this weekend. 1 will be on the top edge of the Lodge and the second one is tbd. The cameras are really nice. They are Sony SNC-RZ30N's with built-in heaters. Very exciting.
:curious: Will those Sony SNC-RZ30N cameras work as good as this one on www.kirkwood.com/webcam.asp?
:fingerscrossed:
Hey, thanks for the pics Lietmotiv. Looks like they made alot of snow. Doesn't really look like the conservative Dec 9th type of snowmaking to me but we'll wait and see.
Its really good that they're getting webcams, especially since the snow reports are only updated in the morning typically. That slope looks like it will be a green since it covers alot more ground than the Blues right beside of it. It will be great to have a green slope top to bottom that boarders can learn on. Salamander would be a bear on your first day, its slow enough when you don't fall down every 100 yards. How about they send the loggers that work on that new trail over to Cherry Bowl when they're done and clean it up a bit.
I'm truely, TRUELY excited at seeing Timberline step up this year and seemingly go right into snowmaking. If they can open in Nov that alone will put the impression in people's minds that this will be a great year and obviously give them extra revenues.
When you took those pictures, do you live there, or did you simply drive up and start walking around to take pictures?
Also for those interested I noticed the forrest service camera is down for dolly sods. Darn just when I wanted to watch snowmaking at Tline at a distance.
That's the half cut trail we found driving around the new housing above winterset this october. It's cut about halfway up the mountain and looks like it could be a green/blue.
This is exciting news! Maybe the management at TLine is interested in reversing some of the public's negative perception about their business plan.
Quote:
:curious: Will those Sony SNC-RZ30N cameras work as good as this one on www.kirkwood.com/webcam.asp?
:fingerscrossed:
No. Not that cool because there is no bandwidth in the connection at Timberline. If a higher speed connection becomes available to the area (keeping my fingers crossed on DSL becoming available on CO: CNVYWVXA).
However, the cameras will move automatically and take pictures and upload them to the site ever few minutes. So it'll be pretty close to live. At night they will turn in and point to the lodge automatically to capture the warm glow of the apre ski scene. It's not St. Anton's but it's not bad for WV 
I'll take some updated pictures on Friday. Let's just hope the cold snap stays put. This could be an epic season!
-Doug
Very pumped about the new terrain... I was guess it'd be a blue square from the looks of it on the map. It'd be nice to have an intermediate run off the summit that kind of does its own thing- Dew Drop and Almost Heaven sort of parallel each other.
Now if they'd just "officially" reopen Cherry Bowl!
It would be nice to have something that is a step up from Salamander but not too big a step. I think this was the original intent of Dew Drop but it turned out to be too big a step. Salamander is a big draw for Timberline but it has a couple of serious drawbacks. Windy Corner is very tough on a cold windy day. Also for beginners there is a bit of a double fall line. I discovered this on one of my first days on a snowboard as I could not keep from being "sucked into the woods" on the outside of the turn. Then there is the "S curve", one of the most dangerous places I know of. It is always bowling for bodies there.
A high green or low blue trail that is more or less in the fall line and out of the wind would be a very welcome addition.
timberline is THE most underrated resort in the "south"
always sooo nice!
ss
