my local resort, 7springs, took 6 million pounds of snow and relocated it with trucks... then it rained some more. it cost them 10 grand. what a waste of money for the little their going to get out of it
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Seven Springs, beset by balmy temperatures, trucks 6 million pounds of the white stuff to slopes
Friday, January 05, 2007
By Lawrence Walsh, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It didn't fall from the sky and it couldn't be made because the weather was too warm, so the more than 6 million pounds of snow piled atop the slopes at Seven Springs today arrived by truck.
A high lift loads one of three trucks that spent Wednesday morning relocating snow at Seven Springs.
Click photo for larger image.
The tri-axle dump trucks -- the type normally used to haul coal -- started carrying snow about 8 a.m. Wednesday from the base of the Alpine slope to the top of the slopes, and continued until midnight.
They resumed about 8 yesterday morning and were expected to work until 6 p.m. They used the North Parking Lot and Airport Road to reach the top of the slopes.
Snow grooming machines pushed the snow over the headwalls -- the steep top sections of the mountain -- to improve conditions on the Wagner and Stowe slopes. The machines also spread snow on Fawn Lane, Phillip's Run and the snowtubing lanes.
"We are doing all that we can to show our skiers, snowboarders, snowtubers and guests that in this first year of ownership we are absolutely committed to providing the best possible conditions," said Seven Springs President Robert Nutting. The Nutting family purchased the resort July 1.
The headwalls receive the greatest wear and tear as skiers and snowboarders angle the metal edges of their skis and boards to control their speed as they descend the slopes.
Resort spokesman Robert Duppstadt said the decision to rent trucks and a front loader to move the snow to where it was needed was a "viable solution" to a diminishing snow base on terrain that has been in use daily since the slopes opened Dec. 8. Most of the snow was made Dec. 3-6.
"It will allow us to continue to offer skiing while we wait for snowmaking opportunities," Mr. Duppstadt said.
He said the decision to spend "significant dollars" -- more than $10,000 -- to improve slope conditions demonstrates the resort's determination to provide the best possible on-snow experience for its more than 11,000 season pass holders and skiers, snowboarders and snowtubers throughout the region.
Seven Springs is the only resort in southwestern Pennsylvania that is open for skiing, snowboarding and snowtubing. The unseasonably warm weather during the past month forced Blue Knob, Hidden Valley and Mystic Mountain at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa to close their slopes until colder weather arrives.
Seven Springs has nine slopes and trails and two terrain parks open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Three chairlifts and two surface lifts are operating. Discounted lift tickets for adults and children are $28 and $25, respectively.
