July Already?!
In the month since I last sat down to chronicle all the activity on the mountain, we have accomplished A LOT. The team from Ruotsala has completed pouring concrete and backfilled the foundations for Towers 2-10. This leaves Tower 1 and all four terminal foundations to complete but is still a big milestone as it allows us to revegetate the access roads created to reach tower locations on the side of the hill. The rest of the pours are much more easily accessible via pre-existing and solid roadways, meaning rainy weather is much less of a threat to our forward progress.
With the Tower foundations substantially completed, the focus shifts to the top and bottom terminal locations. At the bottom, we are undertaking a massive regrading project to improve skier access to the lift from both the east and the west sides. The loading mound of the former triple lift has been completely removed and redistributed at the bottom of Borealis (FKA Leelinaw). This will create a consistent downhill pitch from the foot of the hill all the way to the lift loading area. I'm excited for my first run down Borealis this season without having to push or skate my way uphill to the lift. To the east of the new terminal, up to 10 feet of material has been removed to create a consistent grade from Creekside all the way down to the loading area.
Finally Breaking Ground
Three months after we were meant to break ground on the drive terminal we are finally in the ground. We ran into a number of surprises earlier this spring when we first had utilities located. Within the 20' x 20' area that the top terminal foundation was meant to go we found the primary electrical service, water main, and greywater discharge lines for the Summit Chalet. All of these utilities needed to be relocated before we could begin excavation. Unfortunately getting the necessary permits in hand to complete this work took longer than expected. I appreciate the work of our partners at Xcel Energy, the Gogebic Range Water Authority, Section 32 Sewer Authority, C2AE, and Ruotsala's Construction in helping us to get this done as quickly as possible.
Despite the delays on this portion of the project, we are still on schedule for an on-time completion as we shifted the tower foundations to the start of the project when those weren't originally scheduled to be started until the 1st of July. Shovels hit the dirt at the top terminal site this past week and thanks to the quick work of the teams, we expect to pour the first round of concrete the second week of July.
4th of July Parades
In our neighboring towns of Wakefield and Bessemer, the 4th of July is a big deal. The biggest event of the year for both communities. Naturally, we wanted to be a part of the celebration, so the team built a float and participated in both communities' parades on the fourth. The float was called, "Winter in July" and aimed to bring back memories of the cooler times from winter's past and raise excitement for many seasons to come at Snowriver. I really appreciate the dedication of those team members who volunteered to build the float and participate in the parade. Their efforts won us the best-decorated float in the Bessemer Parade!
New Windows Are Here
Over 100 new windows and doors were delivered the first week of July. The team made quick work of getting them installed in the Lodge as nearly all of the old windows had already been removed in preparation. We've all been surprised by how clear a clean, new window truly is after years of looking through weathered glass. The entire Lodge at Jackson Creek will receive new windows for the guest rooms, lobby, restaurants, and the long hallway to the pool. Once fully trimmed out, these new windows are really going to dress the place up and of course, do a much better job keeping the rooms warm next winter.
In addition to The Lodge, a few of the Gabbro Suites and the entire Summit Chalet are also receiving brand-new windows. Thanks to our friends at Steiger's Ace Hardware for helping get these windows ordered and delivered on time! And a big shout out to our in-house team for all of their hard work so far this summer. It's been awesome to see the impressive things they're capable of.
Rope Work
Even with a huge list of projects on deck for the new lift, we still have to set aside time to maintain our existing fleet. The Bear Creek Double is in need of a replacement haul rope this summer and today (7/8) we began the process of installing the old rope from the Original Double. While I call it an "old rope" it was replaced less than 10 years ago, so we expect it to have another 20 or so years of life left in it. This is a time-consuming process that requires the existing rope to be spliced into the new one before spooling up the old rope on a giant winch. As the old rope is wound up, the new one is pulled off of its spool and around the entire lift. Once pulled around the two ends of the new rope we'll pull it tight to allow us to splice it together into a single loop.
Once the splice is complete, the rope will be lifted back onto the towers, the lift tensioned and the chairs rehung. Once rehung we plan to repaint the chairs on this lift to freshen them up and improve the protection for the metal to prevent rusting.
With so much going on around here it really is hard to keep up with it all. I'll do my best to keep you posted on all the happenings, but you'll probably have to come visit this winter to appreciate all that we've been working on this summer!
Looking towards winter.
-Benjamin
