MLK Weekend & Shelly Glover Memorial Race

This morning I went for a ride in the snowcat to check on our snowmaking progress on FIS, one of the key runs used for the races this weekend. We've had a slow start to the season with snowmaking and have only started our snowmaking push on this run a few days ago. Considering the limited amount of run time, I'm pleased with the progress we've made so far. The snow is stacking up nicely with decent sized piles from top to bottom that should easily connect with a bit of diciplined placement by our cat operators. 

While our temperatures are warming slighly throughout the day today limiting our snowmaking productiviy, cooler air returns this evening with dropping temperatures forecast throughout the weekend. Snowmaking will be able to fire on all cylinders, blanketing FIS with a solid base for racing. Our crews wil be working diligently around the clock to get snow made and pushed out before getting the race venues set up with all the fencing and snow safety equipment in time for Friday morning. I'm confident that our team will pull it off and offer up a great venue for the event. 

As I alluded to, we have great snowmaking weather in the forecast leading into this holiday weekend. The cold temperatures will allow us to maximize our productivity and open additional terrain. Right now I'm confident we'll be able to add Sundance to our open terrain at The Summit and Nautical Mile over at The Basin.

Our next priority will be to get Jack's Cutoff and Nimbus added to the lineup at JCS. Both of these trails need a fair amount more snow made on them before they'll be ready to open. I'd anticipate them being ready by Saturday at the earliest, simply because even if we get the snow made, we'll need some time to get it pushed around and groomed out for opening.

At Black River, we've got guns loaded up on Upper Spillway and Logjam as part of our plan to get Capstan Lift opened up for the weekend. We're currently shut down on that side to refill our pond so our snowmaking efforts can continue when temperatures drop back down later in the week. With the way temperatures are lining up and the need to wait for the pond to fill back up, I'm not sure when that terrain will be ready to pop open, but I assure you it will be as soon as our team can pull it off. Stay tuned to our daily snow report for updates on what lifts and terrain will be offered each day.