Down to the Wire
36 Years... and counting
Back in 1987, Joe Templar joined the summer crew at Indianhead to help with the construction of the Bear Creek double chairlift. Since then he's been a year-round staple of the resort working his way up to the position of Mountain Manager, which he held up until Indianhead was integrated into Big Snow Resort. Since then Joe has been offering up his friendly advice and assistance in completing lift maintenance and other mountain operations.
October 14th marked Joe's last day as a full-time employee of the resort. After 36 years, Joe will be retiring from his current role but isn't ready to say goodbye just yet. He will be sticking around as a winter seasonal team member to run "his lift", the Bear Creek lift he helped bring to life at the start of his career. We held a retirement party for him this past week to celebrate his contributions to the resort and wish him well in his next chapter. The mountain operations team decided to gift him a custom-made chairlift bench, made out of one of the extra chairs from the Bear Creek double. We hope he'll enjoy reflecting on his lifelong career at this special place from the seat of "his lift".
Jack's Patio
I've gotten a few questions from our dedicated webcam viewers about the construction activity next to Jack's over the past couple of weeks. I haven't shared details of our plans for this space yet as I wasn't sure that we'd be able to pull them off before the start of the season. Now that we've kicked off construction, I'm more confident that we're on track for completion, and am excited to share that Jack's Bar and Grille is getting a new slopeside patio.
Jack's is a favorite spot for Apres, so I'm really looking forward to this additional space for people to spread out and enjoy the beautiful summit views. Our long-term plans call for a few natural gas fireplaces to keep warm while sipping your favorite refreshments. Come next summer, the patio will also serve as a picturesque venue for weddings, cocktail parties, and other intimate gatherings with friends and family.
Patrol Refresher
The final weekend in September was our patrollers' skills refresher. This annual event brings the entire volunteer cohort together to practice their first-aid skills and prepare to effectively handle a myriad of worst-case scenarios. I joined the team on Saturday afternoon to assist and observe their aerial lift evacuation training. While we hope to never need to deploy these skills, practicing is vital to ensure we're ready to respond if and when the need arises.
I sincerely appreciate the dedication of all of the patrollers who choose to spend their winter weekends with us at Snowriver volunteering their time to help our guests in their time of need. Their service allows us all to enjoy our time on the slopes with the knowledge that someone has our back.
Voyageur gets it's Cable
After a summer filled with concrete pouring and steel erection, the time has come to string the cable for the new Voyageur Express. With the spool of new 44mm cable (wire rope in ski industry lingo) in place at the return terminal, the crew started by stringing out a much smaller cable, called the lead line. Starting from the top terminal, the team pulled the small cable down each side of the lift line by hand, climbing each tower and hoisting it up and over the sheave wheels before continuing on down the line.
Once the lead line was pulled down both sides, the uphill side was spliced into the haul rope, and the downhill side was attached to a large winch. Once connected, the winch was used to pull the new haul rope all the way around the lift, leaving two overlapping sections between towers #2 & #3. Next the two ends of the haul rope will be spliced together, creating the full loop that will carry the chairs. With that step complete, the lift is looking very close to complete. It won't be long now!
At the Ready
Snowmaking Manager Chris and his sidekick Stu have returned for another season. They've got right to work completing all the annual maintenance on our fleet of 39 SMI snowguns. Cleaning nozzles, changing compressor oil, checking the electronics, and testing the fans all make for a smoother start-up once the cooler temperatures arrive. After each of the guns go through their annual check-up, they're lined up outside awaiting placement out on the hill. As soon as the team finishes conducting the maintenance, they'll begin placing each of the guns out on the runs.
At Jackson Creek Summit, our efforts will start in the Beginner's Area, Voyageurs' Highway, and Superior while at Black River Basin we'll start out on Sailor's Delight and Maiden Voyage. Once set in place, it's all on Mother Nature to send us cold temperatures to get the ball rolling. Shouldn't be long now.
Better for Beginners
If you've driven through the summit this summer, you likely noticed that we had removed the Poma lift. The Poma was installed the year before the Quad in 1968 and had reached the point where replacement parts were becoming increasingly difficult to find while parts were increasingly needing replacement. While loved by many, including myself, the time had come to retire this lift and replace it with something a little more approachable for our less experienced guests.
The mountain team has installed the handle tow from Black River Basin in place of the Poma. The new loading area is a bit further downhill than the Poma's, making access easier from the top of the Cloudfront double. Without the need to navigate through the fencing or struggle with the speed and difficulty of the Poma, this should be a welcome change for our beginners.
