Installing New High-Speed 6-Pack Lift Terminals & Snowmaking Equipment Ready for the Season!

Labor Day is the turning point for Snowbowl and every ski area. The ski Bottom Terminalseason will arrive quickly, and we have many projects to complete. The new Grand Canyon Express high-speed 6-person lift remains our number one priority. This week, the bottom terminal machinery was delivered, and all the sheave assemblies (cable support wheels) with towers will arrive before the weekend. The bottom terminal grading turned out excellent with new grass already growing on the slopes (see photo on right). Our first helicopter mission is scheduled for late next week when POMA crews will pour concrete for the upper towers and top terminal foundations.

Trail crewmembers have been working hard all summer. We began the lift line clearing on April 19th, the day after we closed for ski season. This week, we are finishing a new ski trail to the skier’s left of Upper Ridge that will go around the top terminal of the Grand Canyon Express (see Top Terminal foundation image to the left). Other crews are mowing the trails andTop Terminal Foundation at 10,900′ brush cutting so that we can ski on the least bit of snow.

Our facilities’ crew is expanding the equipment rental shop to accommodate an increase in inventory and provide faster service.  Our snowmaking crew finished maintenance on our last fan gun, and they are now ready for the season (see photo to the right).

We are very glad that our summer operations are not over, in fact our Scenic Chairlift will see record visitation during the fall Aspen leaf change.  The Chairlift is open Friday, Saturday and Sundays until the leaves fall off the trees.  The ferns have turned brown on the Snowbowl Road so our first frost is not far away.