Mountain Information Know Our Snow

Know our Snow!

Snowmaking: Art or Science? Mother Nature does not always cooperate when it comes to covering most New England ski areas with sufficient snow to allow us to open when we want to in mid-November, nor does She always provide us with enough snow to keep trails covered well enough to enable us to offer skiing and riding enthusiasts the quality conditions they expect.

Such as been the case since the first skier strapped some boards to his or her feet and slid down a hill. Luckily, and it was pretty much by luck, Canadian engineers at a low-temperature testing laboratory in the late 1940s were conducting some tests to study the affects rime ice had on jet aircraft engines. They blew water into cold air just in front of the engine intakes in a wind tunnel, but had to stop frequently to shovel away the snow being created. They realized that they had stumbled on to something!

In early 1950 an engineer/inventor named Wayne Pierce created, what appears to be, the first machine for the sole purpose of making snow for ski slopes. In subsequent years, several other people developed or improved and patented snowmaking machines, and the ski industry began to blossom.

Snowmaking started to be used on a commercial scale in the early 1970s, and is constantly changing to keep pace with the growing ski industry and the often fickle weather conditions experienced at ski areas. Today, most ski areas rely to some degree on manmade snow, and we skiers and riders have come to expect our favorite ski area to have the capability to make snow.

The snowmakers and groomers are Loon Mountain’s unsung heroes. From November 1 to mid- February they work day and night, regardless of the weather, to make sure our terrain is in tip-top shape. Considering Loon has over 330 acres of terrain to cover with snow, it’s a daunting task, but the results are outstanding.

During the winter, the Snowmaking Department typically consists of 26 employees, with the granddaddy of them all just completing his 24th year making snow. The department runs two 12-hour shifts when making snow, with each person frequently working in excess of 48 hours a week. The day shift works from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, and the night shift works from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am.

The idea behind manmade snow is fairly simple: mix water with air under pressure, and you get snow. But actually getting it to work effectively is a little more complex. The basic science is set, but you need instinct, improvisation, and creativity to get it exactly right. Snowmakers have to consider many variables--temperature, humidity, winds, and current surface conditions--before they can begin to cover a slope with the right snow for skiing and riding.

Loon's team works together to develop a snow plan for the snowmaking season. This plan is reviewed daily, and revisions are made depending on the many variables that come into play each day. The basic tools of their trade are snow guns; hoses and pipelines; air compressors; snowmobiles; and very good winter clothing! The equipment most obvious to the skiing and riding public are the snow guns, and there are three different categories that we use: land guns, tower guns, and fan guns, each with its own unique purpose and attributes. Some interesting snowmaking trivia:

• What are the temperature requirements for making snow? The ideal conditions for snowmaking are temperatures between 0-10 degrees, with no wind and dry air. The maximum temperature for making snow is 31 degrees. There is no minimum temperature for making snow; it depends on how cold we can run before the equipment and our staff freeze up!
• What's the coldest Loon ever made snow? During January 2009, our snowmakers made snow one night when the temperature dropped to -24 degrees (yes, that is 24 degrees below zero)!
• Why is manmade snow better than natural snow is some ways? Manmade snow lasts much longer than natural snow because it is denser and is more durable than natural snow crystals. So even in a good natural snow year, we continue to make plenty of manmade snow.
• How long does snow usually last at Loon? Loon usually has snow in the terrain park until July 1.
• How many snow guns does Loon use? Loon’s inventory of snowmaking equipment includes 658 snow guns and 1,380 hydrant sets.
• What kind of snow guns are they? We operate 294 land guns, which are portable, sled-mounted guns that are moved around the mountain by snowmobile; 331 tower guns that are permanently mounted; and 65 fan guns that are wheel-mounted and can be readily moved where they are needed.
• How many miles of hose and pipe does Loon use? Approximately 12 miles
• Where does the water come form? Three places – East Branch of the Pemigewasset River, Boyle Brook, and the Connector Road Pond.
• How many gallons per minute can Loon’s guns pump out? Our maximum capacity is 7,000 gallons per minute. By the end of January 2009, we had pumped a little over 190 million gallons of water for snowmaking purposes.
• How long does it take to move the water from its source to the top of the mountain? Using one pump it would take approximately one and one-half hours. Using two pumps, approximately 45 minutes.
• How many trails can be covered with snow in one night? On a good night with 10-degree temps and calm winds, we could make snow on five or six trails in a single night. However, one night would not be enough time to make a sufficient amount of base snow in order to open a trail; that would take two or three nights of snowmaking.
• How much water does it take to make a foot of snow? To create an acre-foot of snow, it takes 139,322 gallons of water. With the water we pumped during the 2008/2009 season, we could cover 1,367 football fields with a foot of snow.
• What are "wet" and "dry" snow? Snowmakers often talk about "dry" snow and "wet" snow. The main difference between snow types is how much water a certain volume of snow holds, and each is used for a different purpose. "Dry" snow has a relatively low amount of water, so it is very light and powdery. "Wet" snow also plays an important role on ski slopes. Resorts use this denser snow to build up the snow level on well-traveled trails. Then, dry snow is used to re-surface trails.
• Why do we sometimes see snowmakers standing under the plume of snow? At times you may have noticed a snowmaker standing under a plume of snow with his or her arm extended. They are not directing traffic on the slopes, but rather checking snow quality. Typically they like to see 90% of the snow crystals bounce off the sleeve of their coat. Certain circumstances call for either wetter snow or drier snow.

Groomers are another part of the Loon team who do their jobs behind the scenes, out of the limelight. Unless you get to the mountain very, very early, you'll probably never see a groomer in action because, for the most part, they do their work during the night. Much like the snowmakers, the groomer's purpose is twofold. They move snow around and smooth it out after snowmakers have made it, and they groom and re-groom most trails every night to ensure that almost every trail on the mountain is in great shape for the start of each new day.

• How many groomers does Loon have? We have nine grooming cats that are used to maintain our terrain, with one specifically set up to maintain the half-pipes.
• Where are they made and by whom? Our snow groomers are made by the Austrian company Prinoth AG.
• What are the vital statistics for a groomer? Each grooming cat weighs approximately 18, 542 pounds, is about 13.6 feet x 13.8 feet, and is 9.75 feet tall. They have a caterpillar diesel engine and each one burns approximately 6 gallons of diesel fuel per hour of operation.
• How much does a groomer cost? $250,000 to $275, 000 each!
• How long does it take to groom the entire mountain? It takes nine machines 10 hours to groom the entire mountain, or 90 machine hours.
• How many groomers are used during a typical night of grooming? Eight or nine machines are used every night.
• How do you groom the very steep trails, such as Rip Saw? We winch many of the steep trails. Two grooming cats are winch capable. There are 6-inch steel pipes at the top of Upper Walking Boss; Upper Flume; Big Dipper; Angel Street; Upper Rumrunner and Rip Saw. A 7/16- inch cable is attached from the grooming cat to the pipe, enabling the cat to be stabilized as it works its way up and down the steep slopes.
• How are the Superpipe and mini-pipe groomed? The Zaugg Pipe Monster 18, a groomer with a specially-designed cutter/grinder, is used to shape the pipes. The cutter/grinder is 18 feet long and is arc-shaped with a fixed radius, giving us a uniform shape from one end of the park to the other.

Football may be the ultimate team sport, but effectively operating a ski area is not far behind. Snowmakers and groomers are our versions of the front line and blocking backs. Without their tireless efforts, we’d be left to the whims of Mother Nature, and the long runs down the field--or in our case, down the mountain--would likely be few and far between. So the next time you see someone who looks like they spent the night in a blizzard, give him or her a big hug. It's one of our unsung heroes!

The Loon Snow Promise

Unconditional Guarantee: If you’re not satisfied with the day's snow conditions, return your lift ticket by 11:00 am, and receive a voucher so you can come back another day this season.

The 80/20 Split: Our grooming team guarantees that by the time we open each morning, 80% of our mountain's snow surface is a blanket of fresh corduroy. We leave the other 20% untouched for those who enjoy natural moguls and bumps.