Windham Upgrades Snowmaking
| 19 October 2009
Windham, NY - Windham Mountain Resort in the northern Catskill Mountains has upgraded the ski area's snowmaking system for the 2009-10 ski and snowboard season ahead.
Staffers have added three brand new airless fan guns for high traffic, lower mountain locations and also added snow guns in areas that have been problematic in the past. In addition, 35 fan guns have been rebuilt and 75 lance-style guns have been retrofitted to improve the quality and quantity of snow produced.
New electrical service installed on the mountain will provide power to the increasing number of fan guns, which have onboard compressors that enable Windham to use less compressed air from the main snowmaking plant. Electric receptacles have been placed in areas to enable the ski area's snowmaking staff to use portable fans in those locations.
These days, snowmaking isn't a luxury, it's a necessity to remain competitive, and these upgrades will allow Windham to keep up with changing snowmaking technology, says Ted Davis, director of mountain operations at the resort.
“With snowmaking guns becoming more and more efficient by using less compressed air, we need to do two things,” says Davis. “First, we have to maintain water pressure throughout our system that will allow us to realize the efficiencies that the newer model equipment make possible in a wide range of temperatures. Second, our crews need to be able to quickly ramp our systems up to maximize output when we have the right conditions - cold and dry air.”
Also, Windham this summer completed a two-year engineering and storm water study that will allow the resort to start a major pond expansion in the spring of 2010 to increase its water capacity for snowmaking.
