SEASON SAVER
Snow-making helps ski resorts stay open with little help from Mother Nature
No snow? No problem! Despite an exceptionally dry winter, Northern New Mexico’s ski resorts are staying open through the season—with a little help from technology. “We are always open until the end of spring break,” said Jesse Stocking, Angel Fire Resort’s snow-making manager, “but we’re extending our snow-making season this year.”
When Mother Nature fails to provide the necessary wintertime manna from heaven, ski areas rely on snow-making to provide sufficient slope coverage. This season, they’re relying on snow-making much more than usual. In fact, before the storms in mid-February, some mountains were covered exclusively with man-made snow.
To help ski resorts open for business in the fall, snow-making supplements the base layer, but typically, it is used only for the beginning of the season. This year, most ski areas have continued making snow if their water supplies allow for it.
Snow-making 101
“Around 28 degrees Fahrenheit is the magic number for snow-making, depending on humidity and wind,” according to Ski New Mexico’s Executive Director George Brooks. “It can be a little warmer if it’s dry out and cooler if it’s very humid.”
The science behind turning water into tiny ice crystals, or snow, is complex. In super-simplified terms, the snow-making machine uses compressed air to break the water into small particles, a process called nucleation.
Taos Ski Valley, under new ownership, has made extensive upgrades recently, including laying new pipelines for air and water and buying new air compressors for its snow-making guns, improving performance and consuming less energy. “We have miles of pipe buried all over the mountain. We compress air into that pipe at 110 psi for stick guns and ground guns that use air for both nucleation and thrust,” said John Weinmeister, trail manager at Taos Ski Valley.
Some resorts, including Red River and Santa Fe, use generators or electricity lines to power their fan guns, the snow machines that look like giant hair dryers. These have on-board compressors that nucleate the water into snow.
Dry and fun to ski
How does the man-made snow compare to the real stuff? “We’re practicing voodoo up here,” Weinmeister said. “Sure, it’s man-made, but if we didn’t have snow-making, there’d be no skiing in New Mexico right now.” He added that the new equipment makes higher-quality snow.
Stocking said Angel Fire’s man-made snow is purposely too dry to form into a snowball, one of the snow quality tests he prefers. “It’s kind of sugary, and it skis a little different than natural snow,” he said, “but we make it drier than other places, and it’s a fun snow to ski.”
Snow now, water later
Ski Santa Fe draws water for snow-making— up to 22 million gallons, according to its water allotment — from Rio en Medio between November 1 and March 30. Ben Abruzzo, area manager for Ski Santa Fe, said in mid-February that the resort is not making snow anymore this year, beyond small areas that need freshening up.
Pajarito Mountain Ski Area ran out of water early in the season. “We rely on runoff water collected at the base of the ski area that’s pumped up to a holding pond on top of the mountain,” General Manager Tom Long said. Although the pond holds 10 million gallons, the runoff water this year produced only 1.2 million gallons of water. Thanks to the ski area’s snow-making capabilities, there’s still a beginner area open.
Speaking of the drought, the snow-making process serves the bigger-picture water issues in New Mexico. The ski areas divert water to make snow in the winter months when agricultural areas lie dormant, storing water in the form of snow, which feeds the streams when it melts in the spring. “Of course, it’s better if the snow just falls out of the sky,” Abruzzo said, “but in terms of water replenishment, snowmaking is generally accepted to be a very good thing that provides runoff, which in this state is very important.”
Across the state, ski resorts are struggling, but they all emphasized that they are open and the skiing is still good fun, especially for beginner and intermediate skiers. Many resorts celebrate closing day with special events like pond skimming, bands and ticket discounts.
“Hands down, this is the worst season I’ve been through; it’s unprecedented,” said Weinmeister, who has 29 years in the industry. “But it’s New Mexico, and the conditions could change next week and snow 4 feet.”