Fall 2007 - over 200% MORE SNOW - Ski Butternut is installing a new state-of-the-art pumphouse that more than doubles our snowmaking ability. The new pumps increase the amount of water we can pump uphill to 3600 gpm. (up from 1600 gpm in the past). Simply stated the more water we can push up the hill, the more snow we can make. Now Ski Butternut, already noted for great conditions, can open twice as many trails in the same amount of time as in the past.
Snowmaking
and grooming are the lifeblood of the ski
industry, but natural snow is its best marketing
tool. Making snow is more than just waiting
for cold weather - it's a SCIENCE! After
reading the following, you'll have a better
understanding of the expertise and effort required from Ski Butternut's snowmakers and its
snowmaking system to cover the slopes with
snow. There are 7 key elements necessary
for productive, quality snowmaking:
- Cold Temperatures - idealy 16 degrees Fahrenheit but anything below 28 and we can start making snow.
- Low Humidity
- Electricity - Lots of electricity - the power company loves us.
- Compressed Air - Again more electricity needed
- Water
- Snow Guns - the equipment that combines
the elements above
- A knowledgeable & talented snowmaking
staff
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Mother Nature
She chooses when to provide the cold temperatures
and low humidity. Unfortunately, we have
no control over the weather. However, we
do provide the compressed air, water, electricity,
and select the best snowgun mix for the
conditions. Large compressors compact
air at 14,400/cfm (cubic feet per minute), pushing it through
miles of snowmaking air pipes that line our slopes. Another set of pipes is used to pump up to 3,600 gpm (gallons per minute) of water
up the mountain. (Ski Butternut drastically increased its ability to pump water uphill in the fall of 2007 with the construction of a new multi million dollar state-of-the-art pumphouse. This was a significant upgrade as the old system pumped 1600 GPM) The water is drawn
from one of two holding ponds located on
Ski Butternut property. The pumps
that push the water and the compressors that
compress and move the high-pressure air
use a lot of electricity. Snowmaking, therefore,
is a very expensive enterprise.
The
miles of snowmaking pipe used to transport
the water and compressed air around the
mountain have a set of valves every 50 feet. Snowguns are connected
to these valves by high-pressure hoses.
One high-pressure hose is connected to a
water valve, and the other hose is connected
to a compressed air valve. Both hoses are
then connected to a single snowgun. At Ski
Butternut we may have as many as 40 snowguns
operating on a single trail. The snowgun
serves as the mixing chamber for the water
and air. The mixture creates small water
molecules which are under intense pressure. These tiny
molecules of water are then forced out of
the gun into the air. When the water molecule
is released into the air, which is
at a relatively lower pressure, it expands. As
the water molecule expands, it releases energy
in the form of heat and freezes. This process
is called "super-cooling."
Cold
Temperatures
32 degrees is the temperature at
which water crystallizes, but in most cases,
it's not cold enough for efficient and productive snowmaking. Generally, temperatures
must drop below 28 degrees Fahrenheit before snowmaking can begin.
At Ski Butternut, we will make snow at temperatures
at or below 28 degrees "wet bulb" but we prefer 22 to 24 or lower with 16 degrees being ideal.
Wet Bulb is a temperature measurement that
takes into account both the ambient air
temperature and the relative humidity, another key snowmaking factor.
Humidity
Humidity also plays a big role in determining when snowmaking can begin.. At higher humidity levels, the process is hampered, because the air is already saturated with water molecules.
The drier the air, the better the snowmaking conditions and the higher the quality of snow that can be produced. Low humidity, combined with cold air (16 to 22 degrees faherenheit), allow our snowguns to shoot out beautiful, fluffy white, powdery snow! The degree of humidity is so critical, in fact, that when the temperature approaches 28-30 degrees, it is the humidity level, not the temperature, that dictates whether or not
the ski area can cost-effectively continue to make snow!
Water
Snowmaking uses a lot of water. At Ski Butternut, water
is treated as a precious resource. It is the basic raw material
needed for skiing and winter sports recreation.
The snowmaking process converts water
into snow, which our snowcats and other grooming machinery spread around the mountain.
During a thaw or winter rain, some snow may
melt. This water runs
back down the mountain into Ski Butternut's two holding
ponds, where it
is held until reused to make
snow. Ski Butternut's
snowmaking system was upgraded in the fall of 2007 and can now pump 3600 gallons of water per
minute. In the course of a regular winter,
we will convert tens of millions of gallons
of water into snow.
Snow Guns
The four primary types of snow guns we use
are shown below. Each has a specific set
of advantages, which determine when they are used. These characteristics are carefully weighed against environmental and operational factors, such as temperature, humidity, wind, times of operation and grooming tactics.Often,
Ski Butternut uses a combination of these snow guns to provide
the best snow possible and to operate our
snowmaking system at the highest capacity possible..
| HKD TOWER |
SMI /
HEDCO FAN GUNS |
OMICRON
WISPER GUNS |
RATNIK |
HKD Snow Guns
Over the last few seasons, we've added over
150 of the newest snowgun model available, the HKD tower mounted snowguns.
These HKD guns are mounted on poles which reach up to 30 feet into the air. These are designed to make
quality snow more efficiently and less expensively as a result of using less expensive compressed air. However, these
new snowguns are somewhat expensive to purchase.
Nevertheless, because these guns use less compressed air,
three-and-a-half guns can be run using the
same amount of compressed air that older
models of snowguns used. When temperatures allow, and we're
pushing the maximum amount of air possible, we employ the HKD Tower snowguns to make more
snow. As they allow us to pump more water because more snowguns can be operating given a fixed amount of air. More snow is the result of moving more water. Ultimately, given a fixed amount of compressed air available the
more water we can pump and the more snowguns we can have working, the more
snow we can produce in a given period of
time.
The
position of the guns is another factor that makes
the HKD design more efficient. The new guns'
30 foot height gives the snow crystals, shooting from
the top of the snowguns six nozzles, more time to freeze as they
fall farther to the ground. The biggest advantage
of the HKD design is that these guns use less air (they're more efficient to operate) and when necessary they allow us to make snow
at temperatures a few degrees warmer (28 degrees) than
older snowgun technology permitted (24-26 degrees).
This gives us
a longer period of time when snow can be
made. Also, more ground is covered by one
gun because the crystals spread out as they
fall to the ground. So less grooming time is needed to spread out the piles of snow the guns make. Again a savings is realized in less diesel fuel being used in the groomers and less wear and tear on the snow grooming machines.
SMI
& HEDCO Fan Guns
These guns create their own air pressure
using a fan instead of an external air pump. A nozzle mixes water, which is pumped from one of the holding ponds, and compressed
air to create tiny water molecules.
The gun's fan then blows these molecules
up into the air. Fan snowguns work best in temperatures
below 25 degrees and,
because they don't need to use the expensive
and limiting compressed air. They provide another component in the mix. If the snowmaking team is running all the compressed ait to the max 14,400 CFM and there is still more water available we can add these snowmaking machines into the mix to take advantage of the available water without the requirement of more compressed air as they don't need the air, Their internal fans take care of that need. At times when
all of our compressed air is being
used by our other snowguns, and there's still available water, Ski Butternut can boost
snowmaking even more, simply by firing up its Fan snowguns.
Omicrons
These snowguns are welded to a sliding steel
frame, rising 3 feet off the ground. They
function best at temperatures hovering closer to freezing
(24-28 degrees), because they require more air pressure to operate
the gun creates water molecules that freeze into snow very quickly. They are best when it is windy because they are lower to the ground which means less loss due to wind drift. That occurs when the wind blows the freshly made snow off the trails and into the woods. They ar nicknamed the wisper guns because they are somewhat quiet for a snwogun. They don't make the jet engine like roar of the following gun.
Ratniks
Ratniks are very similar to Omicrons in
design, using both air and water lines. Using a much higher volume of both air and water, these snowguns produce a larger volume
of snow quickly. But they use up a large amount of available air and water limiting the number of these type of snowguns an area can use at any one point in time. These guns work best
in very cold temperatures (below 20 degrees)
and are often operated in high use areas to cover thinning slopes with more snow quickly.
Electricity
To cover our slopes with copious amounts of man-made snow, large quantities of compressed
air and water must be pushed through snowmaking pipes to all sections of our mountain. We have an inline system that totals 13 large compressors
that push air up the mountain at a rate of
14,400 cf/m [cubic feet per minute]. Also used are several high-capacity water pumps and a number of free standing
Fan Guns that all require large
amounts of electricity. Is it any wonder why snowmaking is such an expensive proposition for eastern ski areas? Electricty cost alone may eat up as much as 18 to 22% of a resorts total net revenue. This is just the cost for electricity and does not include any costs for labor, equipment, fuel, insurance, overhead, reinvestment, leasing, taxes and the mirade of other costs that need to come out of each lift ticket.
Our Snowmaking Crew - 24 Hours A Day
Throughout the winter months, our snowmakers
are on standby, waiting for cold temperatures.
When the weather looks right, they gear up and head out onto the mountain to make snow. Snowmaking is often a 24-hour,
seven-day-a-week enterprise when it's cold. Many times they miss Thanksgiving and Christmas and other holidays as they are out on the hill making snow.
It's a cold, wet job, but our snowmakers love manipulating high pressure nozzles and hoses to assure guests the finest packed powder conditions available, anywhere in the northeast! (If you are interested in joining our snowmaking team,
contact Tony Bleau, Ski Butternut's mountain manager, for an interview. Tony directs our on-mountain snowmaking and grooming operations)
Want to know what
it feels like to make snow? Visualize yourself in a car wash when it's pitch
dark and pushing 8 degrees Farenheight, your dressed in soaking wet clothes, enduring a gale force wind blowing 30+ miles an hour. So the windchill is now at about 26 below zero. (You just can't
stay dry when playing with high-pressure
water hoses!) When you're making snow on the mountain, you're often soaked
to the bone, battling frigid temperatures and
a wind chill factor hovering at or well below zero. That's the life of a Ski Butternut snowmaker. That ability to enducre is what makes them stand appart from less hardy souls. Our Snowmaking experts love just this type of challenge and many are right there to test the prodcut when the slopes open in the morning!
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Grooming
Our groomers also take pride in their work. Recognized as some of the best in the business, they work through the night and early morning hours to perform
their magic - creating a fresh carpet of couderoy powder for our guests or building awesome hits in our terrain parks. Ski Butternut's groomers know
how to create perfection on our slopes, transforming what seemed like a skiied-off run on a busy holiday weekends into a meticulously groomed, silky smooth carpet of corduroy that coveres the slopes. Add a little fresh natural snow to the mix and all I can say is grab your camera and freshly tuned skis and let'em rip. Everyone should strive for a day when they can make first tracks. Better yet join us midweek and when you get done making first tracks under the lift go back up and see if you can connect your figure Eights. Bon' Appetite!
Special Link - Want to learn all about Snowflakes? Check out the site below for incredible Snowflake Photography and in depth annalysis of snow crystal formation. http://www.snowcrystals.com
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