NEWRY — Thanks to a cold spell and a million-dollar investment in snow-making equipment, Sunday River Ski Resort opened for the season Tuesday.
Sugarloaf Ski Resort in Carrabassett Valley began making snow Sunday.
Sugarloaf intends to open Nov. 16, spokesman Ethan Austin said Monday in a news report.
“Opening day has been great, so far,” Darcy Morse, Sunday River spokeswoman, wrote Tuesday in an email.
“Turnout for skiers and snowboarders is right where we’ve been the past couple of years, with cars continuing to fill our Barker Lodge parking lot and skiers and snowboarders continuing to load the chairlift as I type.
“Having just been out there myself, I can say that these are some of our best opening day conditions yet, and the snow guns are still on, which means that conditions will just continue to get better the more snow we’re able to make,” Morse said.
Snow-making on Monday night went according to plan, she wrote Tuesday on Sunday River’s website. Nearly 250 snow guns blasted Right Stuff, T2, Upper Punch, Ecstasy, Cascades and a few smaller trails.
“In fact, most of these guns are still on and we’ll continue to make snow so long as the temperature allows us to,” Morse said.
“This makes the less-than-thriller news that we’ll be skiing and riding on T2 only, so to give the lower trails some time to build a base understandable.”
That means that the open terrain is for experts only and that the Locke Mountain triple lift will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It also will have midstation access for continuous turns throughout the day and to download back down to the base, Morse said.
“But hey, skiing is skiing, and if you’re anything like us than you’re just happy to be out there!” she said.
A small terrain park with two boxes and a rail was also ready for skiers and snowboarders to use throughout the day.
Sunday River credits its potential top-to-bottom open terrain to a recent $1 million investment into snow-making, Dana Bullen, president and general manager, said Tuesday.
“Thanks to our new energy-efficient snow guns, we’re able to make more snow on more trails by using less air than in years past,” he said.
“The resort will continue to make snow as temperatures allow and push to open more terrain as snow-making progresses.”
With flurries falling and temperatures dropping into the teens Sunday night, Sugarloaf’s snow guns roared to life at 5:15 p.m., Austin said.
Forty-two snow guns ran on Upper Tote Road throughout the night, and were shut down for several hours Monday while temperatures climbed.
“Last night’s snow-making was Sugarloaf’s first look at $1 million worth of new snow-making technology that was installed during the summer months,” Austin said.
The resort bought 300 new low-energy snow guns, produced by Snow Economics Inc./HKD Snowmakers.
Austin said the new guns are able to produce the same amount of snow as traditional, older equipment, while using up to 90 percent less compressed air. Compressed air represents the largest area of electricity consumption in the snow-making process, he said.
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- While snow guns blast snow behind him at Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry on Tuesday morning, a snowboarder rides down the T2 trail on opening day.
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- Two skiers make their way down the T2 trail on Tuesday morning after snow-making guns were turned on at Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry. Tuesday was opening day for the resort.
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