CARRABASSETT VALLEY — Sugarloaf is undertaking a number of summer projects, including upgrades to its snowmaking system, a new state-of-the-art ski tuning machine, continued terrain expansion, and numerous resort and village enhancements.
The projects are part of the Sugarloaf 2020 Ten-Year Road Map for development.
In the four years since the plan was introduced, the resort has seen numerous upgrades and improvements, including expansion onto more than 500 acres of new terrain, a new quad chairlift, upgrades to its snowmaking system, a new irrigation system for the Sugarloaf Golf Club, a custom 30-person outdoor hot tub at the Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel, new restaurants and food options, and upgraded facilities throughout the resort.
This summer, Sugarloaf will invest $350,000 in snowmaking upgrades, including 30 to 40 new low-energy HKD SV10 Impulse snowguns, the most advanced energy-efficient snowmaking technology on the market. The snowguns, manufactured by Snow Economics Inc./HKD Snowmakers, are able to produce the same amount of snow as traditional snowguns, while using 30-40 percent less compressed air.
Sugarloaf has invested nearly $2 million in new snowmaking technology over the past three years, adding more than 500 new low-energy snowguns to its fleet of snowmaking equipment. The new gear has allowed the resort to make more snow than ever before, while simultaneously reducing the associated energy use by 20 percent. These new snowguns now make up 90 percent of the snowmaking fleet.
“These guns have revolutionized the way we make snow,” Danny Barker, Sugarloaf director of snow surfaces, said. “We’re now able to produce more snow than ever before, while significantly reducing our energy consumption to do so.”
Twenty of the new snowguns will be installed on Haywire, and the remainder will be mounted on sleds, allowing snowmakers to transport them to strategic locations around the mountain throughout the winter. A total of 6,000 feet of new snowmaking piping will be installed on Slasher, enabling snowmakers to make snow in the Wiffletree area earlier in the season. The new pipe will also replace existing pipelines on Tote Road and Haywire to increase output from snowguns in those areas.
Sugarloaf will also upgrade its grooming fleet with the purchase of a new Prinoth BR 350 Sherpa winch cat to bolster its existing fleet of 13 grooming machines.
Elsewhere on the resort, the Downhill Supply Co. will install a new $180,000 Wintersteiger mercury tuning machine, which will replace outdated technology and enhance the shop’s tuning capacity. This new, automated machine has the ability to tune and service all types of skis and snowboards from race shape to all mountain and rocker. This new machine will be the only one of its kind in Maine.
“We’re extremely excited about the new tuning equipment,” Steve Niezgoda Sugarloaf director of retail, said. “This new, automated machine will help to streamline the tuning process, increase our tuning capacity, and provide various types of tunes for all shapes and styles of skis and snowboards, in a fraction of the time it takes with older models.”
Work will also continue on Sugarloaf’s ongoing terrain expansion on Burnt Mountain this summer, as glade-cutting crews expand and maintain existing glades and cut new ones. Since the terrain expansion began in 2010, Sugarloaf has added more than 500 acres of new, backcountry-style terrain, making it the largest ski area east of the Rocky Mountains.
The terrain expansion offers skiers and riders a taste of the backcountry experience, with the safety of inbounds, patrolled terrain. The expansion features gladed terrain in remote areas that require traversing or hiking to access.
Last winter, Sugarloaf opened the newest piece of the Burnt Mountain expansion, the Androscoggin glade, which took skiers and riders to the summit of Burnt Mountain for the first time in the resort’s history, and provided a backcountry-style adventure unlike any other in the East.
In addition to these projects, Sugarloaf will also continue with general resort and village enhancements, including a renovated lobby at the Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel, new paint on various village buildings and upgrades to the Sugarloaf Inn.
For more information on Sugarloaf, visit www.sugarloaf.com.
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