Wildcat / Attitash

[snoseek]

Noticed this bit in Wildcat's Closing Report:


The late snowmaking on Alley Cat and Middle/Lower Catapult was mint this year. More of that, please.

I didnt get as many days at the cat that i planned on and snowmaking was a big part of that. Was it a water issue?

I did get some exceptional days with the nicest groomers I can remember there...maybe thats because the place was completely void of people. The couple days with fresh i got midweek I was skiing all the stash areas untracked pretty much all day...it was great

Lets also remember they got absolutely boned for weather for the 2nd year in a row as far as weather patterns. Cannon came out at 200 inches almost double what Wildcat got and Wildcat always has been a place reliant on natural (which they usually get more).

I have no issues with the people working there...they put in a solid effort. My issue always has been with Broomfield, they were the excact same at Kirkwood, Except kirkwood gets a shitload of snow that saves them.

 

[doublediamond]

Are they still using one crew shared between Wildcat and Attitash? If so I could imagine them having a desire to focus snowmaking on Attitash as its lower elevation, has a bed base, and Peak essentially consolidated the ski school there and Vail continued consolidation by moving most (all?) racing there.

But let’s be real. The real reason is the all-to-common to Vail penny wise pound foolish decision to not put money into NH resorts and milk them.

 

[Newpylong]

I am not aware of snowmakers being shared across the two - the managers definitely have been. The lack of snowmaking at Wildcat (and to a lesser extent Attitash) is simply due to loss of human capital. No one left knows how to run those systems how they were intended to be run, so they will blame it on equipment and/or lack of water. That is a very common scapegoat in the ski industry. The knowledge went away when all of the snowmaking and snow surface managers left post Vail purchase.

 

[deadheadskier]

Peak used to share staff between the two areas. I heard it directly from their old Mountain ops manager Patrick. While it was frustrating to sometimes have perfect snowmaking weather and nothing being made at Wildcat, they always got an earlier start in the year so the early season terrain expansion wasn't as anemic. Basically every year they'd have the "big 3" routes off the summit plus Snowcat area by Christmas. I don't think Vail has achieved that once.

 

[Newpylong]

I would be surprised if they achieved snowmaking coverage on 75% of the terrain Peak would cover once based on what I have seen. They do a little better at Attitash but they don't have the staff to push it out and the piles sit on trails for weeks.

 

[deadheadskier]

Lack of staff is all the more reason to get started early and take risks even when the temperature is more likely to fluctuate. Because if you sit around and wait until the week before Xmas and a warm spell happens, you're playing catch-up to the competition all through January.

That's why you see places like Stratton or even Gunstock open with multiple routes available. They get started weeks even before opening day.