Updated: 11-27-08 |
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!
Well, it has been a crazy couple of weeks on the mountain and I apologize for the lack of updates. On Tuesday, November 18th, with over two feet of snow falling on the resort, Bill Rock and the Senior Leadership Team made the great decision to open the resort early. Opening Day for the 2008-2009 season was pushed up five days, and we dropped the rope on our 35th Season on Friday, November 21. I have to say, I don't think any of us expected the awesome visitation we got that weekend. Personally, I was looking forward to making laps all weekend with my coworkers, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that hundreds of you snow-enthusiasts made the trip up and took advantage of our epic early season conditions. It's always fun to share great experiences with our loyal guests. We're spoiled by having this amazing mountain right outside our offices and front doors, and it's nice to be reminded how special this place is by folks willing to drive hours and hours to make a few turns. (On the driving note, how GREAT are gas prices right now!)
I know many of you questioned why, with over three feet of natural snow and plenty of snowmaking weather, we had only 6 slopes open. Well, it was as staffing issue. From patrollers and snowmakers to groomers and lift attendants, much of our core staff wasn't scheduled to come back to work until at least this week. Some aren't scheduled until early December, when traditionally we start expanding terrain. But, we did the best we could with the folks we had. Hopefully you didn't notice, but our GM was out there scanning lift tickets, our accountants were working the registers in the Shavers Centre Food Court and our admin staff was absolutely fantastic, making sure everyone was where they needed to be and all the needs of our guests were adequately met. But even with limited open terrain, I think everyone who was up here can attest to the fact that opening weekend was fantastic.
And things have only gotten better since. With more employees back to work, we've significantly expanded our open terrain in the last few days. Mother Nature has continued to be extremely nice to us. It's only November 27th and already we've had 63.5" of natural snowfall this season. That includes 16" that fell on the resort Monday into Tuesday of this week. That natural snowfall, complimented by the superior work of our expert snowmaking team, has allowed us to open much of our terrain with 3 and 4 feet of base. Anyone who has been up here in the last week saw the giant whales of snow we had piled up. Over the last few days, our groomers have been out pushing that snow around, allowing us to celebrate Thanksgiving today with 20 open trails. This weekend we plan to further expand that terrain, as well as open another section of our lift system with the addition of Soaring Eagle on Saturday.
Needless to say, it has been a fantastic start to the season. If you haven't made the trip yet, you need to get up here! We have plenty of fantastic deals still available, but make sure you take advantage sooner, rather than later. Our Smart Ski Escape packages are set to expire December 15, and other offers won't be around long, either. We still have some availability for the Christmas Holiday period, but that won't last long. If November is any indication, it's going to be an amazing season at Snowshoe, so make your plans today!
Have a wonder holiday everyone.
Think snow!
