when magic meets muscle
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Cheat Mountain Magic
Its no secret your safest bet for finding top-notch ski conditions in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast Region is to visit Snowshoe Mountain. What's the recipe for success you ask? We like to think of it as a little Cheat Mountain Magic and a whole lot of Snowshoe Muscle.what does that mean?
Basically, it means Mother Nature set this place up to be a ski-island in the sky and we're throwing as much snow technology behind her as we possibly can. We attribute the alignment of the stars that merged location, elevation and weather patterns together, resulting in the best natural snow in the region, to Cheat Mountain Magic. And Snowshoe Mountain Muscle - well that's where all our snowmaking and grooming toys and an all star snowmaking team come into play.
More about the magic
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Elevation
Situated at the southern end of Cheat Mountain, on the 2 highest peaks in the entire state. Snowshoe Mountains' elevation at 4,848ft, produces a unique microclimate keeping it much cooler than the surrounding areas.
Weather
Snowshoe sits in a snowy sweet spot – close enough to the Great Lakes for consistent upslope lake effect snow from the many passing Alberta clippers, and far enough east to cash in on big Nor’easters.
The Results
Snowshoe enjoys an average snowfall of 150 inches and, while much of the East Coast is known for heavier wet snow, Snowshoe is known for its surprisingly light, dry powder.
Snowgun success
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Investment
In summer 2018, we put in nearly $4 million toward upgrades to our snowmaking and grooming technology. This allowed us to open significantly more trails by early December and to maintain a high-quality snow surface throughout ski season.
New Snowguns and Automation Equipment
The investment includes over 150 new snowguns to be positioned in key, fixed locations around the mountain, as well as the equipment needed to further automate the snowmaking system.
75 Fixed Position Tower Fan Guns:
High Production/Low Energy DemacLenko Titan 2.0.
The most powerful snowgun currently on the market, capable of making massive amounts of snow in short windows of time.
90 Low-Energy “Stick” Guns
Super energy-efficient SnowLogic DV7’s use less than 10% of the energy required of traditional snowmaking equipment.
Will allow the resort to maintain high-quality surface conditions with minimal energy usage.
Automation Hardware & Software
Further automating the mountain’s snowmaking system will increase efficiency, giving the maximum amount of production time during even brief snowmaking opportunities.
Each snowgun will have access to temperature and humidity sensors that trigger the automation software and adjust air/water ratios to ensure both high quality snow and maximum snow production.
75 Fixed Position Tower Fan Guns:
High Production/Low Energy DemacLenko Titan 2.0.
The most powerful snowgun currently on the market, capable of making massive amounts of snow in short windows of time.
90 Low-Energy “Stick” Guns
Super energy-efficient SnowLogic DV7’s use less than 10% of the energy required of traditional snowmaking equipment.
Will allow the resort to maintain high-quality surface conditions with minimal energy usage.
Automation Hardware & Software
Further automating the mountain’s snowmaking system will increase efficiency, giving the maximum amount of production time during even brief snowmaking opportunities.
Each snowgun will have access to temperature and humidity sensors that trigger the automation software and adjust air/water ratios to ensure both high quality snow and maximum snow production.
Sustainability and Efficiency
The re-tooled snowmaking system will return more than 5,000,000 kwh back to the grid. In case you're not sure what that means (some of us weren't) 5,000,000 kwh is enough to power 500 homes for an entire year.
How Does It Work?
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