A Flurry of Activity

The Sugar Maple Chalet (former Summit Center) is really starting to come together, with renovations wrapping up in preparation for our opening day this Friday. Between contractors and our own team, there is quite the flurry of activity going on as I write this morning. We're going to be running down to the wire with a number of finishing touches.

The new ticket windows are nearing completion, with just the windows themselves yet to be installed. Delivery is scheduled for Wednesday, and the crew will get to work on installing them as soon as they arrive. In the meantime, we'll be working on setting up the computers with our point-of-sale systems to be ready for our guests on Friday. Once complete, all day tickets and rentals will be sold out of these windows. Season pass pickup will be available at the guest service counter inside the chalet.

The new carpet, paint, and furniture has made a tremendous difference inside the chalet. The classic charm of the building really shines with all the latest finishes, my favorite of which is the refinished wood beams. Before the renovations, many of the structural timbers were covered with many layers of thick, dark brown paint. Our painting team devised a custom finish using paint and stain to recreate the natural wood look, which really turned out well. 

Down in the rental shop, the new flooring, walls, and paint have all been completed. The rental team has assembled all of the new racking and started to transfer our fleet from the old rental shop out into the new space. After purchasing rentals at the new ticket windows, guests will come inside, walk down the stairs in the middle of the chalet, and right into the new rental shop. It will be a great rental experience with more space for families to try on boots and receive assistance from our team in the fitting process. Once outfitted, guests can walk right out to the Sugar Hill Learning Area to start their day or meet their instructor at the new Snowsports School desk, right in the rental room. 

On the Mountain

The Mountain Operations team is hard at work installing 52 new trail signs all over The Summit. The signs look really sharp and will improve navigation for our guests and help get us all trained in on the new names for all of our favorite runs. 

The team has also been busy completing all of our preoperational tests and inspections on the Original Double, Aurora Triple, Pinecone Poma, and the Magic Carpet, all of which are on the schedule to operate for opening weekend at Jackson Creek Summit. 

While this week's warmer weather has forced a snowmaking shutdown, we were able to get snow enough snow made last week to be able to open the Sugar Hill Learning Area, Maple, Voyageur's Highway, Superior, and Sundance on Friday the 16th. We're looking forward to the much colder temps arriving this weekend and have guns standing at the ready on Borealis and Alpenglow. With how cold it is forecast to be, I anticipate we'll be moving quickly across the main face, which will set us up nicely for the holiday week.

Winter Weather Returns

OpenSnow is forecasting a great start to our weekend with what looks to be our first true Powder Thursday of the season at Black River Basin. With up to a foot of snow falling before the start of the day on Thursday, I'd be making plans to skip work or school and drop in at The Basin. Our friends to the north at Lutsen are really looking good, with over two feet forecasted for Wednesday into Thursday. If you're one of our Legendary pass holders, now might be a good time to make the trek up to Lutsen.