Skip to main content

Into High Gear

Wrap it up

In the few days since we've closed for the season a ton of work has already gone into disassembling and removing the Quad, Triple, and Double to make way for construction to begin on the Voyageur Express Six.  First, crews gently lowered the Original Double's haul rope (wire cable that holds the chairs) onto 4x4s. The wood will protect the rope as it is reeled up over the ground keeping it in perfect condition so that it can be used to replace the current haul rope on the Bear Creek Double later this summer. 

The Original Double's haul rope awaiting the final trip around the bull wheel. - 04/07/2023

Spooling up fifteen thousand pounds of cable stretched out over six thousand feet is no small task, so we enlisted the help of JT and his son Jake from Mountain Wire Rope Service. They came all the way from Pennsylvania with their custom-made spooling machine in tow to help us out. Once the spooling machine was set up, the splice was cut right at the marriage, and one end was attached to the large blue spool shown in the photo below. Once the machine got to turning, the team spent the next two days carefully guiding the rope down the hill around the bull wheel at the base and all the way back up and onto the spool. 

Snowriver crew working with Jake to get the spooling started. - 4/15/2023

The project started on a beautiful warm spring Saturday and by the time the tail end of the rope made its way to the reel on Sunday, we were well into a fierce winter storm. I can't thank the crew enough for sticking it out and working through miserable conditions to wrap it up. With 15k pounds of cable on the spool and a worn and frozen crew ready to head home, we needed to pick the spool up out of the machine and stage it in the parking lot. For this, we looked to our friends at Ruotsala Concrete of Ironwood who have already dropped off their biggest excavator to help dig out the foundations for the new lift. My thanks to Colin for coming out on a Sunday in the freezing rain and snow to help us out!
Colin from Ruotsala's Concrete carries the full spool across the parking lot as the blizzard cranks up. - 4/16/2023

Tower Time

With haul ropes out of the way, the team began the removal of the 75 towers that will come down this summer to make way for wide-open skiing and riding next winter. Our team mounted a set of torches on the back of a snowcat and made their way from tower to tower, cutting all but a small portion of the tower before connecting a cable to the top and pulling it over with another snowcat. Once on the ground, each tower was drug over the snow to the mountaintop parking lot where it will be cut up and sent off for recycling. 

Tower #5 on the Triple getting hooked up to be towed off Borealis. - 04/12/2023

Removing all of these towers from the slopes is going to have a huge impact on the way the mountain skis next winter. Borealis feels like a huge Western cruiser without its towers and the Voyageurs funnel doesn't feel so quite so narrow. Going from 75 towers down to just 10 hidden on trail edge is going to create plenty of opportunity for wide-open cruising on the main face. Check out the before and after photos below!
Voyageur's Highway before - 03/24/2023

Same spot on Voyageurs after haul rope and tower removal - 04/13/2023

Renovations Reboot

Our Facility Maintenance team wasn't about to get left in the dust by the outdoor crews. They've already begun work on numerous renovations to the Lodge at Jackson Creek. This summer we're planning a refresh of the entire first floor of the lodge, including Dudley's, the pool, Legacy Restaurant, and the Lobby. Most of the work has been demo thus far as the crew prepares for the installation of new ceiling treatments, carpeting, walls, furniture, and decor. Check out the renderings of our plans for Legacy. I love the midcentury modern look and feel we're going for and can't wait to see families enjoy dinner here after a great day of skiing next winter. 





 
Stay tuned to my blog over the summer to stay updated on all the improvements we're working on for next season. It's sure to be a busy summer and winter will be here before we know it! I'm already looking forward to welcoming all of our guests back to experience all the changes, but for now, the team and I better kick it into high gear and get to work. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Opening Weekend at Jackson Creek Summit

 Yesterday was opening day at Jackson Creek Summit. It was exciting to welcome guests into the renovated Summit Center, now named the Sugar Maple Chalet. It was fun to watch our long time season pass holders check out all the changes we'd made to a place they've been so familiar with over the years. Who knew carpeting and anti-slip vinyl flooring could be such an exciting change.  The rental shop is finally finished and welcomed it's first renters yesterday. The space turned out great thanks to the hard work from many hands. It's so neat to see families get outfitted in their gear before heading straight onto the beginner slopes, just a few steps away. Our staff particularly appreciates the opportunity to watch their customers take their first turns, instead of being stuck in the windowless shop they previously called home.  We did have a few hang-ups in our plan that caused us to modify our operations for opening day and the rest of the weekend. As part of the construc...
2 comments
Read more

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 w...
1 comment
Read more

Just Getting Started

I had the opportunity to get out skiing with my Dad and my Sister on Sunday to wrap up the weekend. It was great to be out on the snow. Shanty Boy was a blast. Smooth, fast, and steep. Was fun to think that we're really just getting started, with so much more terrain to open and enjoy this season. The conditions were made even better by my brand new boots from Big Snow Outfitters in Bessemer. Growing up, my first few pairs of skis and boots all came from BSO's retired rental fleet, so of course it was the first place I thought to look to get my slightly packed out boots fitted properly. Walking into the store brought back so many childhood memories of stopping by the store after a day of skiing to enjoy the warmth of the wood burning fire and browse around dreaming of what equipment I'd buy when I grew up. The nostalgia must have got to me because it wasn't long before I was walking out with a new pair of Lange boots. Apparently the boots I'd been rocking for the pa...
1 comment
Read more