Fan gun project and half pipe removal conducted; no work done on Green Peak.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014, NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com
A busy fall is wrapping up at Waterville Valley, as the fan gun installation on Tommy's World Cup slope has been tested. Lined with 7 TechnoAlpin fan guns, Tommy's World Cup is the first trail at Waterville Valley to have full tower coverage.
The fan gun project was funded by Waterville Valley and the Black and Blue Trail Smashers (BBTS) ski club. Six of the seven fan guns are T40 carriage guns that are elevated onto a tower, allowing for the guns to be operated elsewhere if needed. Each T40 fan gun can reportedly product three times as much snow as the air-water gun it replaces. The T10 tower at the top of the trail can produce nearly 50% more than the T40.
Since the Sununu family purchased Waterville Valley in 2010, multiple investments have been made in fan gun snowmaking, including the purchase of an SMI Polecat fleet, a TechnoAlpin fleet, and a TechnoAlpin tower gun for the terrain park.
The air-water guns displaced from Tommy's World Cup could reportedly end up on Green Peak, however without any terrain cleared there, the claim seems questionable.
Meanwhile, the half pipe, seldom used in recent years, has been removed. According to permit documentation, the remaining slope may have terrain park features.
The two projects come in the wake of the Green Peak expansion approval in 2013. 8 trails and a high speed quad are planned for the first phase of the project. While some clearing was planned during the 2013-14 season, no cutting has taken place as of fall 2014.
