GORE MOUNTAIN, NEW YORK
For 2008-09, Gore has developed Burnt Ridge Mountain, one of four peaks at the resort, with six trails (for starters) served by a Leitner-Poma detachable quad.

The Burnt Ridge quad stretches 6,162 feet and covers 1,427 vertical feet. It’s a 700 hp AC bottom drive and tension setup. Initial capacity is 2,000/hr, with capacity for 2,400/hr in the future. The runs, covering 55 acres and stretching five miles, are largely blue squares and black diamonds, with glades for both levels. The terrain increases Gore's total vertical drop to 2,300 feet, the eighth greatest in the eastern U.S., and the longest continuous run has increased from 2.9 to 3.7 miles.

Also of note: The new Northwoods lodge, built in conjunction with Lincoln Logs (the construction firm, not the toy company), has transformed the old gondola building. It houses the Kids Klub children's program, Snow Sports School, daycare, and rentals. Beginners can access the Northwoods Lodge directly from the parking lot, and then enter the base area or access the beginner terrain and conveyor lift. The base lodge itself has 7,500 square feet of remodeled space formerly occupied by the kids center and rental shop. The lodge now sports more seating, lockers, hooks, and storage space. Better bathrooms, too.



KEYSTONE, COLORADO
The new River Run Gondola, a state-of-the-art, eight passenger Doppelmayr, upgrades the old six-passenger Von Roll in several ways. Among them: the bottom terminal moves 150 yards downhill, over the Snake River into River Run Village, greatly improving guest access. Another twist: a new mid-station a third of the way up allows loading and unloading in both directions, giving skiers and snowboarders an option to access Keystone’s upper trails (during early and late season, when the lower terrain conditions might be iffy) and, at least as important, to download at the end of their ski day. A new Mountain Service Center adjacent to the gondola provides a single location for lift tickets, season passes, and activity information.

The gondola was manufactured at Doppelmayr’s Wolfurt, Austria, location, and has some first-in-the-U.S. features as a result, including the electronic controls and unique terminal enclosures—the terminals are not housed in a building, but open, as with a detachable quad. Also in the modern style: The cabins have floor-to-ceiling windows, and are large enough to accommodate skis and snowboards inside.

Vertical rise on the 9,587-foot-long lift is 2,307 feet, with a ride time of less than 12 minutes. It’s powered by a 1,400 hp AC VFD drive, with full capability 1,600 hp diesel backup and an evacuation drive as well. Capacity is 2,400 people per hour in both directions. The uphill capacity is effectively more than twice that of the previous lift, as it allows for more efficient loading.



CAMELBACK, PENNSYLVANIA
Camelback upgraded snowmaking in all its terrain parks and redeployed part of its existing system, replacing older equipment with 20 Turbocristal fan guns and 60 25-foot, low-e Turbocristal LP tower guns. Camelback also installed additional HKD SV-10s and relocated some existing HKDs—in all, 110 low energy guns. As a result, it will have snow for 20 acres of parks, and has eliminated the use of diesel compressors and 50,000 gallons of diesel consumption.

The efficient new system can max out the area’s 9,600 gpm water flow at about 25º wet bulb, says mountain ops chief Bill Toye. “The upgrade allows us to start on our terrain parks much earlier in the season and to get those open much earlier,” he says. Aside from new guns, the system is unchanged. It uses existing water and air lines, and a pump system that was updated in 2003. Not coincidentally, the area opened the season on November 22, earliest ever in its nearly 50-year history.

The new fan guns are standalone automatic operation; in the future, the area plans to convert to a wireless system, with all guns on a couple of trails off every lift controlled from the pumphouse.



DIAMOND PEAK, NEVADA
The $4 million first phase of the Diamond Peak Base Lodge renovation was completed this fall. Crews worked seven-day weeks in November to make sure the lodge was ready for the grand opening in early December. The top-to-bottom makeover includes a major facilities upgrade, including new outside hydronic-heated upper deck, expanded lower deck, new 300-square-foot meeting room, new food service counter and expanded food storage and prep space, a food service office, expanded Loft Bar with skylights, expanded rental and repair shop, new season rental lockers, new carpets and fixtures, and last but not least, new restrooms in the Loft Bar and on the second floor. The expansion adds 3,000 sf, or about 30 percent more floor space, “which is a huge difference,” says GM Ed Youmans. CertainTeed fiber cement siding promises an improved look and longer life. The second half of the lodge renovation, scheduled for completion in 2010, will bring the total investment to $7.5 million and add a new children’s center and ticket windows.



STOWE, VERMONT
The majority of Stowe Mountain Resort’s $400 million Spruce Peak development projects are now open. This year the resort has added the slopeside Stowe Mountain Lodge luxury hotel and spa and the Spruce Base Camp, which together account for more than half the investment. Previously, the area has added an inter-mountain transfer gondola, trails, a beginner area, two high-speed detachable quads and fully-automated snowmaking.

No single project will touch more visitors than the new Spruce Base Camp, which opened in December. The 66,750-square-foot Base Camp is the central source for skier and snowboarder services, including restaurants, bar, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, rental shops, retail, tickets, event space and public lounge areas. The building is adjacent to the new Over Easy transfer gondola, providing convenient access to both Spruce Peak and Mount Mansfield. It also completes the new community that has sprung up at Spruce Peak.

Stowe Mountain resort has followed an Environmental Charter to guide all aspects of every project to preserve the area’s ecology. Steps include designating 2,000 acres of surrounding forest for wildlife preservation. In 2007 Spruce Peak was awarded with Audubon International’s Green Community Award.