Sluggish start to snow is no obstacle to skiing season

At Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, the snow guns rev up a storm anytime the temperature gets below a chilly 27 degrees.

Whether during cold nighttime off-hours or while skiers are trying out the slopes during the day, the Vail Resorts property is keeping up with the warm and soggy start to the winter season by prioritizing snow production, according to Brett Cook, general manager of Vail’s three Laurel Highlands resorts.

As the 2022-23 season continues with temperatures and precipitation levels that are balmier than average, making enough powder for the trails becomes even more essential, he explained.

“We have weather stations around the mountain, so we can really keep a close eye on the weather every day. We make snow at every opportunity,” Cook said. “Right now, the way the weather has been, we definitely need to make snow anytime that we can.”

Snow levels this winter have definitely been lower than usual, according to the National Weather Service. Meteorologist Jared Rackley, who works at NWS Pittsburgh, said a slight warm-up period at the beginning of January is normal, but this year’s has dragged on longer than others.

“What is normal through today’s date is 15.2 inches (of snow), and so far we are at 6.2, so we are 9 inches behind the normal,” he said, adding that snow levels tend to fluctuate when different storms hit during the winter. “We were actually even further behind last year.”

To Rackley, it’s too early to tell how the rest of the season might shape up weather-wise.

“We could have a quick pattern change next month and end up with a really snowy end of February into March,” he said. “We will just have to wait and see what the pattern shift does. There certainly have been years that we see very snowy Marches, even with very little snow early in the season.”

Getting out on the slopes

At the Laurel Highlands resorts, Cook says warmer temperatures are a concern, but not a season-stopping one.

“There’s always concern when you get a warm-up and rain, especially back-to-back weeks. That can really have an impact on the amount of snow you have on the mountain,” he said. “We have really powerful snowmaking on all three of our mountains, and our snowmaking teams have been doing a great job keeping us open.”

Though the resorts usually try not to make snow “on open terrain” — meaning while visitors are using the trails — they are doing so now to make sure there is enough.

“We have snow guns that line all of our trails on either side, and when we are making snow, it is just like it would be snowing naturally, but a little bit more dense,” Cook said. “It can sometimes feel and look like a fog on the trails. We try to not get it so visibility is impacted — we really focus that on after hours.”

The lack of natural snow has not kept visitors away.

“There’s been a couple of days here and there where visitation has been a little lower because of the warm or because it is raining,” he said. “Guest sentiment has been fantastic. Great comments all around.”

The peak of ski season is often from Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend until President’s Day weekend, he said, and visitor turnout already is doing well. This year is Seven Springs’ first year with the Epic Pass, a seasonlong deal through Vail Resorts that allows passholders to visit any of the company’s facilities.

Cook says the deal has encouraged participation.

“There’s a lot of pent-up demand — a lot of guests want to come out and ski even if it is on minimal terrain,” Cook said. “We are seeing increased visitation here from the rest of the mid-Atlantic, and there is always that possibility of people going out West or out North to enjoy time there.”

Customer interest

Craig Rosman, owner of Route 31 Bike, Board & Ski in Somerset, says this year’s slow start to the cold weather is unusual.

“It’s been maybe 20 years since we’ve had this warm of a start to the season,” he said, though he added that he can’t predict the future.

“Everyone asks me all year in the preseason what I think about the winter, and I go, ‘ask me in March.’ ”

With the advent of the Epic Pass, Rosman has seen locals take the opportunity to try out other ski resorts. He said he is going on a trip to Denver in a few weeks.

“Customers are champing at the bit for the cold weather,” Rosman said. “People want more snow on the slopes, and when there’s not, what a lot of people like myself are doing is actually going to some of the other resorts that the Epic Pass allows you to.”

The lack of snow has not affected people’s desire to ski, snowboard and participate in other winter sports, he said.

“They all want to ski — there’s no question about it. Although people aren’t going as often, they are definitely going,” he said. “Business was off this week a little bit with the rain, but overall, for the season, it’s not off at all.”