Wednesday, November 30, 2011

This Morning.....








Every snowflake is one step closer to opening day! Stay tuned........




Monday, November 28, 2011

Sunday nite and Tonite

Quick update. Got to turn the snow guns on about 1 am this morning and run til the sun came up. Best snow was made the last couple hours when we dropped into the teens in the valley.

Tonite we got the guns on about 6:30 and hope the temps and especially the humidity drop as they are keeping us at about the lowest volume you can run right now and still be making snow. This isn't unusual for the end of November....marginal temps that rise and drop often accompanied by wide humidity swings as well. The guys just babysit the equipment all night long and adjust everything in response to changing temps, humidity and wind.......both speed and wind direction.

......tis the season.........

.....but the outlook appears to be in our favor with temps gradually dropping..

stay tuned..........and I will try to get some pics for the next post.........

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Looks for sure.........

........that we will be making snow tonight!! Every weather forecast I checked last night and again this morning would have the temps cold enough tonight to turn the guns on. In fact, when looking at the seven day forecast, the only night that might be too warm to make snow is Monday night. We will have to wait and see. Seems the forecast changes pretty often and the temps in the valley can be a little colder than in town. We are excited.

......Some more of the fence is being put up today, which is generally one of the last things to do before we open.

......I will try to keep everyone updated here on a regular basis from now til we open so you can make your plans accordingly. As ususal, we will focus on the School yard and Abby's Alley and open more trails from there as the snowmaking progresses.

Checked yesterday on the status of the Seven Oaks clothing and it should be on-site Thursday. More on this too as we get closer.

Tuesday night will be on-the-hill training for our new employees and a refresher for those that are returning. What a GREAT group we have on board again this year. Our team is awesome!!

Ready or not, here we go............and we are ready!!

.......See you on the slopes soon........

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Oh Man!

Getting excited here as the list of things to do get shorter and shorter ..........leaving only ...........MAKE SNOW. And the weather forecast finally looks like we are going to get going with earnest..........maybe this weekend.......nights only.......but still it will be great to get a string of nights in...........

......are you ready???? Have you tuned the skis, found your winter equipment, got your season pass??? There is still time but if you want to be among the first on the fresh snow, the clock is running.

The complete line of Seven Oaks clothing will be on site late this week. Austin did a good job with some new colors, new looks.......be sure to check it out. Might be the Christmas gift you were looking for.

Sorry this is short but gotta get back to the ISU vs OU game now....... Go clones!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

It Is Started




The snow making season officially got underway last night.


We turned on the guns at about 10 pm and ran til temps rose this morning at about 5:30 am. We know the immediate forecast is for temps that will not allow more snow to be made but we wanted to test the system. All the guns that were 100% tuned by Kris and the new/rebuilt snow making pump got tested.


The word is that the volume of water, the pressure of water and the snow making efficience from the guns were all MUCH, MUCH better than last season! Great news.


Got the winter season Seven Oaks clothing ordered and in fact it is being printed starting today. It will be on hand before opening day.......for those of you who want a Christmas gift.......or just can't wait to get the new colors.


Here are a couple pics from last night and one this morning after the sun was up.

I don't care who you are........ya gotta think that's cool......

At the top of Abby's Alley.......


Does this give you the bug???



We'll keep you posted on our progress of making MORE snow!! We need more cold nights......

Friday, November 11, 2011

It's getting closer

The nights are definitely getting colder........more frost........a little lower temps for day time highs......and some snow falling from the sky........all signs that winter is getting a little closer.
And we are 99% ready to get into full swing for the ski, snow board and snowtube season.

Newly rebuilt pump that supplys our snowmaking water is installed and ready. The water lines have been flushed. All the snowguns have been completely gone thru with new nozzles installed. The snowmaking pond is filling. Both chairlifts are serviced. We are ordering new Seven Oaks winter clothing on Tuesday. Yep we are getting closer by the hour.

Last night was the night we interviewed all the applicants that had an interest in working at Seven Oaks this winter. What a great bunch of gals and guys. I estimate there were about 110 or 120 folks present for the presentation and interview process. We had a lot of local people and a lot of DMACC and ISU students as well........and a lot of them had experience working or instructing at other ski areas in the midwest during their high school years. Very cool.

And had a lot of our employees from last season on site as well. That's great!

I will try to now be much more regular with posts throughout the winter season......promise.

I got a feelin this winter is going to be a good one!!!