Snowmaking
Snow--when you really think about it, it's the one essential component to our sport. Lifts? You can hike. Mountains? There's always nordic skiing. Equipment? It wasn't that long ago when people were creating their own out of natural material. Fortunately for us, we can have some control over the snow even if Mother Nature decides not to cooperate during the winter months. Every year we continue to improve our snowmaking equipment and stay on the cutting edge of the latest technology in the industry. Since this is the most important part of our sport, we thought you'd like to know a little bit more about snowmaking.
 
First, winter resorts make "man-made" snow, not artificial snow. Man-made snow is made much the same way as natural snow; tiny water droplets freeze into crystals before falling to the ground as "snow." At Bristol Mountain we have two basic types of guns to make "man-made" snow: fan guns and air-water guns. You have probably seen both types of guns at Bristol Mountain, sitting poised, ready to make snow. The air-water guns are connected to two pipelines coming out of the ground. One is to carry the water and the other is to transport the air. Getting the proper mix of these two "ingredients" is quite a challenge and that's why our snow is so great. It's a credit to our snowmakers who have many years of experience.
Fan guns are an alternative to the traditional air-water guns. A large amount of water is atomized through many tiny nozzles surrounding a giant fan blade. This fan propels the moisture into the air, where it condenses and freezes to form snow crystals.
 
Bristol Mountain has 97% of it’s total skiable terrain covered by snowmaking and has an average snow base depth of 24-40". More relevant to our customers is the amount of "quality" snow a ski area can make at one time, which is the only true measure of how fast an area can open new terrain or refresh surfaces during the course of the season. Water is the raw material from which snow is made and water supply is a very critical determinant in how much snow a ski area can make. Bristol Mountain has multiple water sources from which to draw this critical resource.
Water Capacity by Numbers
- 190K converts to an acre foot of snow
- Each tower air gun can output 18-110 gallons/minute
- Each air/water gun outputs 15-60 gallons/minute
On-Mountain System by Numbers
- Fan Snowguns: 58 tower, 17 carriage fan guns
- Air/Water Snowguns: 174 tower mounted, 36 sled mounted
- Miles of pipe: 16 miles
- Miles of hose: >1mile
- Hydrant stations: 396
- Average hydrant spacing: 85 feet
Snowguns
Bristol Mountain has been on the leading edge of snowgun technology for over a decade. Four weather stations around the mountain monitor weather conditions which are fed into snowmaking central. Thirty-nine of the tower mounted guns are radio frequency controlled and can be run in auto (from the base) or manual mode. In auto mode, the guns will adapt to changing humidity, air temp, and wind, as required. There are six different snow conditions that these fan guns can generate. All of the above are required to assure the best in quality and quantity of snow for our customers.
High Tech: Computers and Snowmaking
Bristol Mountain has four state-of the-art computers which monitor/manage outdoor weather stations, air and water flows to the guns, temperatures of the incoming water, power meters, etc. Sensors monitor the snowmaking water sources, flows on air and water, and heat exchangers remove unwanted BTU's from compressed air. Bristol Mountain continues to support the latest innovations to maximize snowmaking production and efficiency. |
