The art and science of snowmaking (or why Hidden Valley Highlands won’t reopen until after Christmas)

Mother Nature might make it look easy, but snowmaking is a complicated task.

Despite the brief blast of winter weather this weekend, warm temperatures continue to plague Hidden Valley Highlands Ski Area (HVHSA). Management announced that although they had hoped to re-open with limited terrain on December 20, they will postpone until December 26. “Our snowmaking crew is hard at work producing snow as the temperatures allow. In order to preserve the snow through next week’s forecasted warmer temperatures, we have delayed our re-opening until Saturday, December 26.”

The ski area opened briefly on December 5 (click here to see photos) with one run and a mini terrain park. More than 100 people enjoyed that too-short start to the season. And then unseasonably warm temperatures almost depleted what snow they had managed to make.

Snowmaking began again on December 17 when temperatures dropped consistently low enough – HVHSA’s snow guns can operate at temperatures as warm as -2.5⁰C. Even though their snowmakers have been able to cover at least one slope with a significant amount of snow and Mother Nature has added a small amount more, above zero temperatures and rain dominate the forecast from December 21 through Christmas Day meaning they need to protect what they have until temperatures drop again.

“The delay is based on the available snow that we could make and the potential natural snowfall, and trying to utilize that snow during the busy Christmas season rather than losing it in the rain this week,” said HVHSA’s Interim General Manager, Bruce Howell. “We do have enough snow to get through Christmas break (with limited terrain) but it’s a finite amount of snow and we want to preserve it to create a good winter experience for locals, tourists and our members next week.”

The lifts will stand still at Hidden Valley Highlands Ski Area until December 26.

The outdoor operations team at HVHSA will be turning on the snow guns at every opportunity, added Howell. “The current long-range forecast has some cold night-time weather so we will be making snow at every opportunity.”

With uncooperative winter weather, the the ski area is the only place in Muskoka that, given the opportunity, can subvert Mother Nature and cover its slopes with white while the rest of the region remains brown or lightly covered. While the last two seasons saw above average snowfall that began early, this year’s late start highlights the unreliability of natural snowfall. Snowmaking means skiing and snowboarding can begin earlier, last longer, and remain more consistent than natural conditions would allow.

Clear cold nights provide the best conditions for snowmaking – colder temperatures are more efficient, requiring less power and less water. Here’s a brief primer on how snowmaking works at Hidden Valley Highlands:

HVHSA’s two types of snow guns, permanent tower-mounted stick guns and movable propeller-driven fan guns, use a combination of pressure and cooling to produce droplets of cold water or ice. Hang time – the time it takes for these droplets to reach the ground after being released from the guns – further cools the droplets. The piles produced are usually left to sit for a least a few hours before grooming to give the droplets even more time to thoroughly freeze. A smartphone-accessible control system in the pump house monitors air pressure and water flow.

Even at its most efficient times, snowmaking uses a lot of water. It varies with weather conditions, but an average of 500 litres of water is needed to cover one square metre of terrain with 15 centimetres of snow. At the end of the season, all of that snow melts with most of it flowing into nearby Peninsula Lake.

With planning and a little luck in the weather, that melt won’t happen until after ski season’s traditional end. “Our hope and expectation is to continue to make snow as weather permits, supplemented by natural snowfall, so we are fully open early in the new year through the end of March,” said Howell. So if you love to ski or snowboard, thank a snowmaker.

On Christmas Eve the ski area still plans to host its annual Torchlight Parade celebration with live music, hot chocolate, and a visit from Santa. The festivities run from 5-7 p.m.