One of the coolest jobs I've had was Snowmaking at Arapahoe Basin Colorado. Starting in September we'd watch the weather diligently waiting to pounce on any window to fire up our system. The common misconception is making snow = artificial snow, but simply what we do is blow water with fans at cold enough temps to create snow and that snow is far from 'fake'. The conditions required to make snow is when the Wet Bulb Temperature (a combination of relative humidity and ambient temperature) dips below 28 degrees F.
For the several seasons I made snow I worked with many amazing people, did some sketchy shit and ultimately helped open the first ski area for the North American season every year I was there.
Running snowmobiles on a thin base, the 3am laps skiing over rocks and particularly the sunrise/sunsets are all something I won't forget. I watched snowmobiles tumble down steep slopes, high pressure hoses whip into the air and countless other terrifying moments. After working 12am-12pm I'd curl up in my van and try to rest enough for the next shift.
Going into the 2019 season the big talk was the investment made by neighbor Keystone of millions of dollars to open before Arapahoe Basin. Keystone is the more posh and commercial resort owned by the despised Vail corporation. Needing a couple nights of cold temperatures to open, we watched with anticipation as white began to speckle the slopes of Keystone.
The news broke Keystone would open on October 12th, which seemingly dashed our hopes of being the first to open. Working the early night hours of October 11th I wondered if we might be close to ready as well. After a long successful night we reconvened in our office around 11am. "How close are we, can we open the run today or tomorrow?" our COO Alan asked. In haste a plan was made to open that afternoon for a few hours and beat Keystone.
I loaded the chair with our Mountain Manager Louis and we proceeded down the run pulling our hydrants out of the ground, as ski patrol set ropes and the groomers bulldozed the snow into a ride-able surface. Pushing 14 hours working and feeling exhausted, it was hard to believe we would open this narrow strip of snow today. At 1:45pm we alerted the press and social media feeds, the ski area would open for two hours at 3:30pm and would sell $15 tickets. A commotion was stirred, pundits accused us of being petty. Getting first chair for the season is serious business and the usual suspects began to arrive on a moments notice. At 3:30 with news media gathered, the lift turned and hundreds of skiers began to attack our single run.
I skied a couple awful laps, retreated to the bar and laughed over a beer. We had beat the big guys with all the money and fancy toys. Now it was time for some much needed sleep.