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10/19/2007
PARK CITY MOUNTAIN RESORT 2007-2008 OPENING SNOWMAKING PLAN
Park City, Utah (October 19, 2007) – Park City Mountain Resort, in preparation for opening day on Friday, November 16th, has begun to make snow as overnight temperatures drop into the 20s.
“Snowmaking is our top priority at the moment and our plan is to concentrate on the lower portion of the mountain first to ensure that we can offer a quality experience for our guests on opening day,” said Brian Suhadolc, mountain operations manager for Park City Mountain Resort. “With opening day less than a month away, our new fan guns allow us to make snow at warmer temperatures, which is beneficial because we have such a small window of opportunity for snowmaking before the season starts and temperatures fluctuate significantly this time of year.”
Snowmaking is underway on the lower mountain, focusing on Homerun, First Time and PayDay runs. The Resort has installed variable frequency drives in the pump stations, which automatically turn on when the temperature reaches 28 degrees or lower. It has not only made snowmaking more efficient than in previous years, but also allows snowmaking to begin the second that the temperature cooperates.
The Resort recently installed 20 new low-energy tower guns and six new low-energy fan guns that provide increased efficiency and output while utilizing less energy. The fan guns, which have been placed on PayDay run, allow the Resort to make snow at slightly warmer temperatures and eliminate the need for air compressors to operate them, therefore saving electricity. Park City Mountain Resort’s use of more energy efficient snow guns, including the additional fans and tower guns and retrofit of ground guns, will reduce the Resort’s carbon output by 1,700 tons during the winter season. This is equivalent to three million miles not driven and 250 households not powered annually. For more information about the Resort’s environmental initiatives, please visit www.saveoursnow.org.
*Hi-res image of snowmaking available upon request.
About Park City Mountain Resort
Park City Mountain Resort, celebrating its 45th anniversary, is located in the heart of Park City, Utah and is only 40 minutes from the Salt Lake City International Airport. The Resort is spread out over 3,300 acres and offers groomed Signature Runs™, bumps, powder, trees, eight peaks, nine bowls, four terrain parks, and the Eagle Superpipe, North America’s largest superpipe. The Resort has received numerous accolades, most recently being named a top-ten Resort by the readers of SKI and Skiing magazines as well as earning the title “Terrain Park(s) of the Year” by Transworld Snowboarding magazine for the fourth year in a row. Park City Mountain Resort is committed to being the leader in environmental sustainability in Utah and reduced its carbon output by nearly 3,800 tons during the 2006-07 season. For more information about Park City Mountain Resort, please visit us online at parkcitymountain.com or call (800) 222-PARK.
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