Fire Away: Phase Two Of Sunday River’s Project To Increase Water Capacity For Snowmaking Is Underway

Sunday River Resort fired up several snowguns on the Lower Downdraft trail this morning as part of its annual fall systems test. The test comes one day after the resort’s first natural snowfall of the year, signaling the unofficial start of the 2019/20 winter season. The Maine resort typically opens for skiing and snowboarding on or around Halloween as weather permits.

This summer, Sunday River has continued its efforts to double snowmaking capacity. Phase One of the project was completed in 2018 when Sunday River installed nearly two miles of pipe from its water source and added a new 600-horsepower pump. Phase Two of this project, which is underway now, increases the ski area’s water capacity for making snow by 10 percent with the addition of four 500-horsepower pumps at the river.

Although the resort has not yet set an official opening date, this test gives Sunday River’s snowmakers the go-ahead to crank the system at full capacity—10,000 gallons of water and 60,000 cubic feet of air per minute, producing over four acre-feet per hour—at the first sustained cold snap with temperatures between 25-30 degrees overnight.

“With natural snow and increased capacity in our snowmaking system, we were able to open for skiing and riding on October 19 last season,” says Steve Boulanger, Vice President of Mountain Operations for Sunday River. “Rest assured, Sunday River’s snowmaking team is at the ready to provide a great snow surface as soon as possible.”

Sunday River’s snowmaking system is the most advanced in the East, with nearly 2,000 snowguns—including HKD Impulse Tower Guns and Boyne Low-E Fan Guns—covering 90 percent of its groomed terrain.