Pico Set For Major Snowmaking Upgrades
Pico is installing major upgrades, they say:
In the past several seasons, huge strides have been made to increase snowmaking capacity at Pico Mountain, part of a $5 million mountain improvement plan.
Over the summer of 2023, we completely rebuilt our snowmaking pump house, enabling us to operate at maximum capacity, especially during the coldest days. The pipeline between the pump house and pond is being upsized as well. We've also added 25 new high efficiency HKD snow guns to the fleet, both fixed and mobile. Look for 15 new tower guns to roar on Lower 49er throughout the season and additional guns at work on Fool's Gold and in key locations around the mountain.
Snowmaking was also recently added to lower A Slope, and skiers and riders enjoyed the coverage on this classic New England trail for the first time in over 35 years last season. This project was completed over summer 2022, with fundraising help from the Pico Ski Education Foundation. On Bonanza, the base area was regraded to avoid the dreaded pond effect, and snowmaking pipe replaced and upgraded. B Slope has already received snow making equipment upgrades and new pipe. There's also more room to play in the snow thanks to some selective clearing on our most popular trails.
Prior to all this, several million dollars was invested to complete the dredging of current snowmaking ponds and pipe additional water from Killington over to Pico. Since summer 2019, more than 16,850 feet of new water supply pipeline was installed at Pico, in addition to over 9,000 feet of new and replacement snowmaking pipe. This pipeline transports water directly to Pico’s snowmaking ponds from Killington’s water source, eliminating the dilemma that has long plagued Pico snowmakers—running out of water when snowmaking needs are greatest. With access to this new water supply, that problem is now a thing of the past, allowing Pico snowmakers to keep making snow as long as temperatures allow.
All told, these snowmaking improvements have more than doubled the snowmaking capacity at Pico from historic levels, allowing us keep conditions more consistent throughout the winter season, and recover faster after challenging weather events.
It's not just snowmaking that is being improved at Pico. The Summit Express quad got an all-new haul line over summer of 2023. Skiers and riders can enjoy a more comfortable ride on the Little Pico Triple thanks to new seat pads and inside the base lodge, repairs to the fireplace has let a wood fire to crackle once again.
