Testing

Some of us have been waiting, patiently and otherwise, since March to see the ridgeline illuminated again. Earlier this week, one could hear the compressors in the distance, and see plumes of snow standing like white feathers into the night.

A ride around the mountain the next day confirmed, with patches of snow on the slopes of Elk, that the snow gun test went A-OK.

The Elk crew are busy setting and positioning additional snow guns, pulling and connecting air and water hoses in anticipation of cold weather soon coming.

If you’re on or around The Hill this weekend, don’t be surprised if, when the temperature drops to the proper point, the ridge comes alive with lights and the low roar of snow being made.

It’s usually wooly bears, or the leaves that appear and change color, or the course of geese in flight, that are the harbingers of the seasons. The appearance of lights on the mountain and the first patches of white on the trails, is the most reliable indicator, that soon, very soon, the ski season will be upon us.