Out with the old, in with the new. Great Divide Ski Area is rolling out a major upgrade to keep skiers on fresh, perfectly groomed slopes all winter long.
“We're really looking forward to a good, snowy year, and now we'll have a new snowcat and be able to provide a great season,” said general manager Travis Crawford.
Great Divide’s newest addition, the PistenBully 400 ParkPro snowcat, is a multi-use groomer for free grooming. This groomer replaces one of their older, smaller ones that has lived out its lifespan.
(WATCH: MTN gets a sneak peek of Great Divide's new grooming equipment)
“I think what we can look at is more acreage being able to be covered,” said Travis, “So not a quality thing, but potentially a quantity. So if we're looking to get more trails groomed in a night, by having three that are the higher powered machines, it gives us the ability to cover more in an evening.”
Mountain maintenance runs all night from the time ski patrol has cleared everyone off the mountain from the previous day until first chair the next morning.
While the machine will benefit grooming and efficiency, it will also help improve the terrain parks.
“With the cat, though, doing things like quarter pipes and some of those transition features, it'll be a lot easier to carve those with that high reach,” said co-mountain manager Chris Crawford. “So I think we'll be seeing more quarter pipes and hips coming out of it.”
Groomed corduroy is something that skiers and boarders love, and these machines make it happen. I spoke with KTVH’s own chief meteorologist, Curtis Grevenitz, about how important groomers can be for snow quality.
“We can get a lot of snow here, but at times, if the snow isn't the best or the best quality, that grooming equipment really kind of makes the skiing experience even more enjoyable, even when the weather may not be the best,” explained Grevenitz.
Great Divide is getting ready to open its gates once there's enough snow on the ground. Be sure to check back with our local forecasts from Curtis Grevenitz and Joey Biancone for information on when the snow will start falling.
