Ski Burke

Happy Holidays Burke Skiers & Riders

The season is back in effect and we were able to open the park much earlier than ever. Although we didn't have ideal temperatures to make a substantial amount of snow, we were still able to build a full run of features from top to bottom in record time.  Some brand new features have made their debut in the park, including a 27ft fat snowmaking tube, a 16ft A-frame box, and 16ft flat box. The trail is designed to maintain a fun flow with many rollers and berms. The new boxes are designed specifically for beginners and is perfect to learn on. Here is the list of features from top to bottom:

We are looking forward to a great weekend, coming off one the strongest opening weekends Burke has had.  For those of you not lucky enough to make it up last weekend the conditions were great.  In the month of November alone, we have pumped just under half the amount of water for snowmaking that we pump in a typical SEASON.  The amount of snow made with our new system is unprecedented and we have heard the approval from our customers.  In talking with our guest and season pass holders, I have been told that they feel this is by far the best early season conditions they have ever seen.  We need to thank our new ownership group and Burke Mountain Academy for the new snowmaking system along with our snowmaking crew who worked a week straight, 24 hours a day, the last week of November!  Great Job! 

Here's a quick heads up with our plans for the week:  

Good things come to those who wait.  With prime snowmaking temps the past few days, we are pumping out the snow for summit to base skiing and riding this weekend!  Lifts and trails will open for Saturday and Sunday, December 1-2.  The Sherburne Experss will be open servicing Binney Lane and High Meadows Pass. The Mid Burke Express and Poma lift will be open with 4 trails-Upper & Lower Willoughby, Lower Bear Den and Lower Warren's Way.  Services at the Sherburne Base Lodge will include the Rental & Repair Shop, ski and ride lessons, Seson Pass & Guest Relations Offices and food services from the Tamarack Grill.  

We have a lot to be thankful for this year at Burke,  but unfortunately a November 23rd opening was just not in the cards. As mentioned in the latest BurkeBlast, a few early snowmaking days were missed due to final finishing touches that were required on our new  compressor.  Combined with an unusually prolonged temperature inversion pattern this past week has prevented us from making enough snow to get open for this weekend. (For those of you that purchased the Judge Pass, you are in luck this weekend as Jay plans to open on Friday, November 23).  While this is an unfortunate setback we should be thankful that the mid range weather forecast is now showing the coldest sustained temperatures of the season arriving by mid day Saturday. We will take advantage of this and run the system to its full extent so that we can open as many trails as possible by the first of December. We will continue making snow on the upper mountain and extend coverage throughout December. Our goal is to have the lower mountain open for the weekend of December 8th.  (The inversions have been so difficult the last few days, we only made snow on the lower mountain as temps from Mid Burke to the summit were just not there.)

It's that time of year again-family gatherings, holiday parties, feasts, presents and quality time on the slopes!  I haven't been this excited for the start of the season in a long time! Our snowmaking upgrades are proving to be very efficient and effective, and the snow that we have been able to put on the hill has far exceeded our expectations.  There is significant coverage on the upper mountain-but unfortunately, these gorgeous sunshiny days have not let us continue our 'round the clock plan for snowmaking like we had hoped.  

Hurricane Sandy has come and gone and we were fortunate to get thru this weather event with no significant damages.  We hope all of our customers to the south were equally as lucky.  It’s been a very busy October and we are looking forward to the start of ski season- but before we talk about the winter plans ahead- I want to take a quick look back on a great month of October.

It’s the middle of September and the incredible summer weather continues. We have transitioned from one of the worst winters in several decades to one of the best summers in the same time period, so its only fitting that we are in store for a terrific winter. Although we still see a few seventy and eighty degree days, the nights have started to get colder with a few mornings in the mid 30’s. With those temperatures, it won’t be long before we are able to test out our new snowmaking system! We have received our first shipment of 90 snowguns with an additional 50 still on the way. We are all very excited to push for a November 23rd opening date, and hope the weather continues to cooperate so that we can make that a reality. We want to remind all of our customers interested in a season pass (which is the most cost effective way to ski and ride at Burke, and Jay with The Judge Pass) to make sure you put your order in before the October 15th pass deadline, after which our prices will increase.

For many of you, there's still time to squeeze in a few more weekends of fun in the sun before this beautiful summer season leaves us behind. For us, the end of the Labor Day Weekend signals the start of a very busy time here at the mountain. We now have winter on the brain.  We are seeing more & more winter staff  back at the mountain each day, with specific jobs to get done before we open the doors to another ski season.  The snowguns have arrived, keeping our mountain ops guys very busy, and the trail crew started yesterday on trail maintenance. There is work to be done to the lodges, lifts, cafeterias and roads-it’s go time.