Gunstock to open 4 runs on Sunday
By
Adam Drapcho
Dec 16, 2011 12:00 am
GILFORD — Gunstock Mountain Resort will open for skiing on Sunday, (12/18) marketing director Bill Quigley said yesterday. The resort hopes to have three lifts running, servicing four of the mountain's 55 trails.
Quigley said Gunstock typically plans to open for the first weekend of December. A look through recent history, though, shows that about half the time the weather remains too warm for snowmaking, as was the case this year. He said forecasts are indicating that temperatures will drop enough over the weekend to give skiers something to schuss.
"We're going to be making snow all day Saturday, we're going to blow snow at every opportunity we can," he said. Snowmaking operations run at about 20-percent efficiency at just below freezing, he noted. Temperatures have to drop into the teens before the process approaches 100-percent efficiency. "We're all just waiting for the temperature to change, and we know it will," Quigley said.
Gunstock will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, with lift tickets costing $25. The mountain will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday. Night skiing will begin on Tuesday