Snow-covered lodge with pine trees and an A-frame entrance.

Extreme Makeover - Ski Resort Edition

As I walk around the mountains, it's starting to feel like I'm in the middle of one of those reality TV shows where a new home gets built in a week. In just over a month since our closing day, we've gotten started on too many projects to count in all areas of the resort. Without 100s of volunteers, we'll take a bit longer to get done. Still, I'm confident that Snowriver will feel like a totally different place when our guests return this fall. Here's a quick run-through of what we've been up to. 

Snowy hillside with fallen trees and sparse snow patches.

Voyageur Express Preparation

The mountain crew had a monumental task on their hands to dismantle, remove and scrap three chairlifts made up of over 5 miles of steel cable, 65 steel towers, 6 terminal structures, and 3 concrete vaults. Once all the towers had been cut and hauled up to the overflow lot, work began on torching them apart to allow them to be loaded onto trailers for the trip to the scrap yard. To date, we've hauled 160,000 pounds of metal to the scrap yard to be recycled, with more yet to go. 

While one crew has been dedicated to removing the old lifts, another has been entirely focused on clearing trees from the upper section of the new lift line between Alpenglow and Superior. Brian and his crew have been busy cutting trees and chipping brush. 

Wooden ceiling of an empty indoor pool area.

Lodge at Jackson Creek Renovations

The list of things being renovated in the Lodge is LONG. From The Pool to the 3rd-floor guest rooms, nearly every room and surface will see a facelift this summer. In the Legacy Restaurant, all of the dividing walls have been built, and they have seen their first coat of paint. In the coming weeks, we will install a modern matte black drop ceiling, new carpeting, and lighting throughout. I look forward to enjoying the contemporary mountain dining experience in Legacy late this summer. 

Dudley's, the main floor halls, and the Lobby are also receiving a refresh this summer with new windows, paint, ceilings, and carpeting throughout. New windows, paint, and carpeting will be installed in the guest rooms, and we are completely remodeling the 1970s vintage bathrooms with new flooring, showers, vanities, fixtures, and lighting. As of today, we're just over halfway through the demolition of the guest bathrooms, so stay tuned for photos as they are completed later this summer. 

Our facility maintenance team has been busy prepping the ceiling and beams for a fresh coat of stain in the pool area. They've spent the past couple of weeks power washing one section at a time, bringing out the original wood grain, which I really love. In addition to revitalizing the wood finish, the pool will receive a new dehumidifying and make-up air system as well as replacement coping around the edges of the pool and hot tub. The mechanical room and underground plumbing will also get a complete overall to improve reliability for years to come. 

Building under maintenance with a crane and workers outside.

Sugar Maple Chalet Upgrades

Over at the Chalet, the team is continuing the process of residing the entire building and replacing the rest of the windows, which we began last fall. While waiting for the new windows to arrive, they started their work on the front side of the building by replacing the dilapidated cedar shake siding with new LP Cedar Shake siding, which looks great and will last a very long time. Once this section is finished, it will be painted grey to match the rest of the building. 

We have quite a few irons in the fire right now, with too much to share in a single post. I'll do my best to keep the posts more frequent as projects get closer to completion or we hit major milestones. Unfortunately, as the projects get busier, so do I! 

-Benjamin

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Skiers glide through snowy forest trail in winter setting.