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Can a Giant Battery Change the Economics of Snowmaking?

Can a Giant Battery Change the Economics of Snowmaking?

Berkshire East Mountain Resort in Massachusetts is considering an 80-megawatt-hour battery designed to reduce the peak electricity costs associated with snowmaking. Supported by a $4.5 million state grant, the proposed 2028 project could offer a model for resorts elsewhere, although its costs, savings, and long-term performance have yet to be established.
Mountain Weather

Mid-Atlantic Skiers' Forecast

Updated an hour ago

A warm, unsettled pattern dominates through Friday, with showers frequent across the region and a few thunderstorm chances this afternoon. Lower-elevation areas near Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia reach the upper 70s to mid-80s, while the mountains are generally cooler. Thursday brings some improvement east of the mountains, but showers return or continue Thursday night and Friday.

A sharp cooldown arrives Friday night into Saturday, accompanied by gusty winds and scattered showers. The highest elevations turn notably colder, with lows near 27-30 degrees Saturday night at places such as Timberline, Canaan Valley Resort and Snowshoe, compared with the mid-30s around eastern resorts. Sunday looks sunny and crisp regionwide, with frost likely in many valleys and mountain locations.

Weather Fact of the Day
Snow can “ripen” without melting. As fresh, angular grains slowly round off, tiny pockets of water vapor move from warmer or more exposed grains toward colder ones, causing some crystals to shrink while others grow; the process can subtly reshape the snowpack even below freezing. The result may be a denser, more settled surface -- or, in a temperature-gradient snowpack, larger sugary grains with weak bonds.
DCSki regional outlook based on National Weather Service forecasts for Mid-Atlantic ski areas.
Around the Ski World

Elsewhere on the Web

Fresh ski and snowboard stories from around the web, selected daily for DCSki readers.

Updated 10 hours ago
Shawangunk Journal Oct 12

Holiday Mtn. gets a $15M redo

New York’s Holiday Mountain is undergoing a reported $15 million redevelopment featuring a new lift, 20 trails, and expanded winter attractions. The overhaul represents a major effort to restore the Sullivan County ski area as a regional destination.

Read at Shawangunk Journal
Links open external websites. Story summaries are generated from publicly available reporting and are refreshed once daily.
What Happened to Night Skiing?

What Happened to Night Skiing?

Night skiing has long been a Mid-Atlantic tradition, but DCSki looks at why the hours available for skiing under the lights have gradually decreased in recent years.
5 comments
DCSki Spotlight

Explore DCSki's Lost Ski Areas

Discover ski areas that once operated across the Mid-Atlantic through DCSki's growing historical archive.

Explore Lost Ski Areas →
Wolf Hollow Ski Area
Near Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania

Wolf Hollow Ski Area

Near Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania, Wolf Hollow Ski Area featured a Borvig double chair and T-bar, reportedly installed around 1967, with about 300 feet of vertical. Its closing date is unknown, but the abandoned hill later became notable for lift towers, snowmaking lines, and haul rope surviving in the overgrown woods.
1 reader comment
PocoNorth
Near Hawley, Pennsylvania

PocoNorth

PocoNorth was a small, family-oriented ski area on a ridge near Hawley, Pennsylvania, north of Lake Wallenpaupack. Active by the 1960s, it offered a double chair, T-bar, rope tow, night skiing, and snowmaking; readers especially remember its central-fireplace lodge, affordable skiing, and rigorous lessons.
25 reader comments
Chestnut Ridge
Morgantown, West Virginia

Chestnut Ridge

Chestnut Ridge, near Coopers Rock State Forest east of Morgantown, was a short-season community ski area operating from the 1950s into the 1970s, or possibly 1980. Its homespun Model A-powered rope tow, night skiing, and warm little lodge remain vivid in local memories.
6 reader comments
Highland Ski Area
Huntersville, Pennsylvania

Highland Ski Area

Highland Ski Area in Huntersville, Pennsylvania, operated from the 1950s into the early 1970s with a Poma lift, J-bar, rope tows, night skiing, and primitive snowmaking. Its reportedly pioneering Poma later moved to Crystal Lake, while former skiers remember a welcoming local hill whose remnants now lie on a private horse farm.
10 reader comments
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