BOISE, Idaho — Once again, Bogus Basin’s snowmaking system is helping get the ski season off to an early start.
“We started snowmaking last night at about 5 p.m. and we blew over one million gallons of water on to the slopes up at Bogus Basin,” said Susan Saad, director of community & customer relations at Bogus Basin. “So the conditions have been optimal for snowmaking.”
Last year was the first time all 24 snow guns were fully operational ahead of the winter season.
This year, the machines can cover more ground.
“This summer we laid an additional 11,000 feet of pipe so that we can move our existing snow guns to different areas on the mountain,” Saad said. “We now have twice as many trails with snowmaking than we did last year.”
Thanks to the efficiency of the mountain's snowmaking system, the resort is projecting its opening date as Nov. 27, 2020, the day after Thanksgiving.
"The snowmaking really helps assure the start of our season,” Saad said. “It’s assuring for the pass holders to know we will be open with snow and it’s assuring for us to know we are not completely reliant on mother nature as well.”
The 2020-2021 ski season will be different because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ticket sales will be limited and bus transportation will be shut down, along with other measures to slow the spread of the virus.
“We are also taking the COVID-19 situation very seriously at Bogus Basin and making significant investments in additional outdoor seating, making sure we are safe inside the facilities by limiting the number of people allowed inside, we will be following the physical distancing really closely, and asking everyone to wear their face covering while on the mountain except when eating and out on the slopes,” Saad said.
With precautions in place, the entire Bogus Basin team is looking forward to a great ski season.
“We appreciate everyone's cooperation with our COVID-19 protocols,” Saad said. “We know that the community needs Bogus Basin more than ever because it is so great to get outside and be in the open. We just can’t wait to have everyone up and doing that safely in the area.”
Gretchen Parsons is an anchor, reporter and producer at KTVB since 2016. You can follow her on Instagram @gretchenparsonsKTVB or @gretchenKTVB on Twitter.
Watch more 'Idaho Life'
See them all in our YouTube playlist: