TL;DR
Beaver Creek is getting ready for the biggest Birds of Prey ever, and this time it is not leaving the snow to chance. Crews started making snow on 27 October with 16 newly installed automated guns on the lower third of the course, after last December’s warm spell forced a downhill off the schedule. Seven races across two weekends run from 3 to 13 December, the most the course has hosted since its 1997 debut, and the guns start themselves whenever the weather allows.
The snow guns on Birds of Prey are now doing a good share of the early-season work on their own.
Beaver Creek began making snow on the Colorado resort’s World Cup course on 27 October, using newly installed automated equipment on the lower third of the Birds of Prey racecourse. The upgrade comes ahead of the Stifel Birds of Prey Audi FIS Ski World Cup from 3 to 13 December, which will be the largest edition in the event’s history.
The Vail Valley Foundation, which organises the races, announced the work as crews started on the course.
What has gone in
The system is 16 snow guns: 10 SMI Grizzly stick guns, each with an onboard air compressor, and six SMI Super Puma fan guns. They are backed by six concrete vaults, 10 metal shelters, a new weather station and about 4,500 feet (1,370 m) of power and communications lines. All of the guns can be monitored and operated remotely, and they start automatically when conditions allow snowmaking.
The idea is to let crews take advantage of every cold window while using less water and energy to build the racing surface. The extra capacity also helps Beaver Creek’s overall early-season conditions for public skiing.
