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Snow Making and Grooming

Sunrise Snowmaking

Norway Mountain's Snow Making Department produces some of the best snow conditions in the Midwest. Here you will learn how we make our snow and why it's so good.

Pine Creek

The process begins at our pump house, which draws water from Pine Creek. The secret to our great snow is high water pressure and cold water, which produces a dry, powder like snow from our guns.

Areco

Next, all that cold water is pumped through hundreds of feet of snow making pipe, straight to our snow guns. As the water arrives at the gun, it is pushed through small nozzles on the ends of the barrel of the gun, and blown into the air to freeze by high powered fans. This produces large piles, or whales of snow on the ground. The temperatures must be at least 28 degrees to make snow, but 18 degrees is the ideal temperature for perfect snow making. Below you will see some of our snow guns in action.

LMC Snow Cat

After the piles are made, the guns are moved to a new location, and one of our two LMC snow cats start pushing the pile of snow. The piles are pushed to cover each run, usually leaving a snow base of 18". After the piles are pushed, they are groomed two or three times to create a smooth, even snow surface for you to enjoy your skiing. We also groom our slopes every night to ensure great snow conditions every day! Below you will see photos of our snow cat, and some of the huge piles of snow we've made in the past.

LMC Snow Cat Snow Pile Freya

To make our Terrain Park even bigger and better, Norway Mountain now has it's very own Pipe Dragon. This machine's sole purpose in life is to shape and create our terrain park and half pipe. Here are some photos of our Pipe Dragon in action.

That's how we make our snow and why it's so good. So next time your on the slopes at Norway Mountain, you'll know how we make our snow. And if you happen to be skiing while we are making snow, please say hello to the hard working snow makers, they make your early ski season possible. If you have any questions about the snow making department, please contact us through E-mail or ask an employee at the ski hill.

Snow Crew 2002