CAMDEN — With new snow falling and temperatures dropping, the municipally-owned Camden Snow Bowl will be turning the snow guns on the upper portion of Ragged Mountain, with hopes of opening the triple chairlift in the near future. On Friday, Jan. 20, the Snow Bowl circulated its regular newsletter, focusing on the snowmaking process and plans. The newsletter follows:

Camden Snow Bowl Update: Snowmaking and Triple Chairlift

It’s been a heck of a ski season so far at the Snow Bowl, and ski mountains around Maine have been dealing with similar bouts of warm, rainy weather. But the skiing and snowboarding has been fun at the Snow Bowl for those who have been coming out since opening day, Dec. 26.

As of Jan. 20, we have been open for 16 days. This time last year we had been open 18 days, and on this date in 2020-2021 we were on our 20th day. Last year the triple chairlift was able to start turning on Jan. 14, and the year prior it started spinning on Jan. 23. This year is looking more like 2021 than 2022 in terms of when we might get the triple chairlift running and the upper trails covered with enough snow to safely open them.

Speaking of snowmaking, we are far behind where we usually are this time of year. Looking back at Jan. 20, 2020, we had recorded 521 hours of snowmaking time.

Last year, on Jan. 20, 2022, we had logged 402.5 hours. As of today, our snowmakers have only been able to run the guns for a total of 309 hours.

Why is that, you ask?

The mountain operation crew makes snow whenever the temperatures and humidity allow. This winter’s weather has been warm and wet, which hasn’t been good for snowmaking.

The best measure of snowmaking conditions is something called the wet-bulb temperature. This is the combination of the actual air temperature and the amount of moisture in the air.

 Snowmaking is most efficient when the wet-bulb temperature is well below freezing. However, snow can still be made when the temperature is near freezing as long as the air is very dry. 

Snowmaking guns blow tiny water droplets into the air, where they freeze and fall to the ground. The Snow Bowl has two types of snow guns. The first combines compressed air and water. The compressed air splits the water into tiny droplets, while also launching it high enough to better allow the droplets to freeze. The second type combines a stream of water with an electric fan. Instead of compressed air, the electric fan blows the water into tiny droplets that freeze and fall to the ground.

We plan to fire up the snowmaking guns Friday night (Jan.20th) after the natural snow ends and humidity drops. We will be focusing on upper clipper in hopes to open the triple chairlift in the very near future. Until then, come on out and enjoy the snow we do have, especially that we have some fresh powder to ski and snowboard on. Lessons are available every day, walk-in to purchase lift tickets and rental equipment.

And for those wondering about the 32nd annual U.S. National Toboggan Championships, all systems are go. We have pivoted from the Jack Williams Chute and Hosmer Pond, which remains unfrozen, and are building a temporary “chute” on the mountain. Stay tuned for more details to come. The 2-Person and 3-Person divisions are filled, but there are still 4-Person team slots available so come out and race with us!