Mt. Abram ski area will be adding 10 low-energy snowmaking towers for the coming season, courtesy of a Sustainable Slopes grant from the National Ski Areas Association.

The grant was awarded as part of the association’s effort to promote strategies for using less energy and making ski areas more environmentally friendly.

“These grants are a great vehicle for not only implementing new green projects at U.S. ski areas, but also to encourage the sharing of information of successful environmental programs and practices among our member resorts,” association President Michael Berry said in a statement. The association awarded five grants in all.

Mt. Abram and Crested Butte, in Colorado, each were awarded 10 high-efficiency snowmaking machines designed by Massachusetts-based Snow Economics/HKD Snowmakers. Each grant is for $80,000 in equipment.

“We’re taking a look at some of the areas where skiing can evolve and become a greener sport,” said Kevin Rosenberg, marketing and sales director for Mt. Abram. “Snowmaking is big because we are creating our own weather and that doesn’t happen without a significant amount of energy.”

The mountain runs 100 snowmaking guns using about 200 gallons of water per second, but the new machines in ideal conditions can generate twice as much artificial snow, resulting in a significant energy savings, Rosenberg said.


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