Behind the Scenes with the Blue Mountains Snowmakers

Have you ever stopped to think about snow?

Probably not. If we aren’t skiing, skating or making snow angels on it we are probably wishing we were someplace warmer. Let’s face it, sometimes Canadians even hate our snow.

Canada has never had a problem producing snow. In fact according to The Weather Network, Canada receives over a trillion metric tons of snow annually, with the majority of the snowfall concentrated in regions like Quebec, Ontario, and the Western mountains. That precipitation translates to an average of around 137 inches of snow per year across the country. 

Such consistency has benefitted the town of The Blue Mountains in Ontario, a region which draws thousands of skiers and snowboarders to its slopes every year.

Which is why it might surprise you that there are times when there simply isn’t enough of the white stuff to go around. The situation can depend on a number of factors, including global warming.

The Town of The Blue Mountains is situated in Grey County, on the southern banks of Georgian Bay to the east end of Lake Huron. According to The Climate Atlas on thebluemountains.ca site, Collingwood, the closest town to the Blue Mountains, could see up to 25 very hot days (over 30 Celsius degrees) per year in the immediate future, amounting to an increase of 15.5 days compared to 1976 to 2005. This predicted change raises to a potential average of close to 50 very hot days per year in the near term (The Prairie Climate Center, 2019), which marks a substantial increase in extreme heat.

To deal with the issue, the Blue Mountains released a multi-year plan to update and upgrade its snowmaking operation. According to bluemountain.ca, the main objective of the plan is to optimize the system and enhance the skier experience with a multi-million-dollar investment in both on-hill and systematic infrastructure work over the next five years.

Part of that investment includes an automated snowmaking system that gives snowmakers time to fire up the snow guns from one centralized location. Across the mountain, 96% of Blue’s 364 acres of skiable terrain is serviced by snowmaking. There are approximately 750 snow guns including 77 newly installed high-temperature guns that can make snow in environments as warm as minus-2 Celsius degrees.

Snowmakers to the Rescue

To make sure there is always an abundance of snow when needed, Blue Mountain employs a resilient team of professionals to ensure skiers and snowboarders have all the snow they could possibly need. Kevin Nash a third-year groomer operator who worked on the golf course for two summers before bringing his skills to the mountain, says climate change has definitely had an effect on snowmaking operations.

“It’s amazing how it’s changed even as a skier over time. Your snowmaking windows are shorter so automation becomes super important,” says Nash. “We need to be able to get up quickly with the system, make snow, and then we’ve got to shut down when it gets too warm. A lot of people don’t realize snowmaking is a combination of not just temperature, but also humidity, we call it a wet bowl. So some will say, ‘Why aren’t you making snow?’ And we go, ‘It’s cloudy. It’s humid.’ Yeah, they don’t understand the science behind it, and we work hard to get it right.”

Located about 90 minutes by car from Toronto, the ski and snowboard destination features over 900 snow guns, giant machines that move snow, a team of dedicated snow groomers who are on the mountain before the sun rises, and a group of professionals who carefully track the weather. During a behind-the-scenes trip to Blue Mountain, I was able to see first hand how weather patterns are tracked and snow is created.

“An advanced and responsive snowmaking operation has been a priority,” says Tara Lovell, Manager, PR at Blue Mountains Resort. “So we’re wrapping on the second year of a multi -year, multi-million-dollar investment in our snowmaking operation, which includes adding infrastructure physically on the mountain, it includes updating our communications and technology, as well as revamping the organization of the team,”

Our tour began in the snowmaking plant with Brandon Hindle, the assistant manager of slope maintenance. Surrounded by several monitors showing the slopes, video feeds, and weather reports, Hindle and his co-workers are able to assess every inch of the mountain and quickly assign resources wherever snow needs to be created or moved.

This is the leading edge of the spear of Ontario’s most powerful snowmaking facility, featuring industry-leading automation technology and the province’s largest air compressor system. The facility ensures consistent and high-quality snow coverage throughout the season.

“Snowmaking, grooming, and trimming. That’s what we do here. Right now you are in the brains of the operation, this is the controller,” says Hindle, who explained that the supervisors worked through the night looking at weather reports, checking to see what areas of the mountain needed snow. “This is where the supervisor on staff will guide our snow makers during the night and show them where they should be setting up. This is also where he gets all his information on pumps that are running, water pressure that’s on the hill, the air pressure that’s on the hill, what specific guns they’re marking down are running, everything.”

Impact of Climate Change on Ski Hills

This troubling trends of climate change have had a challenging impact on many tourism destinations on the planet, including the Blue Mountains. Hindle says last year was a tough season, with a lot of warm spells that came through during winter. So far, the 2024-25 season has been much better.

“What I’d say is, yes, it’s getting harder to keep the trails covered with snow, but we’re also doing things to make it easier for us to make snow.  We are installing some R5 guns,” says Hindle. “Those are some of those warmer-weather type guns that we’ve talked about. We put in about 101 of them over the summer this year. And we also are investing a lot and creating what’s called flood lines, which gives us the capacity to start up a whole row of guns together which allows us to capitalize on a snowmaking window faster. It’s all controlled from this control room, which is better than sending someone out to a hill to manually hook up each individual gun.”

For me, past visits to the Blue Mountains has always been a chance to walk through the village, eat at a restaurant, or check out the natural beauty of Grey County. At the end of the day the place has always been about the slopes and having a great time.

My most recent visit was different. It was interesting learning about the science, expertise, and skill that goes into the creation and maintenance of snow. It was an eye-opener and it’s safe to say that I have a new appreciation for “the white stuff” and the people who work hard to make Ontario’s leading mountain destination safe, accessible, and available. We need to be grateful for our environment and not take it for granted.

Let’s face it, Canada — we need to love our snow, respect it, and protect it.

MORE ABOUT THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

The Blue Mountains Website: www.bluemountain.ca

Blue Mountain Resorts: I stayed at the Grand Georgian – Village Suites by Blue Mountain Resort.

Destination Ontario: www.destinationontario.com/en-ca