Winter Park Resort adds cloud seeding for the ‘09-’10 ski season

   In a new twist on traditional snow-making technology Winter Park ski resort in partnership with the Denver Water Board plans on adding silver iodine cloud seeding to its snow making tools.  Four silver iodine burners will be installed in Grand County to increase precipitation at the Colorado ski resort.  Two of the burners will be manually operated while the 2 less accessable burners will be controlled remotely.  The $110,000 installation and operating costs will be split between the water board and the ski resort.  The Denver Water Board had previously tried cloud seeding in Grand County in 2003 following the drought of 2002.  Winter Park hopes to reap additional powder days and more skier visits while the water board will see increased run-off in its crucial Fraser river watershed.

   The process works by burning propane to cast minute particles of silver iodine into the atmosphere which become the nuclei for water drop formation.  When the conditions are right the water droplets will precipitate into rain, or snow if the temperature is low enough.  Vail resort has been quietly using the technique for a number of years.

   In response to the joint announcement Mother Nature has shown that she can produce snow in the Rockies whenever she feels like it by dropping a blizzard on Winter Park on the last day of summer.

Four inches of snow at the Mary Jane base on the first day of Fall.

Colorado's mogul mecca, the Mary Jane, receives more than a dusting from this two day snowstorm.