About 15 years ago, Martin shared his dream of opening a ski area with me, so I brought him an Areco fangun demo. He had a small snowmaking system set up to test snowmaking at a nearby site, now a golf course. In 2023, his long-standing vision will finally come to fruition with the opening of Hoedown Hill.
When I first looked down the hill in May of 2022, I thought, “This is too big for a tubing hill.” After many video conferences and on-site time, we developed a plan to test out the tubing hill for the coming winter. CHS Snowmakers sourced the pump and snowcat to make snow so we could tube this hill. Three snowgun vendors came to the table and provided automatic fanguns. It will likely be the tallest tubing hill in the USA.
In December, the hill turned white, a snowcapped Mount Hoedown. It was visible for miles, standing proudly on the High Plains of eastern Colorado. Our first tubing runs were fast but really good. We continued to make snow through December and early January and tubed it many more times.
After the testing was complete, we went back to the drawing board. The slope profile needed to be changed on the upper half of the hill so it wouldn’t be as steep at the top and would start a little further back. The run is a bit longer now.
I have enjoyed participating in every aspect of this project, not just snowmaking. The location of Hoedown Hill has over 1 million people within an hour’s drive, so we have been planning for very high demand and big crowds. The hill for skiing and tubing is about 14 acres, created specifically to maximize the number of guests without overcrowding. We have also designed an extensive, fully automated snowmaking system to keep excellent conditions all winter long.
The snowmaking system will have 18 hydrant locations with 15 guns. There will be two mobiles, 11 climbing towers, and two arm towers. There is room to expand and add another four hydrants and a third pump. The pump skid has two horizontal pumps at 800 GPM, each with a discharge pressure of over 400 psi. The Raindance National Golf Course irrigation system feeds the snowmaking system.
There will be four conveyor lifts. One lift is 750′ long for the tubing hill, two inline conveyors for the skiing/boarding, and one short bunny slope conveyor at the top. Three of the four conveyors have canopies. You may ask why canopies in an area that rarely gets natural snow. The answer is simple: Windsor is windy, and the snowmaking system is extensive.
There is room to expand with one more conveyor lift and one high-speed rope tow for a dedicated terrain park.
We expect to open by Thanksgiving or early December 2023. We will put our planning to the test, make adjustments in 2024, and keep on going. Summer operations are also in the plans, including concerts, mountain biking, and other fun activities.
Keep an eye on our website and social media pages for progress and updates.
Jason Sawin
Below is a video of one of my rides down the hill at close to 40 mph.
https://www.stormskiing.com/p/with-130-vertical-feet-and-4-carpets?r=2oglst
