7 Springs preparing for upcoming season with new snow-making equipment and lifts

We have just started to creep into fall, and even though temperatures right now are still well into the 70's and 80's… thoughts of many skiers and snowboarders in the area are turning to the winter.

And places like 7 Springs, Hidden Valley and Laurel Mountain are gearing up for what they hope will be another successful season.

"We had a fantastic winter last year," said Brett Cook, Vice President and General Manager of not just 7 Springs, but of Hidden Valley and Laurel Mountain. "We were really excited about the amount of natural snow and the sustained cold that we had, and looking for more of that this winter."

Cook says now is the best time to get a discount deal on things like the multi-resort Epic Season Pass, which allows folks to recreate at any Vail resort both locally and nationally. 

He also says that 7 Springs has spent the summer on two big projects, putting in new snow-making equipment and taking out the old Blitzen ski lift. Work to install the new Blitzen lift is currently underway, and as for the old chairs…

"We are auctioning off our chairs from the old Blitzen lift," said Cook. "Those triple chairs are going to be available for anyone who wants to purchase a little bit of 7 Springs history. It's a very cool opportunity, and it kicks off later this month. And the proceeds from that action are going to local fire departments."

KDKA-TV got to tour the new Blitzen lift construction site with Director of Mountain Operations, Keenan Gillin. He says this new lift should be fully operational for the upcoming season.

"We went from a three-seater to a four-seater, which will increase our capacity by about 33%," Gillin said. "The other reason we decided to go with the Blitzen lift is that the lift that was here, the old Blitzen lift, was from the '70s, and it was getting really difficult to source parts. So we saw an opportunity where we could increase efficiency and reliability for our lift infrastructure."

Now there is no opening date set for any of Vail's resorts in the Laurel Highlands right now, but again, winter is closer than you think. 

For more information on The Epic Pass, click here.

For more information on the Blitzen Chairlift Auction, click here.