NEW HARTFORD, Conn. — The recent blast of cold air making its way across the region means business is heating up in the ski slopes of Connecticut.
The Ski Sunday in New Hartford was forced to close New Year’s weekend – a vital timeframe to their bottom line. Thanks to the cooler temperatures, they are making snow again and lots of it.
“Last night, the weather was about as perfect as it gets – single digits and no wind and snow just piled up,” Kurt Sexauer, the head of snowmaking and grooming at Ski Sundown told FOX61 on Wednesday.
Amid the snowmaking, Sundown just flipped the switch on the completion of a four-year-long project with the Metropolitan District Connecticut (MDC), which will now pump 5 million more gallons of water via a pipe to the base of the hill.
“We have made a ton of snow and it’s fantastic,” Sundown owner Bob Switzgable said.
74-year-old Suni Huda, from Farmington, who is a frequent skier at Sundown said: “Instead of complaining about snow and the cold, come out and enjoy it.”
A few miles east, in Canton, the cold weather has helped those at the Sporthouse (aka “Fatty’s) Ski Shop.
“As soon as the ground gets white, things go nuts and last weekend it was craziness,” co-owner Steve Unwin said.
Unwin said that many of their rental packages have sold out for the season and there has been a run on sales of skis and gear as well.
“Sales are even stronger than they were last year,” he said, noting that the 2021 winter season was also strong because so many families took up skiing since it is conducive to social distancing.
RELATED: A dream come true | A family visiting relatives in Hartford experience snow for the very first time
With more cold weather forecasted, Switzgable sent a message to Mother Nature; “I am a very happy man. We’ve got great conditions, keep winter coming.”
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