MARQUETTE COUNTY, Mich. — In addition to other issues, equipment problems have been added to the list of difficulties for operators to navigate in order to service hopeful skiers. It has been shared by a spokesperson for the resort that the snow-making machines became clogged with river sediment earlier in the week.
As a result of the unseasonable warm beginning of the Winter season, the ability to make snow has been critical to operators, and is likely to remain so with the National Weather Service now predicting a brown Christmas.
In a post from the resort on their Facebook page, it was stated that the Spring floods earlier this year had resulted in a significant amount of erosion in the Carp River from which operators pump water for snow-making. The flooding brought more sediment into the river water and also broke down the bank at the resort’s water intake site.
In October, operators were able to dredge and clean their intake however were still facing difficulties caused by log jams. According to the resort, their removal permit was denied however they are still trying to work with the appropriate agencies to give them permission to clear the debris.
In this moment, Marquette Mountain operators say “as you can imagine it’s not an easy job and we need very specific equipment to do this. We’ve reached out to local municipalities and businesses and have been working on this since late evening yesterday. We will continue this work until we can restart the system and continue to make snow.”
— with files from upmatters.com
