Grooming Shay's Revenge

1.5 miles, 1500 feet of vertical drop, and me in a groomer for the first time = AMAZING!

Ed and I have been working on some new shows for Snowshoe TV. Mainly, we want to give people a look at the behind the scenes side of Snowshoe. How do we make snow? Who are the people doing it? And now we’re beginning production on an inside look at grooming. 

At Snowshoe the longest, steepest, and most challenging trail is Shay’s Revenge. It has beautiful views overlooking the valley, bumps for days, and a pitch that makes grooming more than a little challenging. 
Our snowmaking/grooming manager, Ken Gaitor, invited us to ride along as they groomed Shay’s for the first time this season. I was so excited that we were getting the chance to go in a groomer period, throwing Shay’s in was icing on the cake. We left the office to meet Ken at the top of Western Territory. It was a quietly beautiful evening with only a half hour of sunlight left hanging over the mountains. As the groomers pulled up I just remember feeling small. Those are some powerful machines. We climbed on in and headed down Shay’s. The ride down Upper Shay’s was easy, the groomer leaving fresh corduroy in its wake as the sun started setting on the valley. Then, we stopped at the top of Lower Shay’s…maybe this isn’t going to be as easy as I thought.

The slope looks like it just drops off into oblivion, and I don’t remember seeing it that way from my snowboard. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me, but that is one steep hill. I jump out of the groomer and get in to a different one with Johnny behind the controls. He knows this slope like the back of his hand.  Ed is already over the hill and out of sight with Ken. Johnny says the first pass is always the worst…and then we’re off.

We start down the slope, slow and steady then slow and sliding. Johnny says that most of the time you just slide from point A to point B. However, the snow set up just right for Ed and I. By that I mean it was ICE. The groomers work better on ice because they have something to grip on to. We slide down to a pile of freshly made snow and go right to the edge. Johnny starts pushing snow down the hill causing mini avalanches with “boulders” of snow racing to the bottom.  I realize now that our original plan of being dropped off at the bottom to shoot was a terrible idea.

Almost to the bottom Johnny turns the groomer around and I can see Ken and Ed making their way to the top. In general, when grooming Shay’s, groomers can only go one way…down. They have to then go up Cupp Run and loop back down. This night, however, was allowing for other methods. 

When Johnny turned the groomer around and started up the hill my hat instantly fell off because of the intense angle. I started thinking, “As long as we don’t slide backwards down the hill, I’m good.” We kept going up and up climbing over massive piles of snow like they were nonexistent. Smoothing, manipulating, and shaping everything back to smooth perfection with some soft freshly made snow on top. What a transformation!

After one pass, I got used to the steepness and just got lost watching the massive amount of snow being pushed around…it was kind of hypnotizing.  Waves of snow continued to tumble down the slope as our 14,000 lb groomer kept pushing forward. I could see our progress with every lap. I love instant gratification like that! 

Johnny and Ken took us back to the top of Western Territory after about an hour and headed back down to finish what they had started. As I drove past the Western Territory Overlook on my way home I watched the lights of the groomers, wishing I was still in one. 

Thanks to Ken Gaitor and Johnny Moore for being so great and letting us tag along for awhile! You guys do amazing work so we can all have fun. It was a sweet experience that I hope to repeat someday.

Check out Ed’s video of that night. Trust me it is much steeper than it looks. Hope to see you all out enjoying our groomer’s wonderful work!

sarah