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Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway, N.H., is adding 80 new tower guns to its snowmaking arsenal, increasing its inventory of towers by 80 percent.

"Snowmaking represents the majority of our energy use," Cranmore General Manager Ben Wilcox said. "These new guns will allow us to make up to three times more snow than traditional snow guns. The guns also use less air which means lower energy consumption and therefore we will be reducing our carbon footprint as well."

Another benefit of the new equipment is its ability to make snow at higher temperatures. "We can make snow at temperatures 4 degrees higher than older model tower guns," Wilcox said. "This will allow us to make more snow in those critical early season periods and open more terrain more quickly."

The new tower guns will be set up on Cranmore's Easy Street beginner trail off the summit, extending to the Gibson Trail, down to Beginner's Luck. Guns will also be positioned on high traffic trails including Upper Hurricane to Middle, allowing better coverage on busy days.

New tower guns will also be added to the blue cruiser Skimeister, lining the trail from top to bottom. These new guns complement the installation of tower guns on Artist Falls trail two years ago, affording tower snowmaking on virtually every major route down the mountain.

Cranmore has invested close to half a million dollars for this coming winter including the snowmaking improvements and facility upgrades and repairs, the largest investment in several years, Wilcox said.

More information. Or call 603-356-5544.