More efficient artificial snow-making machines and increased free transportation for students are factors that have contributed to a recent 7-percent increase in attendance at the Dartmouth Skiway, Douglas Holler, the general manager of the Skiway, said.
Holler said he wishes he could attribute the surge in students and community members at the Skiway to a single factor so that he could "bottle it and use it again next year."
While it is difficult to pinpoint precisely which factors have caused more individuals to visit the Skiway, the snowfall this season has undoubtedly contributed to the increase in numbers, Daniel Nelson, director of the Outdoor Programs Office, said.
"Of course when there's snow on the ground, people get inspired to go skiing," he said.
In addition to the natural snow, the Skiway has improved its snow-making capacity due to a $750,000 donation from College alumnae in December 2008, according to Nelson.
The gift from four sisters Denise Dupr '80, Rosi Littlefield '82, Anni Santry '83 and Michele Dupr '88 honors the donors' father, Herman Dupr, according to a College press release. Herman Dupr, a world-renowned entrepreneur in the snow-making industry, helped design the donated equipment.
After installing the new machines, the Skiway made improvements to the pipes and valves of the snow-making equipment this year. The Skiway also leased new compressors to improve efficiency, Holler said.
"Our capacity has certainly changed this year," he said. "We can make more snow in a shorter period of time that's a big boost for us."
The increased snow-making capacity has given students access to a larger portion of the mountain during the early weeks of Winter term, Jason Mintz '11, a member of the College's club ski team, said.
"The snow-making has definitely improved this season and the past couple of years," he said. "They've had a lot more open much earlier in the season."
Managers at the Skiway, which is located 14 miles from campus in Lyme, N.H., have also tried to make facilities more accessible to students, Holler said. While a free bus service to the Skiway has existed on Saturdays in previous years, the Skiway will introduce free transportation for students on Sundays beginning Jan. 16, Holler said.
Even before students returned to Hanover after winter break, the Skiway saw an increase in the number of area residents and other attendees, according to Holler.
The largest increase in visitors is among families with young children, according to Brandon Cohen '11, director of Dartmouth Ski Patrol. Despite the rise in young skiers, Ski Patrol has not been overwhelmed with injuries or other incidents, he said.
"Even though there's more people there, the accident rate is standard to what it usually is, which is two accidents per 1,000 skiers," Cohen said.
Prior to last season, Dartmouth Dining Services, citing limited resources, handed over control of the dining options at the Skiway to Maple Street Catering, an outside contractor, Nelson said.
"In conversations between the Skiway management and [DDS] management, [DDS] recognized it really wasn't working out particularly well for them given their staffing needs, resources and their primary mission to provide meals and a dining experience to students on campus," Nelson said.
Student reaction to the new dining options at the Skiway has been varied, according to Nelson. Students' inability to pay with DASH makes them less likely to eat at the Skiway, according to Mintz.
"I think myself and most other students would certainly eat there more, a lot more, if they took normal DDS money," he said.
Even though it is more difficult to pay for food, the quality of dining offerings has improved, Cohen said.
"Obviously students are not too happy about it because they can't pay with [DASH], but the actual food is much better than it was with DDS, especially the pulled pork from Big Fatty's," Cohen said.
Maple Street Catering is unlikely to accept DASH in the future due to security reasons, according to Holler. Students can purchase "food cards" which can be redeemed for food using DASH at the Skiway, he said.
