The groomer is here! The whole JHSB family gives heart-felt thanks to Dan Smith of Stover Mountain for the donation of the groomer, and Ben Folchi of Folchi Logging and Construction http://www.folchiconstruction.com/ for his generous donation-in-kind in hauling the beast all the way from Chester. It will reside for the time being at the Nakoma Golf Resort maintenance yard where mechanic Ed Funk will give the Piston Bully some TLC before we bring it up to the hill.

Michael Stephenson, Tramway Engineer. Setting stake for lift terminal at the Ski Bowl!

As the days grow longer and the winter snows melt, the activity at the Historic Johnsville Ski Bowl is picking up speed. Last Thursday, the newly hired lift engineer, Michael Stephenson along with Miro Pokorny, President of Mountain Pride Construction, Alfred Strolz, on-site electrician for Squaw Valley and Ed Thompson, chairlift electrician were on hand with members of the ski hill committee to begin preliminary layout for the new chairlift. Michael Stephenson is a Tramway Engineer who has overseen the design and construction of over 100 new installations or major modifications of detachable and fixed grip chairlifts and other custom tramways in the U.S., Canada and Japan. Miro Pokorny is an accomplished lift contractor whose portfolio includes chairlift installations at Sugarbowl, Northstar, and Kirkwood, as well as “Flightline” at San Diego Wild Animal Park –the longest zipline in the continental United States.

The day began early with a meeting of the engineers over coffee at the Chalet View Lodge, followed by an inspection of the lift equipment in storage in Graeagle. Following the inspection, the group arrived at the ski bowl to begin the process of evaluating power options and potential lift locations. “I can’t express how incredibly lucky we are to have this level of talent and experience involved in moving this project forward.” said Dan Gallagher, Eastern Plumas Recreation District board member.

One of the main goals for the day was completing a profile survey from the top of the ski hill to the bottom. The profile is the first step in selecting the tower locations, the top unloading terminal and the bottom loading terminal locations. As straight forward as that sounds, the engineers explained that there are many important considerations to take into account in the effort to maximize the Ski Johnsville experience. One example is how to give the Bowl’s future visitors easier access and return from the “Back Trails” area. Another example is the possible location of a future terrain park. The group relayed that they had a fun and productive day on the mountain, while moving the plans for re-opening the Historic Johnsville Bowl forward. Mr. Stevenson and Mr. Pokorny both expressed a sense of awe at the spectacular view of the Mohawk Valley and surrounding mountain ranges from the top of the ski hill. “The hill is steeper than I first realized,” said Stephenson.

As soon as the Ski Bowl’s business and operations plan is finalized and officially approved, the EPRD Ski Johnsville Committee is planning on organizing the first work-day on the hill. “Several projects are on the agenda and community assistance is always welcome,” said Tom Connelly, local engineer and longtime Johnsville advocate. One of the first projects in the works is the removal of scrap metal to a recycler in Reno and another is the refurbishing and/or rebuilding of the historic warming hut. The EPRD Board is hoping an individual or local group might enjoy taking on this challenge. The old warming hut dates back to the first days of the ski hill’s operation.