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<br />r <br /> <br />Mrs. Barbara Welles <br />September 22, 1982 <br />Page Two <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />.:<. <br /> <br />Beaver Creek projections call for 81,520 skier visits during <br />scheduled cloud seeding (Dec. & Jan.). <br /> <br />The primary operating season for cloud seeding would be November 1, <br />to January 31. <br /> <br />In addition, we have assumed: <br /> <br />A low snow year will bring about as much as a 30% reduction in skier <br />days (as in 1976-77 - 1980-81). <br /> <br />Cloud seeding can result in as much as a 15% improvement in snowfall <br />from a given storm, <br /> <br />That skier attendance is proportionate to snowfall received. <br />Cloud seeding must be utilized from the beginning of the winter season <br />to have maximum benefit. <br /> <br />Cloud seeding is particularly well suited to the configuration of <br />Beaver Creek, because its maximum impact begins at 9,300 feet. Our <br />present snowmaking system provides coverage to 9,200 feet; terrain features <br />and rocky soils above this point mean that we require approximately 20-25 <br />inches of settled base at Spruce Saddle for acceptable conditions. <br /> <br />The following graph of Vail attendance patterns over the past seven <br />years proved useful in our evaluation. From Figure 1, two cases for con- <br />sideration are presented and their economic impacts analyzed. <br /> <br />Case 1 - Assumes an early season snowfall similar to 1980-81, where 60% <br />of normal snowfall was received. Assuming a cloud seeding program <br />had been in effect and a 15% increase of snowfall resulted, the <br />graph indicated that skier attendance may have improved as much as <br />10%. For the time period December 15 to January 31, Beaver Creek. <br />skier attendance could be increased by as many as 5,706 <br />skiers. <br /> <br />Rationale: Reduce 81,520 by 30% = 57,064 <br />Multiply 57,064 by 10% = 5,706 (extra skier/day visits) <br /> <br />Case 2 - Shows a situation where slightly higher than normal snowfall has <br />occurred before opening. Although the percentage contribution <br />is much lower, the point is made that economic benefit is derived. <br />The additional skier days, in this case, could be as many <br />as 8,152. Rationale: 10% x 81,520 = 8,152 <br /> <br />Translating these skier day increases into dollar impacts for Beaver <br />Creek and the Town of Avon shows that economic gains can range from a high <br />of - <br /> <br />Case 1 - 5,706 skier days x $93,92 per skier day = $535,908, involving <br />approximately 34 seasonal jobs, would be added by weather <br />modification in a low snow year. <br /> <br />7b <br />