Snowmaking System Replacement Project

About Our Snowmaking System

Diamond Peak has invested in snowmaking since the ski area opened in 1966. Snowmaking supplements natural snowfall, helps establish a durable early-season base and allows our mountain operations team to provide more consistent skiing and riding conditions throughout the winter.

Much of Diamond Peak’s existing underground snowmaking infrastructure dates to the late 1980s and early 1990s, with the newest major pipeline installed in 2002. Although the system has been continually maintained and upgraded, its primary water and compressed-air infrastructure has reached the point where a comprehensive, phased replacement is necessary.

Snowmaking System Replacement Project

IVGID is beginning a multi-year project to replace and modernize Diamond Peak’s aging snowmaking system. The project is intended to improve reliability, increase snowmaking production during limited weather windows, reduce energy and maintenance demands and provide operators with better automated control over snowmaking operations.

The preliminary project scope includes:

• Approximately 29,500 to 30,000 linear feet of new high-pressure water pipeline.
• Approximately 83 snowmaking locations equipped with water, electrical power and communications.
• Modern automated tower-mounted fan guns and a limited number of portable fan guns.
• New electrical distribution, communications and system controls.
• Integration with Diamond Peak’s existing pump station and mountain operations technology.

Phased replacement that allows the existing system to continue serving portions of the mountain until improvements in those areas are complete.

Preliminary system planning was developed by TechnoAlpin and will serve as a technical reference as the project moves forward. Final alignments, equipment, controls, trail groupings and construction packages will be established through field verification, engineering, permitting and the public procurement process.

 Project Delivery and Schedule

As of August 2026, IVGID is procuring a Construction Manager at Risk, or CMAR, for the project. The selected CMAR will work with IVGID, Diamond Peak mountain operations and the project’s design and engineering team during preconstruction to validate existing conditions, refine the design and phasing plan, evaluate construction costs and identify long-lead equipment.

The current planning-level construction budget is approximately $8 million. Construction is anticipated to occur over multiple summer seasons, potentially beginning as early as 2027. Work completed during each annual construction season will be tested and placed into operation before the mountain opens for winter.

The project’s scope, cost, phasing and schedule remain subject to final design, permitting, available funding, negotiated construction pricing and approval by the IVGID Board of Trustees.

While weather will always determine when snowmaking is possible, this investment is intended to help Diamond Peak make better use of available snowmaking conditions, improve system reliability and support more consistent early-season terrain access.