Thanks to the cold temperatures, avid skiers were able to frequent several local ski areas earlier than usual this year.

Blue Mountain Ski Resort in Palmerton and Jack Frost Big Boulder in Kidder Township, both in Carbon County, have been open since late last month.But what exactly is it about the Carbon County ski areas that makes them such popular destination points this time of year?Who do they attractWhile there are local skiers who frequent its resort, Jack Frost Big Boulder attracts people from all over the Mid-Atlantic region, according to Heather Schiffbauer, director of marketing.Schiffbauer said Jack Frost Big Boulder's biggest draw would be Philadelphia, as well as Bucks, Montgomery Delaware counties and south Jersey.It's much the same at Blue Mountain Ski Resort, according to owner Barbara Green.Green said Blue Mountain attracts visitors from about a 2 1/2 hour radius from the resort, all the way from Long Island and down to Maryland. Of those, she said about 70 percent are more from the suburbs of Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley, and the other 30 percent take the long-haul drive.How they competeAs with any business, both ski areas are in operation to make money.That means having the necessary tools to compete, Green said."We're awful lucky in that we have the highest vertical in the state; we also have the most runs, and the most variety of runs," she said.The resort boasts 39 trails, with a vertical height of 1,082 feet.Green said by comparison, Camelback has a vertical height of 800 feet and Bear Creek is 350."If you'd graph all our mountains, we'd be a good 200 feet above the others," Green said.With the advantage of vertical height, Green said the trails tend to be longer. The Paradise Trail, for example, is 1 1/2 miles and the Lazy Mile measures exactly 5,280 feet."Most resorts in the Poconos, they just go straight down; ours are winding all over the mountain, and that's what gives the character."Blue Mountain boasts a variety of trails with ridges and valleys to make skiing more interesting."Many ski runs in Pennsylvania are all the same," Green said.Green believes the ability to react to the weather and changes quickly will be a key differentiator going forward."That's why we've invested so much money in the last six years in automated snow making," she said. "Fifty percent of our trails are automated."Schiffbauer said it's essential to "try to put a good product out there, get out there and be the first to open.""We do a lot of different events, and think outside the box to draw that crowd in."The slopesOf course, no ski area would be complete without the ski slopes themselves.At Blue Mountain, Green said the Challenge is its most dangerous slope, while Paradise is its easiest.Schiffbauer said Jack Frost Big Boulder offers terrain for people of all skill levels.Black Diamonds are for the more advanced skiers, blue squares denote intermediate skiers, and green circles are the easiest for the beginner/novice, she said.Why they comeBlue Mountain is marketing to the Philadelphia area, and has recently partnered with the Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau to reach the New York City market. The resort has a billboard right outside the Holland Tunnel."We're getting more and more New York and New Jersey people than we ever have," Green said.She knows because they record zip codes at the registers.Billboards and radio ads have been a standard in Philadelphia.Plus, more than ever Blue Mountain is working with Google, Facebook and Twitter.The resort considers itself a prime location, being 90 minutes between both Philadelphia and New York City.Jack Frost Big Boulder also has several marketing strategies it implements throughout the year.Schiffbauer said they run a CBS deal in the beginning of the year, which is the daily deal.Additionally, she said they also partner with Lukoil gas station to get discounts.Further, she said Jack Frost Big Boulder offers its own online discount program, where visitors can go online and purchase tickets in advance, and can save up to as much as 30 percent.ManpowerAs with any successful business, sound employees are needed for the ski areas to flourish.Green said Blue Mountain has about 52 full-time employees, along with 1,000 seasonal workers who are hired.Over at Jack Frost Big Boulder, Schiffbauer said typically once winter starts, about 1,500 workers are employed between both Jack Frost and Big Boulder.Pumping capacityIn order for any ski area to be a success, it must understand its pumping capacity.Jack Frost Big Boulder has snowmaking crews who monitor that.According to its website, Jack Frost Big Boulder has an extensive network of stationary fan type snow machines above ground. It also has a large underground network of electrical wire, and over 3,000 feet of 12-inch and 8-inch pipe connecting over 100 tower snow guns.That system allows them to pump a capacity of 200 gallons per minute per acre or over 6,000 gallons of water per minute on its slopes. It takes about 160,000 gallons of water to make 1 acre of snow 1 foot deep. Pumping some 6,000 gallons of water per minute translates to about 6 inches of snow over the entire ski area in a 12-hour night. Air is either piped from a large central compressor or compressed at the snow-making station itself.At the station, both water and air are pumped into the snow-making machine under high pressure, and the two elements are combined in the nucleator, where it forms the nucleus, a tiny snow crystal.With water near freezing temperature and air expanding at 110 psi to normal atmospheric pressure, they are able to create a refrigeration effect where each water deposit will instantly become a tiny snow crystal.Depending on the temperature, they add anywhere from 16 to 200 gallons of water per minute per snowmaking tower. This water is sprayed so finely that it clings to the snow crystal and forms a snowflake.At that point, an electric fan within the machine blows the whole mass of snow crystals onto the slopes.Green said Blue Mountain has the capacity to pump 14,000 gallons of water per minute."This year, we automated all our pumps and our cooling towers," she said. "The pump comes on when the water is at a certain level."Green said the resort makes snow whenever possible in December and January to build up a strong base. The guns are going around the clock whenever the humidity level and temperatures are right.Source of waterGreen said Blue Mountain has two major pump houses they're permitted for with the Delaware River Basin Authority."We pump from the Aquashicola Creek to four pond locations, and we pump from those ponds directly to the snow guns," she said. "The amount of snow depends on the temperature and the humidity."Jack Frost draws from the Lehigh River, while Big Boulder pulls from Lake Harmony.Schiffbauer said Jack Frost Big Boulder uses both the fixed snow guns, as well as carriages so they are movable.At Blue Mountain, all the snow guns are fixed in place, Green said."We have some portable fan guns which are really energy efficient; they basically use their own compressed air right there," she said. "There's very few that we actually move because they're automated."All the snowmaking in the world can't compete with the lure of a real snowstorm."It's the best advertising you can't pay for," Green said.When Philadelphia or New York get an inch or so in the city, she said people start saying, "Wouldn't it be nice to go skiing?"