Tennessee Creek Basin On-Schedule
August 7, 2019
Things continue to progress on-schedule in the new “Tennessee Creek Basin” Improvement Area at Cooper! All larger trees that were felled have been processed and transported from the parking lot staging area. Smaller trees have been cut up and spread on the forest floor in what is referred to as “Lop and Scatter,” which ensures a supply of nutrients for the soil in the cutting area. We were very careful in selecting tree-cutting and removal methods in an effort to minimize effects on the forest and the environment in general. The ground crews who cut every tree by hand (on some very steep terrain, by the way!) and the helicopter transport team left virtually no imprint on the forest floor.
Most of the Tennessee Creek Basin area will be glade-type skiing, although there will be a few classic ski trails with more clearing. This entire area is quite steep with formidable drops (much steeper than anything else at Cooper) and as such will be rated “Double Black Diamond,” with the exception of the transport access trail, which will be rated “Blue Square.” With the high-speed “Little Horse” T-Bar (more on the name in a future post) for uphill transportation, this area will provide the long-awaited missing element: expert skiing terrain at Cooper!
Next time we’ll take look at individual trails and discuss the unique characteristics of each one.
Until then…………….standby!
Dan