Henniker, NH – Southern New Hampshire’s Pats Peak Ski Area will enter its 48th consecutive ski and snowboard season in 2010-11 following $500,000 in capital improvements this summer in new snowmaking, a new terrain park groomer, a new ski patrol building and more.nThe Valley Double chairlift will sport new chairs, while members of the Snowsports School will be wearing new uniforms. New rental equipment will adorn the racks of the rental shop, while the Base Lodge will get new carpets and the Alpine Training Center will get a new deck. New flaik GPS technology will allow guests to track their mileage around the mountain.

“Every season we identify aspects of our operation that we can improve to give our guests an even better experience at Pats Peak,” explains Kris Blomback, the ski area’s General Manager. “We continue to upgrade our snowmaking system to be sure to give our skiers the best snow surface possible. Many of our guests utilize our rental equipment, therefore, every year we upgrade our ski and snowboard rental equipment fleet. Our terrain parks are very popular so we continue to stay on top of the latest groomer technology to provide the best parks possible.”

To enhance what is already 100% coverage, Pats Peak will add energy efficient snow guns including twelve new HKD snowguns and six new fan guns. In addition to the new snowguns, additional snowmaking pipe will be added to the Duster trail for a faster opening from the summit. This new 10-inch water line will triple the pumping capacity to the top. Automated snowmaking is also being added to the Twister Trail, allowing a fresh coat of snow to be added nightly to the trail.

Pats peak will add a new PistenBully 400 ParkBully to its grooming fleet for the 2010-2011 season. Features like the SwitchBlade with incorporated forks allow for quick movement of terrain features to keep the park fresh and exciting for riders. With a 370 horsepower engine and over 1200 lbs of torque, the operator has the ability to move mountains of snow farther and faster to create tabletops, gap jumps, spines and more. An all new ParkFlex tiller puts a seamless finish on the park.

New this season, Pats Peak is partnering with flaik GPS Technology to offer skier and riders a way to capture their on-mountain experience. The custom-designed flaik tag leverages GPS and GSM cell phone technology to determine the real-time location of the person wearing the tag and transmit that data to a secure web-based application. The flaik tags track every trail and turn as well as their speed, distance, time and vertical feet that day and cumulatively.

This flaik tag provides piece of mind for parents whose children are out on the mountain in lessons or exploring on their own. Students in lessons can track their student progress on the slopes. And after a day on the slopes, skiers can go online to review the data via the “Re-Live Your Day” application and then make plans for their next visit. Rentals will be available for $9.95 per day.

This year Pats Peak is replacing the chairs on the Valley Double Chairlift with new wider and more comfortable chairs designed by CTEC of Salt Lake City. Again this season, the Rental Shop will enhance its rental fleet with 500 new pairs of skis and bindings, 400 new pairs of boots and 100 new snowboards.

Construction is set to begin on a new summit Ski Patrol building. The new building will be 16 feet wide by 32 feet long and will have a full concrete walk out basement underneath it for storage. A large deck will also be added to the end of the building. The Pats Peak Ski Patrol members are providing the labor, free of charge, as a labor of love. LaValley Building Supply of Newport, N.H., has donated almost half of the frame materials needed to construct the building.

The Pats Peak Snowsports School Instructors are “going green” this coming season as their new Avalanche Ski Wear uniform jackets are green in color. This change will certainly be noticed around the mountain with over 300 ski and snowboard instructors wearing them.

The Alpine Training Center for racers received a major expansion and makeover last season. The improvements continue for this upcoming season with a new deck area. And to enhance the guest experience, new carpets have been installed in the base lodge. Not only does this enhance the winter experience but also augments the summer banquet season.