Winter has been warm this year, but that hasn’t stopped a local ski park from staying open this semester.

Sixteen million gallons of water have been used to produce 24 inches of snow at Seven Oaks Ski Park, located four miles west of Boone.

The park’s skiing season will end Saturday, and a snowmobile drag race sponsored by the Highbridge Trailblazers will officially bring the snow schedule to a close, said Joel Bryan, manager of Seven Oaks.

Bryan said only a small amount of snow, which is produced quickly, is needed to operate the 37-acre park.

“You’re really only skiing on two inches of snow, so as long as the grass is covered, that’s all you need,” he said.

The snowmaking process starts in a deep well, where 150 gallons of water per minute is pulled from 57 feet in the ground to a holding pond. There, the water is circulated and cooled.

From the holding pond, the water is pumped at 400-gallons-per-minute to the hill from 18 stations that the snowmaking machines can attach to. Water is broken into minuscule droplets that are blown into the air by a fan inside the machine. There, it freezes and falls as snow.

Bryan said even when it is abnormally warm, the sun doesn’t cause much melting. “We’re north-facing, so by midafternoon our hill is shaded,” he said.

Bryan said he has seen all types of skiers this season – die-hard to fair-weather skiers who only come when it’s nice and “powder skiers” who won’t ski unless there is fresh snow.

In any case, the weather has had an effect on business.

Bryan said customers not knowing they have snow decreases business overall.

“More than anything, I’d say it’s hurt us,” Bryan said. “People don’t think we have snow right now, and haven’t all season long.”

What snow has fallen hasn’t had much of an effect, other than to spark interest.

“That six to seven inches that we got – it’s what a skier would call `champagne powder’ because it’s so light and fluffy,” Bryan said. “By the time we go out there and pack that seven inches, it really only turns into maybe three-fourths of an inch to an inch.”

Anastasia Sprowl, member of the ISU Ski and Snowboarding Club, said she has been out to the ski park often this season, but has seen the effects of the minimal snowfall.

“It’s definitely shortened the season here, and it’s also affected our bigger trips because people don’t see the snow,” said Sprowl, junior in pre-advertising. “Our bigger trips haven’t had as many people as they have in the past.”

Seven Oaks will reopen this spring for canoeing and mountain biking and also has a driving range for golf enthusiasts.

Until then, Bryan said there is no particular way to get rid of the snow. “We just put the gate up at the front drive and leave for three or four weeks. You come back and it’s all gone.”