Beaver Creek Installs Automated Snow Guns for December Race

Aspen —Will the Birds of Prey racecourse actually be ready for December?

The short version: yes. But it will look different than it has in years past.

Beaver Creek Resort begins snowmaking for the 2026-27 season this fall. Crews will use a new automated system to build the lower third of the racecourse. This is not a minor tweak. The Aspen Times reported Tuesday that the Vail Valley Foundation announced its most substantial infrastructure upgrade in recent years.

The system targets the section of the course most sensitive to early-season temperature inversions. Those inversion layers trap cold air near the ground, making manual snowmaking unpredictable and inefficient. The new setup removes the guesswork.

Here is what gets installed: ten SMI Grizzly stick guns with onboard air compressors, six SMI Super Puma fan guns, six concrete vaults, and ten metal shelters. A new weather station and roughly 4,500 feet of trenched power and hard-lined communications tie it all together. Every gun operates remotely. They start automatically the moment conditions allow.

Mike Imhof, president and CEO of the Vail Valley Foundation, said there is no better time to invest in the future of this event. He pointed to the scale of the upcoming competition: seven competitions across two weekends for the 2026 Stifel Birds of Prey Audi FIS Ski World Cup, Dec. 3-13. That is the largest festival in the event’s history.

Bobby Murphy, chief operating officer of Beaver Creek Resort, noted that the new infrastructure supports broader early-season mountain operations. He said the resort looks forward to welcoming guests for two weeks of premier racing, entertainment and celebration.

Read that again. The upgrade isn’t just for the racers. It helps the resort’s general operations when the snow is thin and the air is tricky.

The money comes from a specific place: the John and Karen Arnold Ski Racing Legacy Fund. This gift is part of the VVF’s Empowering Possibility Capital Campaign, a $74 million initiative investing in arts, athletics, education, and community support across the Eagle River Valley. The Arnolds’ contributions have already reshaped much of the venue. A regrading project in the finish area reduced the volume of manufactured snow needed each season. Other projects include improvements to grandstands and spectator infrastructure.

Make no mistake: this is a long-term bet on keeping the World Cup in Beaver Creek. The Foundation ensures the event remains a free attraction for locals and visitors alike. That accessibility is the point. The Arnold gift secures that future.

The lower third of the course has always been the headache. Early season snowmaking is a race against the clock and the weather. If you miss your window, you wait. The new automated guns don’t wait. They monitor conditions and fire when it’s efficient, cutting the water and energy required to produce a race-ready surface.

For folks in the valley, this means a more reliable race course during the peak of the winter tourism season. It also means less manual labor for crew members who used to spend hours setting up and monitoring individual guns by hand.

The Aspen Times noted that the system was installed this fall, in time to help build the course for December. No delays. No "pending" status. It’s in the ground.

The question isn’t whether the course will be built. It is how much easier it will be to maintain a consistent, high-quality surface during the two weeks of racing. The answer is: significantly easier.

The Vail Valley Foundation isn’t just fixing a problem in the lower third of Birds of Prey. They are hardening the entire event against the volatility of early winter weather on the Western Slope.

The race starts Dec. 3. The snow is already being made.