Coppervale Ski Area, operated by Lassen College since 1946, recently received a new piece of machinery, a PistenBully 200, from the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office had just acquired the groomer from the U.S. Forestry Service, which used it for grooming parks in the area.
“Though it is an impressive piece of equipment, it is more of a groomer,” said Lassen County Sheriff Dean Growdon, who grew up in Westwood and learned to ski at Coppervale.
According to Lassen College spokesperson Nicole Kelley, the Sheriff’s Office needed a Sno-Cat to access communication sites on mountaintops via narrow roads. Through a surplus property system, the LCSO was able to obtain a Sno-Cat at no cost that fits their needs and geared more toward search and rescue.
“We appreciate the benefit that Coppervale brings to our community,” said Growdon. “We were going to surplus it but instead we asked our Board of Supervisors to write off the surplus value, which allowed us to transfer it to the college and then to Coppervale.”
The PistenBully 200 is going to allow Coppervale to reduce their grooming time. Coppervale owns another groomer, built in 1995, so the two working in concert will take a lot of stress off the staff, mainly Norm Wilson, who has been managing, grooming and teaching visitors to ski and snowboard at Coppervale for nearly four decades.
“Our current groomer has a lot of hours,” said Wilson, Manager of Coppervale Ski Hill. “With more hours comes more problems, which requires more money for repairs. The new groomer only has 126 hours on it. I can’t thank Sheriff Growdon enough for making sure Coppervale can continue to benefit our local community.”
“I want to thank Sheriff Growdon, Lassen County Sheriff’s Office, our County Board of Supervisors and County administration, for making sure Coppervale can continue to benefit our local community,” said LCC Interim Superintendent/President Carie Camacho.
“Coppervale is a jewel within our community and the college is so grateful to all those that help keep Coppervale safe and operational for generations to come.”
