Sleepy Hollow Snow Farm summary:

We are proposing an approximately 150′ x 200′ building (30,000 square feet) to store a large snow pile over the summer months. The snow pile inside the building (15-20′ snow depth inside) would be enough to push out a 1.5km xc skiing loop around mid – November each year. New snow would be produced inside the building around February each year, using the coldest temperature to efficiently make snow. The purpose of the snow farm would be to allow for earlier and more consistent skiing on our nordic trails each November and December, and to help guard against the effects of global warming on our sport. The snow farm building will also allow for indoor nordic skiing during the summer months, and feature a green (grassy) roof with some solar panels.

More proposed project details:

• Adding 25 parking spaces.
• 3 campsites (for the general public to use Sunday night – Thursday nights – not Fri, Sat. nights due to wedding groups renting facilities)
• Of the 30,000 square foot building, approximately 23,000 square feet would be used for snow farm, and 6,000 -7,000 square feet used for up to 2 apartments, bike shop, space for Mansfield Nordic Club headquarters, wax room (donated by King Milne), strength training room, bathrooms, possibly other office/parking space.
• Adding Tuesday and Thursday night skiing (currently permitted for Mon, Wed, and Fri nights only)
• increasing vehicle trips to average 85 cars per day in winter (currently permitted for 50 average car visits), and maintaining currently permitted 50 car visits per day in the summer (April – Oct).
• Building a covered bridge 25′ x 30′ near Molly’s Meadow for better racing flow and spectator management during ski races.
• Plan to limit car visits to 50 cars per day (average) in summer by using summer ski reservation system and possible discounts to EV drivers. Also planning on limiting mountain bike car visits (see details below).
• Plan to offer free summer trail use to residents that live on Sherman Hollow Rd, Magee Hill Rd, and Swamp Rd.
• Small reconfiguration of ski trails (Acadia Mania 150′, Potato Farmer 250′) needed to bypass snowfarm building.
• Construction window of 6 years for full project build out.

Snow Farm Building Details:

• Building steel framed (red iron building) with likely 2/12 roof pitch (metal roof covered by a green roof and solar panels). 75-90 psf roof load.
• Walls made with insulated concrete forms (R-22 insulation).
• Ceiling covered made with encapsulated fiberglass insulation.
• Floor insulated with crushed glass up to 2′ thick and possibly blue board insulation (likely sourced from CSWD).
• 2 large garage doors on either end to allow for snow pushout.
• Due to large thermal mass of the snow mound, plus insulation values of r-22 around pile, only 25% of the pile would melt even with no active cooling. We plan to install an AC heat pump (10 tons) using only solar power to run it during daytime hours. This should reduce melt to 10% of pile or less.
• Electric Prinoth groomer to be used to groom in summer months, and to push out snow in November. Plan is to pushout snow using electric only powered equipment.
• New snow made in building in February using up to 20 hkd mini guns placed near ceiling. Snow made during cold snaps for best efficiency.
• During first year of operation more water than normal would be needed to make the first snow mound. Thereafter the normal water usage would occur as the total km of snowmaking trails is not increasing.

Traffic mitigation:

• We understand traffic and safety is always a concern to neighbors along Sherman Hollow, Magee Hill, and Swamp Roads.
• We plan to mitigate traffic issues as much as possible, so as to maintain the current rural and generally safe nature of our roads.
• Summer use: Sleepy Hollow is currently permitted for an average of 50 cars per day, a limit we plan to keep in place. We currently average 30-35 cars per day (estimate). Use of the snow farm (skiing) in summer will be limited due to a reservation system based on vehicle trips, allowing us to keep tabs on traffic. Mountain bike traffic will be reduced by asking patrons to 1.) bike in to use trails 2.) park at 1369 Sherman Hollow Road in field (reducing 1/2 mile of driving up Sherman Hollow Rd) 0r 3.) parking beside the road on Magee Hill road and entering our trail system from that trailhead (reducing 2 miles of driving down Sherman Hollow rd). Reduced ticket prices for EV and plug-in hybrid compared to gas vehicles may also be employed to reduce vehicle trips, and alter traffic to EV vehicles (quieter, cleaner).
• Winter use: Sleepy Hollow is currently permitted for an average of 50 cars per day, and we plan to ask to increase this to 85 cars per day. We’ve been bumping up against the allowed cars/day limit the last few years, especially this past winter when the Ethan Allen Range in Jericho was closed (sending us more ski teams to train at Sleepy Hollow than normal). We plan to incentivize EV and plug in hybrid vehicle use by using discounted season pass pricing compared to gas powered vehicles. We realize increasing winter vehicle trips is not ideal, but mitigated by the fact that residents are generally using the road less for walking/biking in the winter months, and much of the skier traffic occurs after dark (30% estimate).
• We plan to offer free use of summer trails (mountain biking/hiking/running) to residents along Sherman Hollow, Magee Hill, and Swamp roads so they can recreate/walk dogs away from traffic. Winter use of the first half mile of the trailhead along Magee Hill road also will be allowed during winter months for local residents (note winter trail passes will be required to be purchased one you hit the groomed trail Hinesburg Hill Loop 1/2 mile in from Magee Hill).
• We plan to recommend to the town of Hinesburg that Magee Hill road speed limit be reduced from 35mph (current) to 30mph. We also plan to message to our users (especially high school teams) to always travel the speed limit or under when conditions are slippery.
• We have started counting cars and posting counts to our website (snow conditions page). If we exceed our daily averages (50 cars in summer, 85 cars in winter), we plan to tweak our pricing and incentive structure to maintain compliance. Car count link (started 9/18/25)

Timeline:

• We plan to apply for Act 250, Wastewater, Stormwater, Hinesburg and Huntington permits this fall (2025), and earliest possible start of construction would be summer 2026. Construction could be ready to accept snow in Feb. 2027 if there are no delays. Total building completion timeline may be up to 6 years depending on funding/permitting constraints.

Funding:

• Materials costs for this project are estimated at $600,000. King Milne (former assistant CVU nordic coach) has donated $40,000 to build a wax room for CVU (and others) to use during the nordic ski season. Other fundraising with MNC and other patrons of Sleepy Hollow are currently being discussed. Sleepy Hollow/family will likely pay for a portion of the costs.

Notes: Likeness only, rear half will have dirt piled up on 3 sides to roof level. Green roof sections covered by grasses and native plants. Black section on highest point of roof will be solar panels.