Latitude 90 Blog | Innovation and snow production

L60 machine installed at Ober Mountain, with the ski lift on the right and people waiting to slide down the slope.

March 17, 2026

CASE STUDY: OBER MOUNTAIN SKI AREA & ADVENTURE PARK

Gatlinburg, Tennessee. In the ski industry, elevation has traditionally been one of the primary factors in determining the length of the season. Operating at only 2,682 feet in the humid Southeast, Ober Mountain should, on paper, have the shortest season in the region. Yet, the 2024-2025 season told a different story. While higher-elevation resorts struggled with unpredictable warming, Ober Mountain broke its own records, operating for 127 days, outlasting competitors located at twice its altitude.

People who are on a tube and who are sliding down a huge snow slide

January 27, 2026

Case study: Snow Riders Tubing Hill

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. In a region where the elevation is modest and autumns often feel like an extension of summer, operating a snow sports resort is a bold venture. Yet Snow Riders has achieved the impossible: becoming the first tubing destination to open on the entire American East Coast two years in a row.