Ober Mountain invests $4 million in new snow machines
Published March 10, 2023; 10:07 p.m.

New cutting-edge snow machines will improve slopes for skiers. Image by Ober

GATLINBURG, TN -- Ober Mountain Adventure Park and Ski Area, East Tennessee’s premiere destination for winter sports, is announcing a $4 million investment in new snow making equipment to help deliver one of the best skiing experiences east of the Mississippi River for the next ski session.

“Jessi and I are so excited to bring this investment to our home county,” said Joe Baker, founder of Ober Adventure, LLC, the controlling interest of Ober Mountain Adventure Park and Ski Area. “We can’t wait to develop these ski slopes to be some of the best in the area and continue to improve Ober for all the friends and families looking to enjoy the outdoors in the winter months.”

“This investment is going to greatly improve the skiing experience for our customers,” said Mark Adams, CEO of Ober Mountain Adventure Park. “With the addition of these state-of-the-art snow machines, our slopes will have some of the best snow throughout the skiing season, and we know our customers are going to notice a difference right away."

The $4 million investment will bring in new cutting-edge SMI Super Polecat Fully Automated Snowmaking Tower machines manufactured by the company Snow Makers, to help build out the slopes much more efficiently and effectively to produce nearly 95% coverage of the slopes with three to five feet of foundational snow. These machines have been used extensively around the world and are known as the industry standard and workhorse, producing high quality and varying grain size snow particles that are great to slide on. These same machines have been successfully used during four previous Olympic Games providing world class snow.

Ober Mountain Adventure Park and Ski Area is Tennessee’s only ski area and a favorite year-round, family friendly destination. At Ober, shopping, dining and attractions are just an Aerial Tram ride away. The Gatlinburg Aerial Tramway transports guests 2.1 miles, over the treetops with unparalleled views of the Smokies, to the lodge on Mount Harrison where guests are greeted with family friendly activities no matter the season. Attractions include the Mountain Coaster, Alpine Slide, Scenic Chairlift, Downhill Mountain Biking, indoor Ice Arena, Ice Bumper Cars, Scenic Chairlift, Wildlife Encounter, summertime tubing and more. In wintertime the park transforms into a ski area offering 10 slopes for all abilities, a family snow zone, and a snow tubing hill.