Ludlow, Vermont (Ski Press)-When it comes to “what’s new” at Okemo Mountain Resort for the winter of 2008/2009, art and innovation combine to address the challenges of creating a better resort experience – all with an eye toward efficiency and sustainability. Laser-guided superpipe cutting, grooming technologies, plus energy efficiencies in snowmaking and other operations are just some of the innovations that comprise the art of Okemo. New Terrain Okemo has saved the best for last. The final two trails of the original Jackson Gore layout are slated for completion in time for this winter’s ski season. For years, skiers and riders traveling to the Jackson Gore summit on the Jackson Gore Express Quad have looked longingly upon the partially cleared trails located on skier’s right halfway down Quantum Leap. One of the new trails will measure about 1,000-feet long and the other will be about 2,600-feet long. The latter will have a vertical drop of 850 feet. Together, the new trails will add about eight acres to Okemo’s skiable acreage total – now 632 acres. Ninety-six percent of Okemo’s trails are equipped with snowmaking capabilities and 80 new snowmaking guns will be added to the arsenal this year. Okemo’s grooming fleet is the first in the East to include the new Prinoth BR500 grooming machine, affectionately referred to as “The Beast” by Resort operations staff. The 500-horsepower dual turbocharged behemoth is about eight feet wider and ten feet longer than the next largest model, the BR350. Okemo VP of Operations Barry Tucker looks nothing like Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, but one thing the two have in common is laser technology. When Tucker and his crew were tasked with finding a more precise way to cut Okemo’s massive SoBe Superpipe, they found a technological solution that cost $50,000. “It simply wasn’t a $50,000 problem,” said Tucker. So with a heaping dose of Yankee ingenuity and a dash of frugality, the operations crew came up with a solution using the same laser technology they use in summertime construction-site grading projects. By affixing adjustable laser units with a vertical orientation to a stationary base at the bottom of the superpipe, and attaching a receptor device to the arm of the Zaug Pipe Monster, Okemo’s groomer operators can monitor superpipe shaping for better construction, upkeep and optimal vert. To infinity and beyond! Epic Art Skiers enjoying lunch at one of Okemo’s most popular and eclectic on-mountain restaurants will also enjoy the whimsical canvases of Vermont artist Donald Saaf. Hailing from Saxtons River, Saaf is a graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, in Boston. A painter, sculptor, musician and children’s book illustrator, Saaf creates lively textural fields that complement the detailed imagery in his compositions. His recent work has focused on the tree, and the abstracted spaces between the branches expand across his canvases. The resulting patterns span the gap between his subjects, drawn from every day life, and a realm of historical fable. Saaf has shown his work extensively in the Boston area and elsewhere in the United States. He has illustrated eight children’s books and has been reviewed in The Boston Herald and Art New England. Five paintings were commissioned and will adorn the walls at Epic starting this winter.