STOWE, Vt. (AP) – Sobered by snow shortages, cross-country ski areas are starting to examine the feasibility of snowmaking systems to help them keep trails covered and customers coming.

“Snowmaking is more and more commonly cited as what needs to be done if some of these areas are going to survive,” said Ron Bergin, editor and publisher of Cross Country Skier magazine, in Cable, Wis. “You can’t count on big, lasting snow anymore.”

In Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge has installed a portable system that can pump manmade snow onto three miles of trails when necessary. The system, which was put in place this fall, cost about $100,000.

“Snowmaking shows our absolute commitment to be open December until April, every single year,” said Sam von Trapp, 35, who recently joined the family business as vice president of special operations.

At Mountain Top Inn, in Chittenden, they’ve been making snow since the 1980s for less than a mile of trail.

“For us, snowmaking is a necessity,” said Roger Hill, Nordic director at the Inn.

For some cross-country areas, snowmaking systems are too expensive. Trapp Family Lodge held back on buying a system for years, but eventually did so because it saw the benefit to its core business – people staying in its villas, guest houses and 96-room lodge.

Locals like it, too.

“I think it is terrific,” said Heinz Morgenstern, 85, of Stowe, who was skiing Saturday. “Many years, you don’t have good snow conditions.”

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Information from: The Burlington Free Press, http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com

AP-ES-12-30-07 1353EST