THE LIFE
44 March 2019 _ PopularMechanics.com
air and the mist explodes into a fast-
moving white cloud, an extremely
localized weather event just for me.
Even with the garage floodlight on, I
can’t really see what’s happening up
in the air. But I see it on the ground—
a fine white layer coating the gravel,
then my car. It’s working!
It’s wet snow, sure, because the
conditions aren’t great. But as proof
of concept, I’m thrilled. I’m making
snow at my house, hundreds of miles
south of the Mason-Dixon line. No
longer will freezing temperatures
equate to indoor boredom. There
will be sledding and snowball fights
and, okay, maybe some shoveling. But
only on my terms, for I shall choose
where it snows and where it does
not. Around here, the local meteo-
rologists have it all wrong, for they
know not of the mighty SG6 Xstream,
purveyor of on-demand frozen pre-
cipitation. This is going to be the best
winter ever.
I’d imagined, when I assembled
my snowmaking equipment and built
a huge ramp, that we’d have sledding
parties of the kind I enjoyed growing
up in Maine. And on New Year’s Day,
that’s exactly what happens. Over-
night, the temperature drops to 16degrees. I run the SG6 all night, and
in the morning Mount Diablo glis-
tens with a blanket of blinding white
powder. I adjust the gun to dump on
the run-out area, across the driveway
and the lawn.
Friends and neighbors show up,
bringing kids and sleds and coffee.
We hang out around the fire pit wear-
ing ski gear while the kids explore
the recreational possibilities of this
novel medium. Some of them build
a snow fort on the lawn while others
construct sledding jumps. Some kids
just throw snow at each other. I point
the SG6 at my friend Keith’s Jeep and
blast it with powder, just to confuse
everyone else he encounters on the
road. Where did that guy come from?
I’ll admit that when I set off down
the road to amateur weathermak-
ing, I was a little worried that the
end result wouldn’t be as great as I’d
built it up to be in my head. Maybe
the snow gun wouldn’t make enough,
or it would be too warm, or, worst of
all, my kids just wouldn’t care. None
of that was true. Owning a snow gun
is completely awesome. For the first
time in years, I’m looking forward to
winter. I really shouldn’t have sold
my skis.to climb Diablo, but we leave base
camp at daybreak because I don’t
believe in curses.”THE FIRST NIGHT that the temper-
ature drops into the 20s, I get up at
4 a.m. I connect the air hose to the
compressor and the water hose to the
pressure washer. I plug everything in,
using heavy-gauge extension cords.
When I turn on the water, a fine mist
starts blasting from the nozzles.
Then, I introduce the compressedBeers around the
fire pit at the only
sledding party
within hundreds
of miles.
I’M THRILLED. I’M MAKING
SNOW AT MY HOUSE, HUNDREDS
OF MILES SOUTH OF
THE MASON-DIXON LINE.