Snowsports enthusiasts will see -- and pay for -- a lot of improvements at local and regional ski resorts this season.

And many of those multimillion-dollar upgrades took place at Hidden Valley and Seven Springs in the Laurel Highlands.

The impressive renaissance of Hidden Valley, begun last year by its new owner, the Buncher Co. of Pittsburgh, continued with a series of on- and off-mountain projects, including:

• A new quad chairlift to replace the aging -- did someone say ancient? -- Blizzard and Lightning double chairs. It will serve Imperial, Road Runner, Cobra and Model T slopes and provide access to the North Summit slopes.

• An Emmegi loading conveyor, the second at the resort, to improve the lining-up and getting-on process for the new quad.

• Fifty new TechnoAlpin snowmaking guns. The resort, which last year bought 30 of them, now has the largest TechnoAlpin installation in the country. The guns generated so much snow last year that it was able to host a ski and snowboard competition on April 12.

"The new guns are fully automated and equipped with weather instrumentation that allow them to adjust to changing weather conditions with no manual adjustments," said mountain manager Jim Shultz. This will assure a consistent snow quality.

• Five miles of underground water lines. The new pipes, along with fully automated water pump stations, will enable the sophisticated snowmaking system to operate at capacity when weather conditions permit.

• Two new Pisten Bully snowgrooming machines and a Zaugg half-pipe cutter were purchased to groom the slopes and terrain parks.

• A new warming hut with a few services for skiers and snowboarders at the base of the North Summit slopes.

• A first-time agreement with Wisp in McHenry, Md., that will provide one day of free skiing or snowboarding -- Sunday through Thursday -- to the owners of unlimited season passholders at the two resorts. It also provides a 50 percent discount for any future visits.

• New rental equipment-- hundreds of Elan skis, Atomic snowboards, Dalbello ski boots, Salomon snowboard boots, poles and Boeri helmets.

"We are committed to offering the best possible winter experience to families and guests of all ages," said Scott Bender, Hidden Valley's vice president of resort operations and former chief executive officer at Seven Springs. The Buncher Co., which had been looking for a person of Mr. Bender's caliber since it bought the resort in August 2007, found him next door.

Eric Mauck, who was named CEO of Seven Springs in July, has continued to build on the momentum the Nutting family initiated when it bought the resort in July 2006. The energetic Mr. Mauck served for five years as the vice president of operations at the Oglebay Resort and Conference Center before coming to Seven Springs in 2007 as chief operating officer. Interestingly, he's never skied; he plans to learn this season.

The on- and off-mountain improvements for the 2008-09 season, described as "the single most aggressive package of new and enhanced amenities" in the 75-year history of the resort, include:

• A new high-efficiency all-electric snowmaking compressor system designed to produce "plenty of pristine snow," formerly generated by almost 100,000 gallons of expensive diesel fuel.

• A new terrain park between the Lost Boy and Sunset trails on the North Face side of the resort and serviced by the North Pole and North Face chairlifts.

• The welcome widening at the top of Wagner slope to almost double its size.

• A much-needed Magic Carpet lift for the 12-lane Snowtubing Park, the largest in the region. It will enable guests to make more runs.

• Trillium, a full-service spa with eight treatment rooms, is scheduled to open later this winter in the main resort building.

• An outdoor pool next to the Bavarian Beach will feature a large "lagoon-like" heated pool, firepits, landscaping and a children's area complete with splash garden and wading pool.

• New high-performance rental skis and Burton snowboards. The rental shop has been automated to enable guests to fill out rental forms electronically from home or at kiosks stationed throughout the resort. Guests also can buy and print their lift tickets on their personal computers.

• Continued enhancement of the hotel's lobby, corridors and suites to complement last year's renovation of 416 hotel rooms.

• Revitalization of the Slopeside dining room and the addition of a new cafe and "sweet shop."

The readers of Ski magazine ranked Seven Springs as the No. 1 resort in the Mid-Atlantic, an honor it has won a number of times. It gave the resort high marks, some higher than previous years, for on-mountain food, terrain parks, lodging, dining, apres ski activities, family programs, access and off-hill activities.

Next year, Seven Springs hopes to reopen Laurel Mountain, the 63-acre state-owned ski area in Westmoreland County, about 10 miles east of Ligonier.

Bob Nutting, chairman of Seven Springs, announced in August that the resort had reached a purchase with Somerset Trust, which owns the lodge, two chairlifts, the snowmaking system, snow grooming equipment, maintenance and storage buildings and other non-state-owned assets.

The deal for Seven Springs to acquire those assets is contingent upon the state's willingness to provide funds -- $6.5 million -- for renovation and improvements "to restore the mechanics on the mountain."

The funding, in turn, depends on Seven Springs obtaining a long-term lease from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to operate the ski area. Seven Springs lost about $220,000 when it operated Laurel Mountain during the 2004-05 season.

Laurel Mountain is competing with hundreds of state-owned facilities that are seeking funds for long-delayed maintenance and capital improvement projects. Mr. Nutting said the support of the Rendell administration and the DCNR are "critical to this project."

Mr. Mauck said discussions with the state are ongoing.

Among other improvements at major resorts in the region:

• Snowshoe, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this season, added 15 tower-mounted TechnoAlpin fully automated snow guns to its already impressive snowmaking system. They contain on-board air compressors so they can be used individually for early season snowmaking to cover high-traffic terrain.

A mid-station has been added to the Western Express high-speed quad so the resort can open Upper Cupp Run and Upper Shay's Revenge earlier in the season. The mid-station will be closed when the slopes are open to the bottom.

The resort in east-central West Virginia will hold a number of events, promotions and giveaways to celebrate its anniversary.

• Holiday Valley spent $2 million to buy two snowgrooming machines, improve the efficiency and energy savings of its extensive snowmaking system, design a new Web site, upgrade guest rooms and the common areas at the Inn at Holiday Valley, buy new rails for the terrain parks and establish a "Single Stream" recycling program throughout the resort.

The resort, the largest in western New York, has spent $50 million during the past 17 years on all facets of its operations -- lifts, terrain, snowmaking, base facilities and lodging.