TANNERSVILLE -- A ski resort in Monroe County is replacing its slopes with water slides. Camelback Mountain Ski Area is starting the transition to Camelbeach Water Park and there's a lot to do and one month left to get it done.
A crew of about 40 people is busy removing plywood that covers the lazy river. Others are putting up part of an awning, and one man got stuck with the dirty job of sweeping up the muck at the bottom of a slide.
"A lot of man hours and back breaking labor, but it's fun stuff," said Tommy Beirne.
Beirne is in charge of the maintenance crew which has been tearing down the slopes and assembling the water park piece by piece since the ski season ended April 6.
"Everything has been winterized, so we have to go around to each different ride, like the Titan over there, covered with tarps. All those tarps have to come off, and everything has to be powerwashed and cleaned."
The most time-consuming and tedious part of the transition is removing the 3,000 barrels that fill the Lazy River at Camelbeach. Basically, crews have about three days to get the barrels out and stored for the summer.
"We have a short window of opportunity to get everything done, so it's a lot of work to squeeze into a short period of time," Beirne added.
That short period of time is about one more month. Camelbeach Water Park is set to open on May 25, just in time for Memorial Day weekend.