Robin Smith, TechnoAlpin
Snowmaking is an more and more essential component of ski spot operations, even for the substantial alpine ski places of Colorado Ski Country. Although only about twelve% of skiable acreage in Colorado is covered by snowmaking, that figure may possibly enhance in the potential if unpredictable early season weather stays the norm. Thankfully, snowmaking techniques have become vastly much more effective in current years, permitting ski places to build their early season snow bases employing significantly less energy and water.
For the second installment of our ongoing series of interviews with leaders on climate alter and sustainability problems in the ski industry, we had a chat with Robin Smith, the general manager of North American operations for TechnoAlpin, a major producer of snowmaking programs for ski regions.
1. Snowmaking systems are one of the biggest infrastructure investments ski locations can make. When you engage with ski regions to style and create snowmaking programs and other answers, do you locate that increasingly variable winter weather is driving demand for the constant and dependable snow surface that can not always be provided by early-season natural snowfall?
When we very first speak to a resort about a new or retrofit project, even a couple of new guns, we often like to commence with a snowmaking distinct weather review. We used to pull ten years of weather data but we have found that going back also far skews the information too cold and produces unrealistic expectations. Warm is the new norm.
Most resorts want snowmaking to provide the highest achievable trail count before Christmas. We hardly ever even consider the possibility of normal snow into account, due to the fact in truth you cannot count on it. The weather examine tells us how a lot of snowmaking hrs to assume and at what common temperature. For powerful snowmaking, we do not incorporate any moist bulb temperatures over 28°F .
Resorts tell us how a lot of acres are to be covered at a provided snow depth we can then inform them exactly how considerably firepower achieving their aim will require. Systems for Western U.S. ski locations must be sized on this “Opening Scenario”. In the East, it is far more about the “Recovery Scenario”, which demands even far more firepower.
2. Can you give our readers a common sense of the gains in energy and water efficiency that have been created in snowmaking methods in recent many years? What is the common quantity of time it takes for a ski region to recoup the initial costs of a main snowmaking improve by way of cost savings in their utility bills?
It depends on exactly where you are coming from. When we can replace 1st generation programs, the return on investment (ROI) can be staggering. Moving from guns that squander 500 to one,000 or much more cubic feet per minute (cfm), to guns that are fixed at 18 cfm, the return can be as rapid as one particular 12 months based on how utilized the gun spot is.
Sun Valley has completed the most definitive research we’ve seen on ROI because they have twenty many years of manufacturing history on each and every individual gun in their 500 gun technique. They are in their third retrofit of nearly the total fleet we learned a good deal from them. A gun over the base area can return the investment in less than one season. A gun that runs historically only 24 hrs on a cross trail could get five years. If you presently have first generation “low energy” stick guns that are in the one hundred to 165 cfm variety, going to the new gold regular of 18 cfm or under brings returns in four to six years. Fully automating adds 40% to the cost, but the ROI remains the very same simply because of enhanced efficiencies.
3. In addition to your fan guns, snow lances, and the total supporting infrastructure necessary to pump water up a mountain and flip it into snow, TechnoAlpin has developed some impressive software methods to handle the snowmaking procedure. Can you make clear to our readers how important state-of-the-artwork computer software is in constructing a snow surface as efficiently as feasible?
This was the difficult take away I received from the Colorado Ski Nation USA Snow Conference in Grand Junction. Many resorts really do not comprehend the enormous influence snowmaking automation software program can have on production, pace and energy efficiency. Not to mention high quality of existence for snowmakers!
I was brought to tears by a discussion about what tool makes the ideal snowmaking hammer, how to thaw frozen hoses and how many guns you can jury-rig to run off a single hydrant. We as an industry want to move past this stuff and we can’t with out thoughtful investment.
Snowmaking automation software program delivers two huge advantages. Variety a single: Velocity. I frequently see our completely automated buyers light up 120 guns on four trails in seven minutes and the snowmaking personnel of three is viewing it take place on their cellphones. In the new weather norm of shorter windows of growing marginal temperatures, this is the place we want to be. The second underestimated benefit is in managing snow by volume. Knowing when you can pull off a trail and move on. We have resorts that know that quantity gun by gun. When #137 has finished its work, it is off in seven minutes and #284, four miles away is fired up.
Thanks Robin!
 
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