 brian
brian
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Wasn't one of these pitched in Wales? Wouldn't slower skiers end up going backwards?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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It looks incredibly expensive to build - I wonder how it would pay for itself.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I have a sense of déja-vu....
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I think the first line of the website gives the game away:-
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| Snowvolution Ltd is an intellectual property company that wishes to grant licenses to companies or individuals who recognise the global investment potential of the SnowVolution snowdome concept. |
ie we're selling dreams not reality
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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pam w, Maybe you're just getting dizzy.....
Nice idea, but it looks like a rather inefficient use of land area and power (= more global warming unless it's powered by a nuke or a warp engine core)
A 300m diameter diameter disc would probably be constructed on a piece of land at least 310m x 310m. On the disc, they would have to exclude some 30m at the centre for their buildings. Of the remainder of the disc only about 2/5th of the surface would be skiable, unless you can ski uphill. Using my O-level maths, that's ~28,000m2 of skiable area. If they just built a 300m x 300m slope they would have 90,000m2 of skiable area and use less power 'cos there are no humongous discs to rotate.
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That's the key though Tomsk, your 300m long slope is just that, 300m long. On this rotating disc if you ski downhill at the same rate as the speed of rotation moves you back uphill then it would have an infinite length.
It's like a treadmill for skiers.
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I notice how the picture of it is in a nice looking alpine setting, rather than an industrial estate in the ar$e end of Tamworth...
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brian
brian
Guest
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| FenlandSkier wrote: |
ie we're selling dreams not reality |
... and their competitors have dreams too, these guys have the disc rotating on a mag-lev ...
http://www.ski-trac.com/
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FenlandSkier,
Yeah, I realise that it's effectively an infintely long slope. I was commenting on the fact that there wouldn't be as many skiers on it as a simple slope and that construction and operating costs would be higher as well.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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if you get stuck at the back/top of the slope you will find as the slope reduces you wont be able to keep up with the rotation then get hurled down the other side with both gravity and the rotation gving you impetus.. actually this seems like more fun till you get flung round the bottom pulling 5 g's straight into the face of everyone still going the right way round!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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It ought to be possible to use both parts of the disc - the up side and the down side, rather than the top and the bottom - with people whizzing down the down side and more or less staying still on the up side. The low point would be an entertaining spot to watch. If you are slower than the disc on the up side, you move up and up until you hurtle backwards at high speed down the down side.
I'm not sure I'd want to ski on it, but watching could be fun.
Why does it need to be so tall, BTW?
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| FenlandSkier wrote: |
That's the key though Tomsk, your 300m long slope is just that, 300m long. On this rotating disc if you ski downhill at the same rate as the speed of rotation moves you back uphill then it would have an infinite length.
It's like a treadmill for skiers. |
Yes, but as someone said, you still only have the small surface to fit the skiers on.
Also the fastest skiers go at least 10 times as fast as the slowest on these slopes, so only a few people would be happy. And what happens if you fall?. It all seems thought up by someone who has never skied.
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You know it makes sense.
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The whole thing looks like a hoax to me. 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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snowball, it's clearly to attract spectators, not skiers. I envisage that skiers and boarders of various ability levels will be employed by the site owner, who will pay them a decent wage, possibly with a bonus if they actually ski/board, and sell tickets to the public to watch the hilarious chaos that will inevitably ensue. Seats at the low and hih points of the disc will be at a premium, to catch the collisions and the slow skiers/boarders setting off backwards down the down side of the disc.
BTW, SnowVolution have a European patent application, EP 1292370, which looks as if it will be granted shortly, to a rotary ski slope (not tha tthat proves anything much). If you want one in your garden you'd better start talking licences with them!
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Poster: A snowHead
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What would the weight of the snow on that thing be?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| snowball wrote: |
| Also the fastest skiers go at least 10 times as fast as the slowest on these slopes, so only a few people would be happy. |
They've thought of that! There will be several concentric rings rotating at different angular speeds; you pick the one that suits you. It's a winner!
What I hadn't appreciated from the picture at the top of the thread (because I didn't look properly) is that it's outdoor, with the disc/annuluses rotating around the central building. Their website suggests 'a snowstorm in the desert', so the cooling kit must be pretty effective.
If it's a hoax, bh1, it's a fairly pricey one; their patent applications in Australia (?), China, Czech Rep, Canada, Europe, Hungary, Japan, Russia, NZ, Poland and USA will have cost them 10s of thousands of £.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I wouldn't waste another single second thinking about it:- I work in the construction/building industry, and it is total cr4p and will never happen.
Having said that, people in Dubai have the money to build virtually anything, regardless of practicality, energy consumption, global warming etc etc....
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Kramer wrote: |
| What would the weight of the snow on that thing be? |
For 10 cm depth over 50000 m2, I'd guess between 1000 - 3000 depending on how compact the snow is. The disc would probably weigh a few hundred thousand tonnes, so the snow wouldn't make much difference. The bearings supporting the disc would be something to see.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| richmond wrote: |
If it's a hoax, bh1, it's a fairly pricey one; their patent applications in Australia (?), China, Czech Rep, Canada, Europe, Hungary, Japan, Russia, NZ, Poland and USA will have cost them 10s of thousands of £. |
Patent applications in China and Russia.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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bh1, yes it does seem a bit optimistic. Still, there are plenty of people with more money than sense in Russia; some of them are reduced to spending it on poncey west London football clubs, I'm told.
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| FenlandSkier wrote: |
That's the key though Tomsk, your 300m long slope is just that, 300m long. On this rotating disc if you ski downhill at the same rate as the speed of rotation moves you back uphill then it would have an infinite length.
It's like a treadmill for skiers. |
Thats one hell of a treadmill!
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Regarding the speed of skiing...if the disk is fairly wide then those skiing nearer the middle (pivot) would have to go slower than those skiing near the edge.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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hellfiresliding, and those skiing near the edge would be flung off by centripetal/fugal/whatever force, which would be a buzz.
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richmond, It would be fun to be in control of how fast it spins.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Quote: |
kosciosco wrote
Thats one hell of a treadmill!
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You can get a treadmill for skiiers already, I saw one at the Metro ski show last week. It looked like a big white belt sander that pivoted to increase the slope angle, ! Can't find the website though 
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WayneC, I know of the more conventional treadmill type ones, I think I posted a link to one once before with a video of someone using it.
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You know it makes sense.
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| WayneC wrote: |
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kosciosco wrote
Thats one hell of a treadmill!
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You can get a treadmill for skiiers already, I saw one at the Metro ski show last week. It looked like a big white belt sander that pivoted to increase the slope angle, ! Can't find the website though |
Was it the Skier's Edge?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Dont mean to be negative here but im sure it wont get off the planning stage as always with these companies and there 'plans' on building a snowdome..
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FAQ
It looked great fun for watching the tv while skiing! So much more fun than a running treadmill.
