 Poster: A snowHead
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According to this article Austria spends 127 million Euros on snowmaking this winter. This is the highest sum ever in this country.
Sixty percent of the pistes in Austria is covered with snow guns.
For example, the resort of St. Johann/Tirol spent 11 million Euros on snowmaking this summer, and now they need only 60 hours to cover the whole resort (60 km runs)* with artificial snow.
Last season the revenue of the lift companies in Austria decreased by 7 percent compared to the prevoius season.
The lifts carried 21% less passangers than in 2005/2006.
It seems that Austria is still number 1 in Europe regarding the percentage of the artificial snow coverage.
*according to this site.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Timmaah, sorry if it was not clear. I meant they invested for the winter of 2007/2008.
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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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>>The "aerial ropeway companies" have had to invest into new snowguns because the days of -4°C weather (the optimal temperture) are soon vanishing.
Timmaah, Are they saying that they can make snow at higher temps?
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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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david@mediacopy,
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Timmaah, Are they saying that they can make snow at higher temps?
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It sounds to me as if they are saying that they need to be able to make enough snow in a shorter period of time. Last year I don't think this would have made much of a difference in a lot of resorts though.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| david@mediacopy wrote: |
>>The "aerial ropeway companies" have had to invest into new snowguns because the days of -4°C weather (the optimal temperture) are soon vanishing.
Timmaah, Are they saying that they can make snow at higher temps? |
I doubt they can make snow at much higher temperatures but as soon as the temps drop they can get the snow cannons on getting the place white quickly without having to wait for the next snowfall.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/snow-maker3.htm
"aerial ropeway companies" = cable car company
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here's a link to the details of snowmaking at planai , schladming. Pretty much 100% piste covered.
http://www.planai.at/winter/index_eng_3672_ENG_HTML.htm
Last season I think the manmade stuff made a big difference. Was able to ski down to valley (700m) into April on strips of white stuff. Whether it's global warming reality or perception the fact is any business is going to hedge it's bets, in this case mother nature producing enough natural snow. I assume the cost and technology of snowmaking has reached a point where it's clearly affordable for resorts to cover large areas. I think free market competition mixed with global warming hysteria, also drives resorts to install snowmaking. No doubt there are an ever increasing number of skiers/ boarders considering resort by percentage of psite covered with snowmaking.
If only they could make powder! Surley there is a piste basher that can puff up compacted snow into powder! Maybe just put a conventional basher into reverse gear 
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| david@mediacopy wrote: |
>>The "aerial ropeway companies" have had to invest into new snowguns because the days of -4°C weather (the optimal temperture) are soon vanishing.
Timmaah, Are they saying that they can make snow at higher temps? |
You can make snow at "positive" temperatures. I think it is the wet bulb temperature that needs to be -4C or lower. However I doubt they have many days like that in mid-altitudes in Austria. Drier areas such as the Hautes-Alpes can make snow at higher temperatures... if they have the water.
Snow canons are part of the marketing mix. Just as 10 years ago if you didn't have 100km + of runs now you need to have extensive snowmaking to attract the tour operators. It is not an effective weapon against global warming and climate change.
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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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iblair, that's the way I read it as well - they think they'll have less days on which it's cold enough to make snow than before, so they need to invest in more equipment.
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If correct, 60% snowgun coverage nationwide is impressive.
Especially when you compare it with Scotland, where the ratio is under 5%.
Snowguns are now as important as the resort height, the natural snow record, the glacier coverage, the skiarea size and the number of lifts.
Fake snow makes a big difference. I skied down to 1200m on a whitestrip in Les Arcs in Apr a few years back, when the natural snowline in some directions had melted up to almost 1800m. In Saalbach in early Jan last year, almost the entire resort would've been closed without their 90%+ snowgun coverage.
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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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They were certainly installing a few more snow canon when I was in Kitzbuhel this summer.
Our hotel owner told us last season had been helped a good bit by their snow cannons - he claimed four days of cold weather was enough for the cannons to sufficiently cover the runs.
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| kerekip wrote: |
According to this article Austria spends 127 million Euros on snowmaking this winter. This is the highest sum ever in this country.
Sixty percent of the pistes in Austria is covered with snow guns.
For example, the resort of St. Johann/Tirol spent 11 million Euros on snowmaking this summer, and now they need only 60 hours to cover the whole resort (60 km runs)* with artificial snow.
Last season the revenue of the lift companies in Austria decreased by 7 percent compared to the prevoius season.
The lifts carried 21% less passangers than in 2005/2006.
It seems that Austria is still number 1 in Europe regarding the percentage of the artificial snow coverage.
*according to this site. |
I dont think this was specifically because of last season.
Upgrades,pump houses, holding reservoirs,snowguns & all the planning & eventual orders would of been planned years in advance.
Dont forget the big resorts like St Anton they have had snowmaking capability for the last 25 yrs.
Austria is very generous to ski resorts by allowing the Lift/Snowmaking companys to pump the water out of the rivers for free !!
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FAQ
I'll translate it for the non-germans out there:
