Snowmaking

Snowmaking, in principle, is relatively simple: water is pulled from a water source, pumped onto the mountain through miles of pipelines that are in the woods or underground paralleling our ski runs. Machines compress air and follows, in a separate pipe, the same route the water flows. Air and water hydrants are attached and placed along the edges of the runs that allow the snowmaker access to the water and air, under high pressure. The snowmaker in turns uses separate hoses to feed the air and water into a slope side snowgun or fangun. The guns and fans atomize the water into a fine spray. If the outside air is cold and dry enough, the small water particles freeze into snow before they land on the slopes.

The colder and drier the air, the more water can be added to the mixture at each gun and then converted into snow. Snow quality - wet or dry - is controlled by increasing or decreasing water volume. In cold, dry conditions several feet of snow can be made under each gun, and they have to be moved often to spread the snow evenly. Under ideal conditions (28 degrees and lower and low humidity), Pats Peak with pumps going full bore could fill the typical outdoor swimming pool in about 3 minutes!

While the basic principle is simple. Engineering factors must be balanced against each other.
The list is long:

• What areas should be covered?
• What are the climate conditions?
• What are the snowfall, hill contour, exposure, and solar loss factors?
• How many skiers and snowboarders are expected to use the trail system?
• Which type of snow machines to use?
• At what capacity?
• At what initial costs, operating costs and maintenance costs?

 

STYLES OF MAKING SNOW >>