Artificial SnowArtificial snowmaking was formerly widely used only in America and Canada, however it has now been adopted almost universally in every resort in Europe, to a greater or lesser extent. There are now many resorts with over 50% of their pistes guaranteed by artificial snow. Resorts can calculate exactly how much snow is required to ‘guarantee’ the season and they make the snow early when temperatures are colder.
There are three different types of snow making machine; compressed air guns at ground level which are the most expensive and work at zero degrees, fan guns which are mid-priced and work at minus three degrees and the cheapest are the tall guns (giraffe) high above the ground which work at minus five degrees. Thus the colder the temperature, the cheaper it is to make snow. The snowmaking machines are, of course, being improved year on year as technology improves, which has a major impact on their efficiency and resource use. However they are controversial... |  What do you think? Contribute to our discussion forum
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The case against...They use a lot of energy
They are unsightly and leave ‘litter’ on the mountain They use a lot of water Reservoirs are required to collect water for snowmaking which damage wetlands and are unsightly Rivers; their flows, aquatic life and biodiversity, are altered due to water being diverted for snowmaking The artificial snow takes longer to melt at the end of the season impacting vegetation growth Additives in the artificial snow affect the natural vegetation Artificial snow changes the natural melt / frost / freeze patterns | The case for...They guarantee the season for the resort, allowing it to economically depend on skiing
Snow depths are guaranteed protecting the land underneath from skiers and grooming machines Delayed snow melt actually protects fragile alpine vegetation from repeated early spring freeze/thaw |
The way forward...
So what is the way forward? It is of paramount importance for villages to continue to count on downhill skiing, in spite of the threat of climate change that may itself threaten it. Entire communities and local economies need to manage their destination responsibly whilst they take time to diversify and reduce their overall reliance on downhill skiing.
Therefore ski resorts can take a number of steps to mitigate the negatives...
1. All snowmaking operations should be ISO14001 certified, which will improve overall efficiency.
2. All snowmaking machines should be run off renewable energy.
3. Resorts should select the most efficient machines from a resource (energy and water) perspective.
4. All snow guns should be removed in the summer months and pipes buried underground.
5. The water used can continue to come from rain water collected into reservoirs or from rivers, however if taken from a river, an environmental impact analysis should be conducted to calculate the exact amount that can be removed without impact to the flora and fauna.
6. Any water used derived from a river should be filtered so that additional nutrients are not added to the soil.
7. Reservoirs should a) undergo an environmental impact analysis, b) not damage existing wetlands and c) contribute to the natural environment by maintaining or creating new habitats. They should be created to blend in such that they can be a beauty spot in summer.
8. Additives should not be added to the snow.
9. Artificial snow should not be made above 2200m - it should not be required anyway and a longer melt time at the end of the season at this alititude does not allow the fragile high alpine plants to go through their full growing cycle before the beginning of the next season.
If the provision of artificial snow is organised and maintained in the above manner, the impacts to the environment can be minimised. The key point to responsible destination management is that all of the above can be applied either pro-actively or in retrospect. All of the above steps should be taken in advance, however even if there are resorts not running in this manner currently, ie they have already created a reservoir or are already taking water from a river, they can retrospectively conduct the impact analysis and reassess what flows may be taken or what can be done to improve the habitats around a reservoir.
If you would like to learn more about the scientific studies conducted on this subject – please click here
Therefore ski resorts can take a number of steps to mitigate the negatives...
1. All snowmaking operations should be ISO14001 certified, which will improve overall efficiency.
2. All snowmaking machines should be run off renewable energy.
3. Resorts should select the most efficient machines from a resource (energy and water) perspective.
4. All snow guns should be removed in the summer months and pipes buried underground.
5. The water used can continue to come from rain water collected into reservoirs or from rivers, however if taken from a river, an environmental impact analysis should be conducted to calculate the exact amount that can be removed without impact to the flora and fauna.
6. Any water used derived from a river should be filtered so that additional nutrients are not added to the soil.
7. Reservoirs should a) undergo an environmental impact analysis, b) not damage existing wetlands and c) contribute to the natural environment by maintaining or creating new habitats. They should be created to blend in such that they can be a beauty spot in summer.
8. Additives should not be added to the snow.
9. Artificial snow should not be made above 2200m - it should not be required anyway and a longer melt time at the end of the season at this alititude does not allow the fragile high alpine plants to go through their full growing cycle before the beginning of the next season.
If the provision of artificial snow is organised and maintained in the above manner, the impacts to the environment can be minimised. The key point to responsible destination management is that all of the above can be applied either pro-actively or in retrospect. All of the above steps should be taken in advance, however even if there are resorts not running in this manner currently, ie they have already created a reservoir or are already taking water from a river, they can retrospectively conduct the impact analysis and reassess what flows may be taken or what can be done to improve the habitats around a reservoir.
If you would like to learn more about the scientific studies conducted on this subject – please click here
All resorts need to look to address the above steps in order to contribute to Responsible Skiing
