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ropetow


Posts: 202
Joined: Sep 2006
Last Visited: 09:08
13th Apr 2021
Re: Glencoe Snow 2015
Date Posted: 12.51hrs on Mon 31 Aug 15
I thought that the current view was that snow fencing should be horizontal rails and not the old vertical chestnut paling?

igloo4you


Posts: 522
Joined: Oct 2009
Last Visited: 16:28
22nd Apr 2021
Re: Glencoe Snow 2015
Date Posted: 13.43hrs on Mon 31 Aug 15
ropetow, pluses and minuses for both types of fencing. Horizontal rail fencing is more expensive, needs larger posts, can be more wind affected and in our experience tends to shatter after a couple of seasons when the timber dries out. Chestnut fencing is cheaper, easier to install and more wind resistant. Plan is to use rail fencing where we have most issue with trapping snow, all other areas we will continue to use paling fencing. We are just about to do some trials this year with webbing fencing so watch this space.

alan


Posts: 10768
Joined: Nov 1994
Last Visited: 17:02
27th Mar 2024
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Re: Glencoe Snow 2015
Date Posted: 15.22hrs on Mon 31 Aug 15
Well engineered structural rail fencing will outlast pailing fencing and be far more effective, but at a cost in terms of material and labour and also in snow distribution depending on what is 'downwind'.

There has been a tendency in the past to fall into the trap of snow fencing is good, so more must be better - it isn't necessarily so and it's worth noting in recent years on CairnGorm problem areas have been improved by both increasing (OverYonder) and decreasing (M1 RaceTrack) snow fencing!

Years of research by US State Highway authorities show that rail fencing with 50% porosity is much more effective at snow trapping than pailing, but in a snowsports area you might not always want that - careful consideration of what happens downwind in various scenarios is required to avoid issues such as occurred on CairnGorm where excessive fencing on the M1 RaceTrack when combined with the Funicular superstructure just about killed off the White Lady.

A point worth noting with regards to the CairnGorm rail fences is that they are generally about 6ft, compared to 4ft for the pailing fences, but a 50% increase in fence height DOUBLES the potential snow volume that can be trapped.

A higher and less porous fence also has other less immediately obvious benefits, because it disrupts wind more it will reduce ablation rates in warm winds and because it is higher and more solid will reduce solar warming of the snow pack when at least part of the fence remains exposed.






Edited 3 times. Last edit at 15.24hrs Mon 31 Aug 15 by alan.

Attachments: homeroadshadow.jpg (329kB)  
Bomp


Posts: 172
Joined: Nov 2010
Last Visited: 17:00
22nd Apr 2021
Re: Glencoe Snow 2015
Date Posted: 04.44hrs on Tue 1 Sep 15
It's also WAY more comfortable to sit on when you need a rest ;-)

alan


Posts: 10768
Joined: Nov 1994
Last Visited: 17:02
27th Mar 2024
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Re: Glencoe Snow 2015
Date Posted: 20.01hrs on Thu 3 Sep 15
Andy getting September turns in on the Flypaper - truly remarkable and we're not aware of the Flypaper having been skied in the month of September before!



New Coire Polloch Tow by Old Mugs Alley:



More pix: [www.winterhighland.info]

sspeirs


Posts: 370
Joined: Mar 2008
Last Visited: 09:59
22nd Apr 2021
Re: Glencoe Snow 2015
Date Posted: 08.09hrs on Fri 4 Sep 15
the new webcam looks as if it will be a really useful addition for checking the snow cover lower down

alan


Posts: 10768
Joined: Nov 1994
Last Visited: 17:02
27th Mar 2024
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Re: Glencoe Snow 2015
Date Posted: 17.05hrs on Tue 20 Oct 15
Now have most of the mountain webcams back online as of this afternoon, but there will be some further interruptions to service over the remainder of the autumn. As new buildings are hooked into the power and the main power supply itself is upgraded, plus all phone lines and existing network has to be relocated and rewired for the new ticket office!

Hope to get the Summit hut and thus webcam and AWS back online by the end of the month, will update on progress here or hopefully we'll soon have reason to start the 2016 snow thread.

Hill has very definitely taken on it's autumn colours now:



Webcams: www.winterhighland.info/cams/glencoe .



Edited 3 times. Last edit at 17.08hrs Tue 20 Oct 15 by alan.

Attachments: access-2015.10.20.16.jpeg (68kB)  
flugeryl


Posts: 2307
Joined: Oct 2004
Last Visited: 12:40
11th Mar 2021
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Re: Glencoe Snow 2015
Date Posted: 11.10hrs on Wed 21 Oct 15
I take it fence height is dependent also on how deep you can get your posts in...looking at Glenshee FB page at excavations around new chair build and there is only 1m of topsoil before rock...not much chance of anything above 3-4ft unless you machine drive posts all the way down...which isnt easy to do 3000ft up a mountain

alan Wrote:
Well engineered structural rail fencing will outlast pailing fencing and be far more effective, but at a cost in terms of material and labour and also in snow distribution depending on what is 'downwind'.

There has been a tendency in the past to fall into the trap of snow fencing is good, so more must be better - it isn't necessarily so and it's worth noting in recent years on CairnGorm problem areas have been improved by both increasing (OverYonder) and decreasing (M1 RaceTrack) snow fencing!

Years of research by US State Highway authorities show that rail fencing with 50% porosity is much more effective at snow trapping than pailing, but in a snowsports area you might not always want that - careful consideration of what happens downwind in various scenarios is required to avoid issues such as occurred on CairnGorm where excessive fencing on the M1 RaceTrack when combined with the Funicular superstructure just about killed off the White Lady.

A point worth noting with regards to the CairnGorm rail fences is that they are generally about 6ft, compared to 4ft for the pailing fences, but a 50% increase in fence height DOUBLES the potential snow volume that can be trapped.

A higher and less porous fence also has other less immediately obvious benefits, because it disrupts wind more it will reduce ablation rates in warm winds and because it is higher and more solid will reduce solar warming of the snow pack when at least part of the fence remains exposed.

 





Edited 3 times. Last edit at 15.24hrs Mon 31 Aug 15 by alan.


Be Nice to Skiers, they have it hard enough already

Mountainaddict


Posts: 271
Joined: Nov 2006
Last Visited: 19:38
6th Jan 2021
Re: Glencoe Snow 2015
Date Posted: 09.01hrs on Sun 25 Oct 15
This morning's Glencoe cams showing a good dusting from mid mountain upwards smiling smiley

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