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dave-fisher


Posts: 59
Joined: Oct 2010
Last Visited: 19:05
8th Sep 2015
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 05.21hrs on Sat 29 Jan 11
The cannons were up and running on Claybokie, dink dink and plastic slope this evening giving the bare(ish) cairnwell side of Glenshee some more cover. would be fantastic if the one day got the snow cannons up to butcharts or up the cairnwell but it would be a huge investment.
Psstnbooly


Posts: 31
Joined: Jul 2010
Last Visited: 21:06
15th Dec 2014
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 11.03hrs on Sat 29 Jan 11
I have said it before, the future is in Snowmaking.

Sounds obvious, but the one thing we can still rely on is some sub zero temperatures and as such, with technology in snowmaking improving,this is the way forward for periods like we face just now.

Technoalpin M18 - Automatic, no adjustment necessary, leave overnight and return in the morning. This machine adjusts to the conditions and all you need is a water and power source. I've seen these in action, they are the business for Scottish ski areas.

Problem with lances is they are an expensive part of a large system! With a canon, they can be moved on wheels or lifted using the Cats. They privde more than enough snow and give flexibility.



Its not how steep you can climb, its what you leave behind!



Edited 4 times. Last edit at 11.06hrs Sat 29 Jan 11 by Psstnbooly.
PeterS


Posts: 980
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13th Mar 2021
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Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 22.34hrs on Sat 29 Jan 11
The lances also look like street lights and would destroy some of the character of Scottish skiing. Mobile cannons are well.....mobile.
alan


Posts: 10768
Joined: Nov 1994
Last Visited: 17:02
27th Mar 2024
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Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 23.53hrs on Sat 29 Jan 11
PeterS Wrote:
The lances also look like street lights and would destroy some of the character of Scottish skiing. Mobile cannons are well.....mobile.


Depends where they are going, air/water guns could be put on towers, aligned with the lift lines, put on telescopic poles along fence lines. An automated system to be effective needs the guns of whatever form in place, not lots of hydrants and 2 or 3 fan guns which constantly need moved around. Not all fan guns are mobile either, not like the one CML currently have that can be towed about.

Now that 6-man White Lady Chairlift replacing the T-bar with guns on every tower....
flugeryl


Posts: 2307
Joined: Oct 2004
Last Visited: 12:40
11th Mar 2021
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Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 18.40hrs on Sun 27 Feb 11
I know glenshee used snow making this season to patch up some holes in Jan....but has anyone else done any or going to before end of the season

Be Nice to Skiers, they have it hard enough already
alan


Posts: 10768
Joined: Nov 1994
Last Visited: 17:02
27th Mar 2024
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Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 12.49hrs on Wed 31 Aug 11
This from yesterday's Thredbo (Aus) Report:


Weather Village
-4°C. It's another spectacular day with a big blue sky. There is a light breeze. The expected top temperature between 9am and 3pm is +9°C.

Snow Conditions
There is a good cover of snow across the mountain. The snowmakers were blazing overnight topping up the cover on the lower half of the mountain.



Kieran


Posts: 142
Joined: Jan 2008
Last Visited: 02:51
11th Dec 2013
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 12.22hrs on Fri 16 Sep 11
First ever trip up to Perisher tonight and can see the groomers all over the mountain working on the runs. Been a very mild August and not too much snow in September either.

Was a really good start to the season from what i heard but things were kept good through August by running the snowmaking during the nights.

No problem for them to have ~30 lifts and 60 runs open this late in the season due to the snowmaking. If only there was something similar in Scotland winking smiley

Will report back with Pics grinning smiley
Hipennine


Posts: 1061
Joined: Dec 2005
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 12.57hrs on Fri 16 Sep 11
Kieran,

I've heard that all that snowmaking results in very expensive lift passes in Oz - can you confirm ?
alan


Posts: 10768
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Last Visited: 17:02
27th Mar 2024
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Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 13.14hrs on Fri 16 Sep 11
A comparison between Thredbo (since that's the resort that various mentions have been made off here regards snow making) and CairnGorm Mountain:

Thredbo Day Ticket is 6.9x Australian Minimum Wage
CairnGorm Day Ticket is 5.3x UK Minimum Wage
Hipennine


Posts: 1061
Joined: Dec 2005
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 14.30hrs on Fri 16 Sep 11
alan Wrote:
A comparison between Thredbo (since that's the resort that various mentions have been made off here regards snow making) and CairnGorm Mountain:

Thredbo Day Ticket is 6.9x Australian Minimum Wage
CairnGorm Day Ticket is 5.3x UK Minimum Wage


Interesting, 30% more on the face of it!

However, as statistics can prove anything, what is the Oz min wage, and what % of the Oz median wage is that ? (and what % of UK median wage is the UK min wage ?)

Edit, just looked up:

UK Min wage is £5.93/hour
Oz min wage is £13.15 per hour at current exchange rates, so a Thredbo ticket is nearly 3 times CML at current exchange rates ?



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 14.38hrs Fri 16 Sep 11 by Hipennine.
Doug_Bryce


Posts: 1373
Joined: Jan 2003
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 14.51hrs on Fri 16 Sep 11
Quote:
I've heard that all that snowmaking results in very expensive lift passes in Oz - can you confirm ?


$107 at Thredbo.
At current exchange rates that is an incredible £70 lift pass eye popping smiley
Proof that snowmaking isn't cheap ?

[www.thredbo.com.au]

For comparison a lift pass in Tasmania, where they have no snow making, is only $55.00.

[www.skibenlomond.com.au]



Edited 2 times. Last edit at 15.05hrs Fri 16 Sep 11 by Doug_Bryce.
alan


Posts: 10768
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27th Mar 2024
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Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 15.27hrs on Fri 16 Sep 11
Current exchange rates being a key phrase there - the Aussie $ is exceptionally strong atm, which is why I used the minimum wage comparison, it's probably a truer comparison in relative cost to a local than pricing in £s.

Any capital investment in snowsports costs the Aussie and NZ ski fields a significant premium over most of the rest of the world, simply due to where they are while most of the manufacturers are based in Europe or North America. Something which has been mentioned as a contributory factor to lift pass prices in the past.

While Thredbo is a full commercial resort, Tasmania areas are club fields aren't they?





Edited 1 times. Last edit at 15.27hrs Fri 16 Sep 11 by alan.
DrHosking


Posts: 427
Joined: Jul 2004
Last Visited: 16:08
18th Mar 2019
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 15.28hrs on Fri 16 Sep 11
Hipennine Wrote:
alan Wrote:
A comparison between Thredbo (since that's the resort that various mentions have been made off here regards snow making) and CairnGorm Mountain:

Thredbo Day Ticket is 6.9x Australian Minimum Wage
CairnGorm Day Ticket is 5.3x UK Minimum Wage

Interesting, 30% more on the face of it!

However, as statistics can prove anything, what is the Oz min wage, and what % of the Oz median wage is that ? (and what % of UK median wage is the UK min wage ?)

Edit, just looked up:

UK Min wage is £5.93/hour
Oz min wage is £13.15 per hour at current exchange rates, so a Thredbo ticket is nearly 3 times CML at current exchange rates ?



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 15.38hrs Fri 16 Sep 11 by Hipennine.


if the min wage is £13.15 thats £500 a week, cant be right, if it is then im on the next plane out of here, will work in a cafe and earn £24k a year!

alan


Posts: 10768
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Last Visited: 17:02
27th Mar 2024
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Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 15.41hrs on Fri 16 Sep 11
The Aussie minimum wage is $15.51 at present.
tim1mw


Posts: 700
Joined: Nov 2006
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 11.04hrs on Sun 18 Sep 11
alan Wrote:
Current exchange rates being a key phrase there - the Aussie $ is exceptionally strong atm, which is why I used the minimum wage comparison, it's probably a truer comparison in relative cost to a local than pricing in £s.

Any capital investment in snowsports costs the Aussie and NZ ski fields a significant premium over most of the rest of the world, simply due to where they are while most of the manufacturers are based in Europe or North America. Something which has been mentioned as a contributory factor to lift pass prices in the past.


I would agree with that, I don't think the Aus areas are a fair comparison when trying to assess impact of snow making on ticket prices. East Coast US is a much fairer comparison, since the equipment costs are likely to be similar and the exchange rate more realistic.

Mountain Creek NJ, which is similarly reliant on heavy snow making, charges US$61.99 (£37.19) for a day pass at the weekend, and $49.99 (£29.99) mid week (2010/11 prices). That compares quite well to the prices here when you consider the cost of snow making. I suspect having the NY market on their door step helps to keep skier numbers high allowing for lower prices.

If you look at the larger ski areas to the north in VT, where snow making is also heavily used the prices are much higher, eg Stowe are charging US$88 Prime/$92 Peak (£52/£55.20) for a day pass. Again, more than we currently pay in Scotland or the Alps, but much less than the Aus prices.

US Federal Minimum wage is $7.25, so the ratios don't even bare thinking about, but the US minimum wage has always been very low compared to median income.

If you move out to the Rockies where I would presume far less snow making is required, the major resorts (Vail, Breckenridge, Aspen etc) are charging $90 plus, so I don't think the cost of making snow is the only factor feeding into the higher prices. I've always wondered if the average amount of holiday time workers get feeds into this, in Europe we think nothing of going for a weeks skiing holiday and the big ski areas mostly operate on a weekly rotation. This is unheard of in the US, where the ski areas are mostly geared up for separate weekend and mid week packages (usually with big discounts for mid week). If your target market skis less days per year on average, but you have the same infrastructure costs then you will have to charge more per day.
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