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rob123


Posts: 287
Joined: Nov 2007
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 07.19hrs on Tue 19 Oct 10
looks like it might be cold enough over the next few days to give the snow cannon at CML a wee test run , it would be interesting to know how much could be made in one night , as it would be easy to measure with little snow around. It would also be interesting to see how a large pile copes with the temp as it warm up again. Maybe be able to start a base around the zig zags.

flugeryl


Posts: 2307
Joined: Oct 2004
Last Visited: 12:40
11th Mar 2021
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Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 20.50hrs on Tue 19 Oct 10
Hipennine Wrote:
The inside facts on Lake Louise snow fences used for farming snow:



And this:





Edited 1 times. Last edit at 08.09hrs Wed 4 Aug 10 by Hipennine.



its too windy with not enough staff for snow farming in scotland....so I have been told when I mentioned this before, although I quoted sunshine's use of snow farming on goats eye mountain

Be Nice to Skiers, they have it hard enough already

Hipennine


Posts: 1061
Joined: Dec 2005
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 06.37hrs on Wed 20 Oct 10
flugeryl Wrote:



its too windy with not enough staff for snow farming in scotland....so I have been told when I mentioned this before, although I quoted sunshine's use of snow farming on goats eye mountain

The Milkman has the most fun


Aye, I've heard this before, but the people who say that, have clearly not spent any significant time in the high-alps or rockies. You are absolutely correct about Goat's Eye - tremendous snow gathering below the tree line, but scoured rock scree above, which without the snow farming that goes on, would be unski-able for the masses. In fact, if you head uphill from the top of the Goat's Eye chair, it's often a yomp over rock and wind polished ice, whilst the "farmed" slopes below the chair are corduroy powder.

Wind speeds over 100kmh are commonly recorded in the western alps above 2000m, and early season, it is not uncommon for the available sliding to be between snow fences or in natural gulleys at higher exposed locations. Pic attached shows overnight damage to infrastructure in Leukerbad in Dec 2008 just to show the power of high alpine wind.The sign is an anodised steel structure !





Edited 1 times. Last edit at 06.43hrs Wed 20 Oct 10 by Hipennine.

Attachments: leukerbad wind damage.jpg (48kB)  
HighRustler


Posts: 261
Joined: Apr 2007
Last Visited: 17:28
23rd Nov 2020
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 18.41hrs on Wed 20 Oct 10
Agree with Hipennine about Goat's Eye at Sunshine. Sunshine sits on the Continental Divide and the top of Goat's Eye is a rocky windswept place that wouldn't look out of place at a Scottish ski area. When I was there a few years ago they used flimsy plastic looking fences that could be moved depending on the wind direction to capture the snow. Seemed to work very well. If Sunshine can farm snow given the winds they receive and the terrain they have then maybe it wouldn't be as ineffective as some people think here?

flugeryl


Posts: 2307
Joined: Oct 2004
Last Visited: 12:40
11th Mar 2021
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Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 19.12hrs on Wed 20 Oct 10
so maybe its time we now here from the ski resorts their plans /or not for snow-farming with an explaination of the pros and cons of this activity in the scottish situation


Be Nice to Skiers, they have it hard enough already

Psstnbooly


Posts: 31
Joined: Jul 2010
Last Visited: 21:06
15th Dec 2014
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 17.42hrs on Thu 21 Oct 10
Attached is a pic of the same snowguns used at glenshee after 1.5hrs. You can see wind plays a part in disctibution but machines need constant/regular adjustment. Obviously a covering of snow already but you can see how many it takes to even scratch the surface - And remember they have access to electric all the way unlike here!

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

Attachments: snowgun.jpg (179kB)  
AndyWeir1985


Posts: 69
Joined: Jan 2008
Last Visited: 14:01
7th Nov 2010
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 14.01hrs on Sun 7 Nov 10
With the forecast cold temperatures over the next few days, and generally over the rest of the month according to some sources, should they get the snow gun(s?) fired up and start putting down a base in some key strategic locations?

Sure, it may ultimately melt before the season begins properly, but it is a positive approach to adopt and if some survives, it could be very important in a supposedly drier than average winter.

I know this is not a direct comparison in terms of climate, as central Norway has a much more stable cold throughout winter, but look at what the guns have achieved in recent days with similar temperatures to Cairngorm:

[www.hafjell.no]





adam


Posts: 85
Joined: Feb 2008
Last Visited: 19:51
2nd Mar 2016
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 14.51hrs on Sun 7 Nov 10
looks like a good 12 hours of possible snowmaking at cairngorm. surly this would be a good time or them to have a play wih it and to fine tune it before the seaso kicks off

Jamie


Posts: 987
Joined: Jan 2002
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 15.28hrs on Sun 7 Nov 10
adam Wrote:
surly this would be a good time or them to have a play wih it and to fine tune it before the seaso kicks off


In December 1963 on the other side of the Cairngorms, the developers of the Mar Lodge Ski Centre might have wished that they had 'fine tuned' their snow-making equipment in advance too. The first natural snow of the winter had just arrived, and it was arranged that a large gathering of people and press would witness the first switching on of the snow-making plant. This would have been a good PR opportunity, except that all that happened was that the ten guns shot out jets of water and melted what snow was already there!

dj_colinbell


Posts: 57
Joined: Dec 2009
Last Visited: 12:45
16th Jan 2020
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 12.00hrs on Wed 10 Nov 10
I take it the snow gun hasn't been fired up at all this season? I would have thought it would have been an idea to fire it up at every opportunity to see how much snow can be generated and to see the lasting effects of it?



alan


Posts: 10768
Joined: Nov 1994
Last Visited: 17:02
27th Mar 2024
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Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 12.09hrs on Wed 10 Nov 10
It's a shame there isn't hoses or pipes in place to reach the lower Gunbarrel with it. One gun on the Zig Zags isn't going to make much impression, but it could make a real difference to the sometimes problematic bottom of the Cas Tow track and M1 queuing area entry.

daveski


Posts: 1506
Joined: Jan 2008
Last Visited: 10:01
28th Apr 2019
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Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 17.37hrs on Wed 10 Nov 10
Colin responded to a post on his blog - they are finsihing off maintenance work getting everything else ready for start of season. Understandable, its been a short summer maintenance period but they manged to get a shed load of stuff done which included bringing forward the train maintenance, giving them an early opportunity try out their digging techniques on the tunnel.





Olderalan


Posts: 1510
Joined: Feb 2006
Last Visited: 15:23
7th Apr 2019
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Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 08.51hrs on Tue 14 Dec 10
Bump.
Any new users who have an interest in snowmaking will find plenty of info on this thread, although it's become a bit less topical over last winter and this...
daveski: you were actually the last person to post on this thread....dementia kicking in?

Regards

Olderalan


daveski


Posts: 1506
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Last Visited: 10:01
28th Apr 2019
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Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 09.24hrs on Tue 14 Dec 10
Olderalan Wrote:
..
daveski: you were actually the last person to post on this thread....dementia kicking in?

Regards

Olderalan

Think it must be - that or snow blindness

This is what i was intended to post

Colin posted this on his blog, some disappointing news, but what is key I think is that they are not giving up.


"no we have not had much time or real reason at the moment to switch on the cannon. When we had it on a couple of weeks ago, it soon became apparent that we have no where near enough water supply to run one cannon for more than 6 hours with what we have at the moment. To run say 3 or 4 cannons we would need to have a larger water storage facility than we currently have and a larger pumping capacity. Whether that is with a large pumping station, with utilities to standpipes, or with portable pumps near an adequate water supply, would need to be decided. I guess it will take quite a bit of discussion and costing to see what the next step is. Are we in to a cold winter cycle now with the effects of “climate change”? I guess it will depend on how the next couple of winter’s turn out. I have had a call from a company “Techno Alpin” expressing an interest in carrying out a demo or trial on the hill, so i will keep you informed.
Cheers
Colin"



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 09.27hrs Tue 14 Dec 10 by daveski.

dj_colinbell


Posts: 57
Joined: Dec 2009
Last Visited: 12:45
16th Jan 2020
Re: Snow making
Date Posted: 11.01hrs on Tue 14 Dec 10
They've had that snow cannon a year now and its taken them this long to work out they don't have enough water to run it. Could something like that not be worked out by reading the instruction manual or the some info from the manufacturer? I find it flabbergasting.


The line that they've not had much "real reason" to switch it on also leaves me dumbfounded. Surely the reason for having ONE snow cannon is for testing purposes, having an abundance of snow doesnt change the object of testing a snow cannon. They should have had this thing up and running much more and they would know a fair bit more than............ we need more water!

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