Solution - SnowPod System
Snowmaking 101
Legacy snowmaking systems pump water from a distant lake or river, often over 2 miles away, then up the mountain. The typical system looks a lot like an umbrella.
Ski area pumps water up a large diameter pipe to the top of the mountain, from where it can be routed to snowmaking pipes running along the trails. The volume of water is limited by the report's pumping capacity. As a result, a typical resort can only power a fraction of its snow guns at a time.
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Ski areas are caught in a climate change trap, requiring ever-increasing snowmaking capacity to keep the slopes covered
Warmer weather, and somtimes rain, will melt the snow cover
Colder weather moves in within 24 hrs, creating a layer of ice, but snow-melt still flows underneath
Snowmelt drains to river and lakes
Ski resorts pump water back up the mountain to make fresh snow
Pumping water uphill is wasteful, energy-intensive, and contributes to climate change
Over $200,000 worth of snowmelt flows down a typical mountain every season
In a typical season, ski resorts will experience multiple warming events
Each event will melt substantial portions of the snow cover, and what is left often freezes the next day
A single badly timed warming event can ruin a critical holiday week
Resort's only way to recover has been to pump water up the mountain to make snow at great cost
The infrastructure to do this is so expensive and energy-intensive that many resorts can only make snow on one or two trails at a time
Benefit to Ski Resort
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"Recycling" this water while still on the mountain protects the environment
Featured on Bloomberg TV's Advancements with Ted Danson
Warmer weather, and somtimes rain, will melt the snow cover
Colder weather moves in within 24 hrs, creating a layer of ice, but snow-melt still flows underneath
Snowmelt drains to river and lakes
Ski resorts pump water back up the mountain to make fresh snow