Snow Farming and Snow Storages: Ensuring a Sustainable Future for Ski Resorts
For ski resorts, snow is not just a recreational surface; it’s their currency. However, climate change is making natural snowfall more unpredictable and winters shorter. In response, the industry has evolved from simple snowmaking to sophisticated seasonal snow management techniques known as snow farming and snow storage. These practices are no longer just a luxury but a fundamental strategy for business resilience and environmental sustainability.
What is Snow Farming?
Snow farming is the practice of collecting, piling, and actively preserving snow from one season to the next. Unlike daily snow grooming, snow farming is a long-term, strategic operation.
· The Process: At the end of the winter season, resorts use snow groomers to push all the remaining snow—both natural and machine-made—into massive piles, often called “snow mounds” or “whales.”
· The Insulation: The key to success is insulation. The snow piles are covered with specialized materials to protect them from summer sun and rain. Common insulating materials include:
· Wood Chips: A very effective and often locally sourced material. The layer of wood chips creates an air gap that acts as a superb insulator.
· Reflective Tarps/Fleeces: White or reflective coverings that deflect solar radiation.
· Sawdust and Sand: Also used in some locations with proven success.
· The Goal: To preserve as much snow volume as possible through the summer months so it can be redistributed on the slopes the following autumn, allowing for an earlier and more reliable season opening.
What are Snow Storages?
The term is often used interchangeably with snow farming, but “snow storage” can more specifically refer to the dedicated, strategic stockpiling of snow made specifically for preservation. While snow farming often uses end-of-season surplus, snow storage can involve producing extra snow explicitly to be saved for the next season.
A prime example is producing snow in March, when temperatures are still low, and immediately storing it under insulation, rather than just saving what’s left over from April.
How They Work: The Science of Preservation
The preservation relies on basic physics. A large, densely packed snow pile has a very high volume-to-surface-area ratio. This means that while the outer layer (typically 50-100 cm) will melt over the summer, the core remains frozen.
The insulating layer performs two critical functions:
- Reflects Solar Radiation: Preventing the sun’s energy from penetrating the pile.
- Creates a Thermal Barrier: Reducing heat transfer from the outside air and acting as a shield against summer rain, which would otherwise cause massive melt.
By autumn, the preserved snow pile might have a volume loss of only 10-30%, meaning 70-90% of the snow is saved.
Key Benefits for Ski Resorts and the Environment
- Guaranteed Early Season Opening: This is the primary business driver.Resorts can open specific key runs weeks or even months before natural snow arrives or consistent snowmaking temperatures return. This captures the crucial Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday markets.
- Reduced Reliance on Early-Season Snowmaking: Snowmaking is incredibly energy and water-intensive.By using preserved snow to kickstart the season, resorts can significantly reduce their energy consumption during the early winter, a major step towards lowering their carbon footprint.
- Climate Change Resilience and Business Planning: In an era of weather uncertainty,snow farming provides a buffer. It de-risks the investment in a ski season, allowing for more stable financial planning, staff hiring, and marketing campaigns with a confident opening date.
- Event Security: Resorts that host early-season World Cup events(like ski racing in Sölden, Austria, or Levi, Finland) are now entirely dependent on snow farming to guarantee a race-worthy surface on time.
- Water Resource Management: By preserving snow,resorts effectively “bank” water in solid form. When the snow is spread in the autumn, it melts and feeds into the watershed gradually, as opposed to a rapid melt in the spring. This can have benefits for local ecosystems.
Real-World Success Stories
· Alpes d’Huez, France: Famously uses a glacier-covered snow pile to ensure its Sarenne run—the longest black diamond in the Alps—opens early.
· Ruka, Finland & Levi, Finland: These Nordic resorts are pioneers, using extensive wood chip insulation to preserve snow for their early World Cup races in November.
· Sölden, Austria: The annual FIS World Cup opener relies entirely on a massive snow storage operation on the Rettenbach glacier.
· Arapahoe Basin, Colorado, USA: “The Beach” has used snow farming techniques to extend its season, often staying open into June, by protecting snow piles through the spring.
Challenges and Considerations
· Cost: The process is labor-intensive and requires investment in equipment and insulating materials (though wood chips can often be sourced cheaply).
· Logistics: Finding the right location for the snow pile is critical. It needs to be high-altitude, north-facing, and easily accessible for redistribution in the fall.
· Imperfect Solution: It is not a silver bullet. A consistently warm summer can still lead to significant melt, and it does not solve the problem of a entire warm winter.
Conclusion: A Pillar of the Future Ski Industry
Snow farming and snow storage represent a paradigm shift in mountain management. They move resorts from a reactive stance (“waiting for snow”) to a proactive one (“managing our snow resource year-round”).
While not a solution to the overarching challenge of climate change, these techniques are a vital form of adaptation. They enhance economic sustainability by securing the season and environmental sustainability by optimizing energy and water use. As winters continue to change, the resorts that have mastered the art and science of snow farming will be the ones that thrive, ensuring that the iconic joy of skiing can continue for generations to come.
