With climate change affecting weather patterns and snowfalls becoming more unpredictable, some ski resorts are stockpiling snow to spread across their slopes for the coming ski season.
At the beginning of the year, CNN.com reported that Levi in Finland had created nine storage areas where it had gathered around 200 000 cubic metres of snow. The snow mounds are covered with 70mm-thick mats using Finnfoam – an insulating material used in construction. An additional waterproof sheet then further protects stockpiled snow, which can keep temperatures just above 2,5°C throughout the summer.
“At the moment under our mats in the north part of Finland, the melting rate is under 13%, which is pretty good,” said Kalle Palander, Sales Director for Snow Secure, the company responsible for the insulating technique.
The snow that has been stockpiled can then be used to layer runs, meaning the resort can open in early October ahead of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, which takes place each November.
According to BBC.com, Levi is well-versed in stockpiling snow and has been perfecting this method since 2016. Other resorts in the area, such as Ruka, have followed suit. Ruka currently has five mounds of approximately 30 000 cubic metres each in storage. Come October, 80-90% of these stores will remain and be enough to cover at least three downhill slopes and the resort’s snow park.
Antti Karava, CEO of Ruka and Pyha Ski Resorts, said a decade 10 ago they could guarantee good snow conditions from early December until April.
“Now, with snow farming, we can guarantee good ski conditions from early October until the second week of May,” she said.
Although stockpiling doesn’t provide enough snow to entirely cover slopes and is often supplemented with manmade snow from snow-making machines, it is giving resorts the means to provide skiing opportunities for visitors in the future.
