See the post in page 2 of this thread, made by Alan, for info about the location of the existing water main on CM. SEPA..Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.

Regards
Olderalan

Thanks for that Olderalan, useful information.

Generally there are obviously hurdles to get over but it strikes me that if the will were there snowmaking could be made viable reasonably quickly.

What is ominous though is that there seems to be little appetite on the part of CML for even exploring the issue.

I've had a word up at cairngorm and from what I gathered when the resorts were bricking it earlier this year from lack of snow they got together and arranged a meeting with the first minister.... that so much is fact... what else ive heard through the grapevine is that it has something to do with funding for snowmaking.....

From Zero to a ski run overnight:





Edited 1 times. Last edit at 22.14hrs Sun 28 May 06 by alan.

Attachments: perisher2.jpg (41kB)  

Exactly, I've boarded in New South Wales, and the snow making facilities they have there are fantastic. The resorts will be opening on the long weekend in June, with or without a snowfall. But at least the man-made snow will tide them over till the inevitable dump arrives. It is obvious that Australians, and the Australian authorities take sport and outdoor activities a lot more seriously than we do in Britain.

It's embarrassing really that in terms of snowmaking, Scotland's resorts are way, way behind the rest of the world

copied:

More good news from down under. Wintery conditions and falling temperatures meant Queenstown’s Coronet Peak got snowmaking operations underway last night (30 May 2006).

Below freezing temps cold enough to test snow-making gear
Temperatures dropped to minus -3.5C on the upper slopes and -2.9C on the lower mountain throughout the night providing the snowmaking crew with their first opportunity to put the ski area's snowmaking system through its paces.

“80 snow guns were operational between 6:30pm last night and 11:00am this morning, concentrating on the M1, Million Dollar, Big Easy, Shirt Front and Wall Street trails and Fruju halfpipe,” reported the Ski Area manager..

23 new snow guns installed in past 3 months
"Over the past three months we’ve worked to install an additional 23 state-of-the art new snow guns. We have also expanded water supplies and the pump station, which have increased our snowmaking capacity by 35% - it’s great to have the right conditions to crank up the new equipment for the first time.”

Snowmaking equipment should enhance last year's new chairlift
The additional snowmaking equipment has been installed to enhance last year's developments which included the addition of the brand new Greengates Express six-seater chairlift and associated new trails.

The fully automatic system is the most extensive and advanced snowmaking system in the Southern Hemisphere and is designed to provide quality snow throughout a long season.

Coronet Peak is on schedule for the planned June 10 opening day.

[www.nzski.com]

I think they'll still need some natural snow.....! Fortunately Mt Hutt (their cam is on the same site) is looking much better.

I hope the snow continues as i am off there on the 7th July for a week on my honeymoon!!!! still cant belive i got my new wife to be convinced!!!! then we are off for two weeks in fiji!! i havent stopped the snowdances since the beginning of this season!!!

Came accross this

[mysnowsports.com]

Conclusions? The IDE Snowmaker makes snow production possible at temperatures well above freezing (up to +30°C), in large quantities and with relatively low energy consumption for the volumes involved. The technology is not new; it has been applied for more than 15 years in various industrial sectors, where it is used all around the world for cooling purposes.


IDE - Snowmaker spec main features

* Snow production at any ambient temperature
* 200 to 2,000 m³ per day and machine.
* High-quality snow, environmentally-friendly and without chemical additives
* Low energy costs and labour expenditure.
* Fully-automatic control system.




Edited 1 times. Last edit at 09.06hrs Wed 28 Jun 06 by dhorsley.

They things wont be cheap mate, plus as they are not mobile they will make a hefty mark on the landscape as quite a few will be needed..

Said it afore, but I think for our resorts should look at mostly air/water guns for there snowmaking as these make snow at higher temps than snow cannons, yes cannons pupmp oot mair snow, but only when temps are low do they become efficiant(-6 and below I think)..

The science behind making snow aint that hard, B&Q sell all thats needed tae make snow.(home use say)

"“Absolutely. Without snowmaking Thredbo and many other Australian resort wouldn’t even be on the map anymore. It’s an amazing thing and the results speak for themselves, “ he (Thredbo Mountain Manager Werner Siegenthaler) said.


[thredbo.com.au]

Says it all really. C'mon Scotland!

There is an open air ski slope at Diggerland in Kent.
It has "unique snow-making machinery from Snowmagic in the USA, makes over 100 tons of fresh snow every day."
I’m guessing the technology must be similar to the IDE Snowmaker that Dave posted above.
If they can do it in Kent why not 500 miles north?
Getting a water supply to the slopes can’t be that hard.
They have a road to the ptarmigan and a railway station. Surly a water main is within the realms of possibility.
To quote Alan:

"Water supply for snowmaking has been less of an issue since the Funicular was built, as a there is a water mains system and pumping station (building on the Zig Zags) that is able to move water up/down the mountain from the various water sources."

Your your butt in gear cairngorm and join the rest of the world.
How many ski resorts in Europe, North America and down under don't have snow making?




Edited 1 times. Last edit at 20.41hrs Sat 8 Jul 06 by II.

Found 40 odd air/water used snowguns for sale at about £100/200 each!

Now if I had water at my resort, I would probaly pick a good few of these up, then go hire some tow behind compressors, and start making snow when the season kicks of/temps allow!

Can't remember where I saw it, but recently saw same equipment being used in a TV news clip, to cool down summer visitors. - Blowing water spray/mist at a crowd of hot tourists.

So you could hire them out Summer & Winter. - Snap up those water guns.