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Dear Reader,
here our latest news from Australia and New Zealand!
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The guns are back in action at Perisher
Five weeks before the official start of the season for 2009, Perisher received over 40 cm of natural snow across the entire ski area.
These cold temperatures allowed snowmaking to commence earlier than normal. In addition, Perisher was also the first resort in the Southern Hemisphere to kick-start their snowmaking expansion efforts with the addition of 68 new guns covering Happy Valley, Crossroads, Snowy Trails and top to bottom Towers Run on Mt. Perisher including:
- 9 x T60 guns on towers
- 1 x T60 mobile gun
- 1 x Piano mobile gun and
- 57 x A30 guns
This brings the total number of TechnoAlpin snowguns at Perisher to 110. This new equipment plus installation of TechnoAlpin's new, state of the art, fully automated snowmaking operating system - the new ATASSplus - has set a new benchmark in Australian ski resort snow management. Up to nine times more energy efficient than existing equipment and delivering better quality and more reliable snow.
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More water for Coronet Peak
Sarah Sue's 89 million litre snowmaking reservoir will significantly improve the ski area's ability to produce 'a lot more snow' according to Ski Area Manager, Hamish McCrostie.
This is all part of the resorts final stage of their 7 year plan including snowmaking, environmental practices and sustainable land use policy puts into use TechnoAlpin's fully automated snowmaking system and soon to be commissioned pumping station to deliver better skiing conditions for guests across the entire mountain. Construction on the reservoir is complete with only filling to be completed in May. Water and snow melt is now directed to fill the reservoir and as per today the Sarah Sue reservoir is 76,000 m³ full. At 1200 m above sea level the water remains at 0°C, being 20% more efficient than if taken from elsewhere. In 2008, NZSki Ltd's investment in snowmaking included installation of:
- 148 snowguns
- 2 reservoirs
- 2 wells and
- 2 new pump stations
Now with over 60 cm of snow in the past weeks, there is a good base for the season opening on 6th June.
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Sabotage
We finally cracked a mysterious case of sabotage to one of our lance snow guns recently. The culprit was eventually caught on camera. Local police indicated it may prove difficult to press charges - this is one for the birds!
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The new PE pit: the flyweight champion
Even the pits are the product of intelligent design and engineering at TechnoAlpin, and the new PE pit is no exception.
It is a centrifugal casting in a sandwich design and a new benchmark in terms of low weight, suitability for airlifting, stability, easy placement, short installation times and user-friendliness. Wall thickness has been kept to a minimum through the use of high-grade materials such as high-density linear polyethylene R200 for the inner and outer skin, the lightweight galvanized S235JR sheet steel used for the reinforcement, and the PU foam used to fill the cavities and stiffen the structure. The result is a pit with a total weight of only 260 kg including the manhole cover, ladder and steel footing for a lance or 1.6 m hoist. Like all pits from TechnoAlpin, the PE pit can be used to install the various types of hydrants, a lance valve block and/or an air valve for installations with central air supply.
There is also room for one or two connection boxes for 240 mm² power cabling. Pit heating and lighting are provided for. The PE pit can be completely fitted out ex works or on site in a valley location and then airlifted into place. In view of the pit’s low weight, helicopters like the Ecurueil or Lama easily have enough power for the job.
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