2021

Shahdag: A stroke of genius during the pandemic

In 2010 TechnoAlpin received its first major contract to construct a snowmaking facility in Shahdag, in Northern Azerbaijan. From that point onwards, the success story went from strength to strength, even in 2021. Despite many years of on-site experience, the 2021 project was different.
 

The sheer size of the project involving approximately 130 snow guns, 8.5 kilometers of lines and a brand new 14-pump machine room is already quite extraordinary. But to get this system up and running within 6 months is nothing less than a stroke of genius, particularly in 2021, when travel restrictions and material procurement bottlenecks were taking their toll on companies around the globe. But it didn't stop there! The TechnoAlpin team also faced increasingly new challenges on site. The new slopes were being constructed as the snowmaking system was being installed. "The planned slope layout was altered here and there - hence material calculations were no longer accurate," explains Site Manager, Luca Baraldo. "What's more, we couldn't finish one line, but often had to stop the work and restart on another slope." The new lifts under construction also had to be taken into consideration.

The project was also compounded by the geographical layout of the site. "The material unloading bay was quite some distance from the actual construction site. Transport through the ski resort was often difficult given the resources available," Luca Baraldo tells us. The journey to Shahdag was also far from easy: There are around 4,000 kilometers between TechnoAlpin's headquarters in Bolzano and Shahdag. Furthermore, there are 9 country borders, which obviously became a prime focus during the pandemic.
 

Nevertheless, despite all the odds and thanks to an impressive team effort, the installation work was as good as completed by early November. However, final testing could not be carried out as the power supply did not go live until the beginning of December. Then finally  the system became fully operational. There were no major hiccups and the season got off to a flying start.