Browse Our Archives

When Ski Ward in central Massachusetts fired up its Latitude 90 all-weather snowmaking machine in earnest for the first time in October 2023, it was like Christmas in July. White flakes began falling, creating a mound of snow on the otherwise snowless slopes despite temperatures exceeding 80 degrees.

“That machine did everything they said it would do,” recalls Ski Ward owner John LaCroix. “Within two hours of unloading it, it was running.”

By November 1, about a month after starting the machine, Ski Ward had more than three feet of snow on its beginner slope, allowing the ski area to offer early-season learn-to-ski packages through another rainy and mild fall and early winter.

As the global climate continues to warm and ideal snowmaking days become scarcer, many ski areas are grappling with how to manage increasingly unfavorable conditions, which is contributing to an increased interest in all-weather snowmaking machines.

TRIED AND TRUE TECHNOLOGY 

The technology utilized by these machines isn’t new. For decades, similar refrigeration systems have been used to cool mines, flash-freeze fish, keep concrete cool, and for commercial air conditioning. Today’s all-weather snowmaking machines use various iterations of this technology, implementing the same compressors and condensers you’d find being used to cool the refrigeration aisle at the grocery store. 

Some systems utilize a barrel in which water is frozen on the interior wall before being scraped off and blown out as snow, while others use a plate system where water droplets are frozen on plates and then shaken out onto a conveyor belt, which transfers the ice to an auger to be ground into finer particles. Others yet use a hybrid technology that allows the machines to operate as more traditional fan systems when temperatures allow. 

Companies use different technology to get the snow onto the ground. Often the snow is propelled through PVC or flexible pipe systems using an air blower or compressed air.

Except for the hybrid machines, which are smaller and more mobile, most all-weather snowmaking systems are housed in shipping containers, which allows them to create snow internally, independent of outside ambient temperatures.

Growing demand in North America. European ski areas adopted all-weather snowmaking systems long before North American ski areas did, despite their potential for use in places like the U.S. Mid-Atlantic and Midwest.

According to Taylor Ogilvie, CEO of TechnoAlpin—which first began distributing all-weather technology in 2013—this is because many of the resorts that could benefit from these systems are small and don’t necessarily have the budget to invest in them.

“I think Europe was earlier to adopt this technology,” says Ogilvie. Germany’s Winterberg, for example, which utilizes eight of TechnoAlpin’s SnowFactory systems, “looks like you’re in a big American resort town, but the ski area is on a Mid-Atlantic or Midwest scale,” he says. “So, they had the financial scale of a high-volume resort combined with the issue of low snow. But we don’t have ski areas in the Midwest that see 20,000 people per day.”

While TechnoAlpin sees higher distribution of SnowFactory systems in Europe, Ogilvie is seeing increased demand from the North American market, especially in places like the southern Northeast U.S. and Mid-Atlantic, where climate change has had more of an impact in recent years.

Left: Ski Ward, Mass., president John LaCroix with the ski area’s new L60 from SMI/Latitude 90. Right: Opening day at Ski Ward on Oct. 23, 2023. All the snow was produced by its new all-weather snowmaking system.

SNOW BUSINESS 

All-weather snowmaking systems are useful for various needs, such as making snow in high-traffic areas, getting an early start to the season, and supplementing production for ski areas that have scarce windows of opportunity for traditional snowmaking. 

Extend the season. Ontario’s Boler Mountain, for example, had struggled with wet and warm weather, wind, and sun exposure on south-facing slopes. So, the ski area purchased a machine made by WeSnow (distributed by HKD Snowmakers in North America) in 2022. This new system successfully helped Boler cover 1.5 acres of terrain that serves as the entrance to four trails and the high-traffic offload area for the chairlift.

“When we first turned it on and the snow started coming out, we were like kids seeing snow for the first time,” says Boler director of operations Marty Thody. “It was about 20 degrees (Celsius, 68 Fahrenheit) out and we were getting a pile of snow—it was just mesmerizing.”

Initially, Thody thought they would simply run the machine for a month to get the season started and then use it as needed during warm spells. But once his team saw it in action, they ran it constantly until mid-February, resulting in Boler being one of the few resorts in the area to keep 100 percent of its terrain open through the 2022-23 season.

A marketing tool. For the smaller resorts that can afford to invest in all-weather snowmaking, there is an added benefit. The machines not only help resorts to guarantee an opening date regardless of weather, they also get people talking. Not to mention having a definitive opening date early in the season inspires people to book a visit.

“There was a lot of buzz,” says LaCroix of Ski Ward being the first U.S. ski area to offer lift-served skiing and riding when it opened Oct. 23. “We had as many people as we could fit in that area. We originally were just envisioning season pass holders, but it went crazy on the internet and people showed up from everywhere.”

In Tennessee, Ober Mountain also saw marketing potential, inspiring the team to add six Latitude 90 machines (distributed by SMI Snowmakers in North America) to its four existing Snow Magic machines and to replace one of its Snow Magic machines with a newer one.

“For us, it’s really about using these new machines to reach our feeder markets to grow the industry,” says Ober Mountain president Mark Adams. “We’re utilizing these machines to advertise to our markets like Nashville, Birmingham, Chattanooga, and Huntsville—to get some of those folks interested in skiing, snowboarding, and winter activities.”

Adams also hopes to consistently offer winter activities at Ober from Thanksgiving through mid-March, an otherwise nearly impossible feat for one of the southernmost ski areas in the country. 

TechnoAlpin’s SnowFactory comes with a mobile app for production control.

Greater flexibility. Like Boler, many ski areas using all-weather snowmaking technology have learned that the machines can be useful even when temperatures drop below freezing, allowing them to free up traditional snowmaking equipment to use on other parts of the mountain. At Ski Ward, moving the six or seven machines that the Latitude 90 snowmaking system replaced elsewhere on the hill allowed the ski area to produce enough snow to open the summit in just a couple of nights.

Operators have found other less obvious benefits to all-weather snowmaking systems, too, like the ability to get staff on snow for training earlier, their surprisingly quiet operation (Ski Ward has its positioned on a patio near the learning area, humming along quietly as skiers eat lunch), and the minimal infrastructure needed to get them up and running.

Speaking of less obvious benefits, how about using the machine as a heat source? MND offers two types of optional heat recovery systems for its Blizzard Factory. “It can be seen as a heat pump, taking advantage of the energy used for snowmaking to heat water for large heating systems and/or domestic hot water,” says MND’s Edouard Girard-Gaymard.

Pleasant surprises. But for LaCroix, one of the biggest unknowns was the snow quality and transition between different snow types, “but there’s no discernible difference in the snow,” he says. “I also wondered what it would groom like and feel like to ski on. And it was fantastic.”

LaCroix also mentioned that the snow made by the Latitude 90 even holds up a little better than conventional manmade snow during rain events.

All these positives were a pleasant surprise. “My guys were concerned,” he laughs. “They said there’s something wrong with John because he’s got a smile on his face.” 

LIMITATIONS TO CONSIDER

While all-weather snowmaking systems sound nearly too good to be true, they do have limitations.

Limited coverage. The systems aren’t intended for top-to-bottom coverage on expert runs; rather, they are better suited for small areas like tubing parks, ski school slopes, and around chairlifts.

For example, Italy-based Demaclenko distributes a variety of machines with outputs of 70-360 cubic meters per day, while Latitude 90 offers machines that can produce 60-240 cubic meters per day. For Ski Ward, which has Latitude 90’s L60 model, this meant it was able to cover about an acre of terrain with a 3.5-foot base after 30 consecutive days of nonstop operation.

Consider melting rates. Of course, these systems can produce snow at warm temperatures, but they can’t prevent it from melting once it’s outside. Raphael Pelchat, president of Latitude 90, recommends positioning the output no more than 150 feet from the machine to minimize melt within the hoses. He also stresses the importance of choosing strategic positions to create piles.

“I recommend trying to make the biggest pile possible,” says Pelchat. “Because if you make the first pile and then make other piles over 20 days, your first pile will already be melted if there’s no additional snow on it.”

Latitude 90 helps operators come up with a snowmaking plan to determine the system’s most effective use and to minimize the amount of melt experienced. Other companies, like Demaclenko, are starting to look into utilizing different types of matting that snow can be made on to reduce melt.

Left: WeSnow system making piles at Boler Mountain, Ont. Above: Bucceri’s Double Hybrid at Soldier Hollow, Utah.

Making snow on open slopes. Another surmountable hurdle to consider when implementing an all-weather machine is managing skier traffic around it. Unlike conventional snowmaking machines, which produce ultra-fine particles, most all-weather snowmaking systems produce sharp flakes of ice.

“It’s sharp and it hurts coming out,” says LaCroix. “And we deal with a lot of families and young kids, so we had to create a system where we could fence it off to prevent access, but we could still have production.”

High up-front cost. The initial cost of all-weather snowmaking systems isn’t cheap. Typically, smaller machines start at a little less than $500,000, and larger systems can easily exceed $1 million. Luckily, aside from a three-phase 480-volt electrical hookup and a small water pump, not much else is needed to start making snow. And for some resorts, having a guaranteed early-season opening date could generate enough profit to pay for the machine in a matter of a few years.

RESOURCE CONSUMPTION AND MAINTENANCE

As can be expected, a snowmaking system that doubles as a high-powered freezer consumes more energy than a standard fan gun. Surprisingly, though, the energy consumption isn’t quite as high as many would imagine.

According to Pelchat, one of Latitude 90’s machines consumes about five times the electricity as a fan gun. Depending on the ambient air temperature, energy consumption will fluctuate between around 210 and 225 amps.

Steve Daly, Demaclenko’s North America area manager, says the company’s Snowpro 260 model is equivalent in energy use as six or seven of its largest fan guns. Of course, all-weather snowmaking systems and fan guns have different intended applications, different operating conditions, and different production rates, so direct comparisons should be taken with a grain of salt.

There are also other components to consider, like pump stations, when comparing the energy consumption to that of traditional snowmaking systems.

“With ‘normal’ snowmaking, you have plants on the hill that support it and also take energy, so it’s about more than just the gun,” says Ogilvie of TechnoAlpin. “Not to mention, production varies wildly depending on temperature.”

Maintenance and staffing. Although most all-weather machines consume more energy than traditional snow guns, they don’t require more staff to operate. All-weather systems have a “set-it-and-forget-it” model, allowing ski areas to have snowmaking staff focus on other parts of the mountain when cold temperatures arrive.

Left: The MND Blizzard Factory at work in Germany. Right: The Demaclenko SNOW4EVER 200 distributes snow via conveyor belt.

The machines also require minimal maintenance, with most manufacturers recommending only an annual service and regular greasing and checking of bearings and moving parts. The annual service and any repairs to the refrigeration system that may arise can be done by either the manufacturer or any local refrigeration technician who would likely be familiar with the technology used.

Keeping up with the recommended maintenance will also ensure the longevity of the systems, which Pelchat expects to last decades. “There’s really no limit of how long the machine can last,” he says. “Well, you might have to replace a compressor. But we are talking about 30 years or more.”

RIPE FOR EVOLUTION

Even with their durability and ability to run 24/7, many see the potential for the technology to evolve into something much bigger.

“I want our machine to be able to make more snow,” says Pelchat. “We are trying to increase refrigeration capacity. I think the future is maybe to [manufacture] a smaller machine that makes more snow.”

Hybrid technology. Australian manufacturer Bucceri is already taking steps to advance all-weather snowmaking technology, offering a mobile hybrid machine that can produce snow when temperatures are above freezing but can also operate as a fan gun when the mercury drops. 

According to company owner Alfio Bucceri, the machines use refrigeration to make small particles of flake ice that can be controlled, producing anything from a coarse flake that can be blown out during plus-temperatures to a very fine “snow dust.”

“We can mix that snow dust with atomized water and effectively operate in a similar manner to a normal fan gun,” says Bucceri. “We do have a high-powered fan within our system that creates a small amount of compressed air.”

This machine, which consumes approximately twice the energy as a fan gun at low temperatures, has an internal thermostat that allows the size and type of particles being produced to be changed automatically or manually, depending on weather and application.

But like most newer technology, Bucceri’s hybrid systems have been slow to catch on at ski areas in North America. Today, the machines are mostly being used at places like Sea World and a handful of ski areas in China.

The inevitable advancement of all-weather snowmaking technology shows promise for ski areas; especially smaller ones that rely on increasingly fleeting cold temperature windows to operate. Already, these systems are helping smaller mountains with entry-level ski clientele such as Ski Ward, Ober, and Boler to not just stay afloat, but to thrive.

“The fast message is the small ski area is not dead yet,” reflects LaCroix. “There’s really no negative side [to the boxes]. We’re providing longer-lasting jobs to our seasonal staff and keeping our year-rounders busy. And there’s a lot of interest from the entry-level, which feeds us all later on.”