The title caught my attention but this isn't an earth-shattering idea.
Canadian Ski Resort Saves Millions Of Gallons Of Water By 'Snow Farming'
It's simpler than it sounds.
• Matt Lorelli
• Apr 24, 2023 9:00 AM EDT
Banff Sunshine Village in Alberta, Canada has one of the longest ski seasons in North America. The resort opened on November 2nd, 2022 and expects to remain open until May 22nd, 2023 (conditions permitting).
Banff Sunshine Village recently posted to social media about one of the methods they implement to preserve natural snow for as long as possible. It's called 'Snow Farming', and it's simpler than it sounds:
Banff Sunshine Village average 364 inches of snow annually. Not too shabby compared to most resorts across the west.
The kicker is that Banff Sunshine, unlike most modern resorts, doesn't utilize manmade snow to bolster their trails and deepen their base.
Instead, they build over 30km (~19mi.) of snow fencing to retain the snow that falls on the mountain.
Think about it. How many times have you shown up to a ski resort just a day or two after a major storm only to find that all of the fresh snow is gone? Not just skied out, but literally gone?
That usually happens when light and dry snow is easily blown away by strong prevailing winds. Banff Sunshine Village's snow fencing works to catch as much of that blowing snow as possible.
Groomers are then able to gather the wind-blown snow and disperse it back onto the trails for skiers and riders to enjoy. It's simple, but genius, right?
Banff Sunshine Village has seen 264 inches of snow this season. Despite being 100 inches below their annual average, the resort is still anticipating to make it to their closing day set for May 22nd.
That's pretty neat if I do say so myself.
https://www.powder.com/trending-news/sunshine-snow-farming
Their Face Book:
Banff Sunshine Village
April 22 at 9:00 PM ·
We are ever so thankful for what Mother Nature gives us, we don’t take it for granted, we preserve it! We don’t make snow, we farm it.
Sunshine Village's trail crew builds over 30 km of snow-fencing annually. Her highness herself blows wind over Banff Sunshine Village, at 2286 meters above sea level, as our fences capture large amounts of wind-blown, natural snow. We then push the snow onto the slopes, for skiers and snowboarders to enjoy what Mother Nature gives us, Canada’s Best Snow!
Snow Farming saves us over 75,000,000 gallons of water a year, by eliminating snow guns!
TW: I wouldn’t call this Snow Farming, just Snow Fencing. Yes, those piles can be pushed onto trails. This isn’t so much for eastern trails but wide-open slopes. For instance, I was at Winter Park in March. If permitted, they should do this at the top of Panorama.
