Sun Peaks Canada's First to Stockpile Snow Through Summer
Sun Peaks in BC is the latest in a growing list of ski areas worldwide to decide to stockpile snow through the summer in order to get a jump start on the 25-36 season. It’s the first in Canada to do so.
Sun Peaks in BC is the latest in a growing list of ski areas to decide to stockpile snow through the summer in order to get a jump start on the 25-36 season. It’s the first in Canada to do so.
The resort is reported to have invested CAD$180,000 in 18 huge, insulated mats which it has placed on top of snow piles to protect them from sunshine from above and keep them cool underneath.
Sun Peaks is an early-season training centre for race teams in the fall and the mats are being used on the resort’s OSV trail on Tod Mountain with 14,000 cubic metres of snow stockpiled there – enough to cover about eight acres of slopes withs now 60cm (2 feet) deep. The snow pile measures approximately 300 feet long by 100 feet wide by 30 feet tall.
“This project is an important piece in our ongoing commitment to innovation and operational excellence,” said Tim Foster, Chief of Mountain Operations for Sun Peaks Resort. “We’re proud to be the first ski resort in Canada to adopt this proven technology and to be able provide a reliable and resilient training facility for young athletes from around the world.”
Summer snow storage, also known as snow farming, is being used by more and more ski areas around the world.
Finland’s Levi and Ruka both stockpile over 100,000 cubic metres each summer, enabling them to start their seasons in early October when they spread the snow back out to create the first runs of the autumn.
Ski areas use different insulatory materials, some using sawdust and/or straw on top of the snow, others, including Sun Peaks, purpose made insulatory material, in their case supplied by Finnish company Snow Secure. Typically 70-80% of the snow survives the summer, but with Snow Secure’s special mats, Sun Peaks are hoping for up to 90%.
The techniques benefits also include saving water and energy used for early and pre-season snowmaking. Sun Peaks will save 1.5 million gallons of snowmaking water, which they will be able to use in other critical areas of their operation.