25.01.2017

Ski-World Cup St. Moritz 2017

The aim of Adrian Jordan from Engadin St. Moritz Mountains AG is sporty in the truest sense of the word: the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships 2017 will enter the history books as the "most sustainable world championships in snow management". The project is gaining decent momentum now, shortly before the start of the major event. Kässbohrer is playing a big part in that with its products and extensive expertise. And the savings are greater than ever. Good planning is half the battle: the snow management concept
In 2012 St. Moritz was the first E+ customer in the world. A true eco commitment, which was completed by upgrading the fleet to SCR technology, buying 2 additional PistenBully 600 E+ and now installing SNOWsat in all vehicles. Over the summer, Adrian Jordan, Head of Technology COO at Engadin St. Moritz Mountains AG, and his team collaborated with Adrian Mattli, Swiss SNOWsat expert, and Florian Profanter, Head of the PRO ACADEMY, to develop a complex snow management concept over several meetings. The first task was to survey the status quo from all relevant perspectives. The recorded data formed the basis of all optimisation proposals. The concept is extremely ambitious:
  • to offer greater snow security and snow quality
  • to reduce resources and costs sustainably: diesel, water, power, maintenance and personnel
  • to optimise snow-making / grooming
  • to define and stipulate snow-making and grooming
  • universal approach to snow-making
  • sustainable water management
  • to exploit SNOWsat properly and to the max.
  • to record and evaluate key process data
  • to increase the planning security of snow production
  • driver qualification (construction and grooming of slopes)
  • professionalisation of the snow-making and vehicle team
TARGET-ACTUAL comparison reveals
A great deal of data was recorded, previous working methods were evaluated, optimisation potentials detected, and recommendations made: from reduced revs, shorter idle times and less overlapping grooming, to savings in snow production - there is real potential all over the place. The TARGET-ACTUAL comparison, which Adrian Mattli and Florian Profanter have now created and presented, is truly impressive. Since 2010, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions have reduced by 15 %, while NOxemissions are down by almost 25 %. 10-15 % is envisaged for machine-made snow production. Adrian Jordan is very pleased with this joint project: "The concept was striking - clear improvements to the snow-making and grooming process can be made through intensive planning. We identified weak points and are now able to tackle these much better. This helps managers with the planning and my colleagues with their day-to-day work. With the tips from Florian Profanter and Adrian Mattli you have tools that make work clearer and more efficient. Together - I am convinced - we will achieve the goal of the most sustainable snow management for a ski world championship. And then of course carry on in that way afterwards." Step-by-step towards the goal
The first step started way back in 2012 with the modernisation of the existing PistenBully fleet. This included buying a total of 3 PistenBully 600 E+. Setting standards by retrofitting all snow groomers with diesel particle filters or buying new ones with them already installed. And also had the entire PistenBully fleet converted to the emissions-reducing SCR technology for the World Championships 2017. 23 cutting-edge, eco-friendly PistenBully are now all set to create the perfect snow conditions without harming the environment. Step 2: Economical snow management withSNOWsat
The second component is SNOWsat, the fleet and snow management system with snow depth measurement. Most of the vehicles have been equipped with SNOWsat for the 2017 competition. In brief - the most eco-friendly fleet imaginable. The aim is to make the most efficient use of the existing snow in the resort. Machine-made snow is produced very economically and extremely selectively using the latest and automated snow-making systems. SNOWsat shows where snow is lacking and which systems need to be triggered. This results in savings everywhere: energy, water, time, fuel, NOX, CO2, etc. And in the end there is less terrain damage. Professional grooming with the PRO ACADEMY
Florian Profanter eventually devised a plan with the team for grooming the competition slopes in line with the high standards of a world championship event. From the basic structure and quality features of competition slopes to use of existing course data and cost optimisation - there was also a lot here that is now being implemented effectively.