Zermatt ski area

Zermatt And Pitztal Try New Snowmaking Machine

The global warming makes management of ski areas to give a try of using modern technologies in order to provide decent snow conditions all over the season. Two fashionable European ski resorts Zermatt, Switzerland, and Pitztal, Austria, are starting to operate new snowmaking system developed by an Israeli based company IDE.

The history of creation of this system is very interesting and curious. Its development is not a result of Israeli engineer breaking though but rather an accidental by-product of a technology in no way related to skiing. In 1999s IDE created a cooling system for a South African company operating a gold mine. It was designed to cool down mine shafts so humans can work there. Later somebody figured out that the system producing snow as a by-product under scorching sun can be used on ski resorts.

Zermatt and Pitztal managers’ hopes for the new gismo are rather high. They expect that it will help in fighting receding glaciers. Zermatt Tourism Director Daniel Luggen told The Industry Report informed The Industry Report: “We definitely saw a decrease in bookings for the usually very popular ski tests that take place between October and December (last year). We have to offer our guests an enjoyable ski experience and this innovative technology could not have come at a better time”.

Date: 06/10/2008