The Future of the SNOW 365 Industry
As far as snow systems are concerned the conclusion is that the end result of all present snow making systems is more or less the same. The snow basically degenerates to the same kind of substance after a while. One can say that most snow domes have copied each other to be on the safe side and have not dared to go in new directions. While snow domes create thousands of new skiers and snowboarders each year and are therefore probably the best thing that could have happened to the winter sports tourism industry, the down side has been the often partly icy surfaces or old (degenerated snow). Even where new snow is frequently made it is mixed with the old snow by using grooming machines.
Every once in a while the snow is melted or removed by the grooming machines or in some cases the snow layers keep building up, in which case the mostly used under slope refrigeration is not of much use. Some innovative companies suggest that, because of the ongoing developments in snowmaking at positive temperatures, future new snow domes may operate at just above freezing temperatures, whereby the daily melt water is drained through special snow mats and collected and filtered for re-use.
This will provide a fresh snow layer by automatically recycling the old snow and thereby eliminating icy slopes that are so much hated by the consumers. It will also save large amounts in energy costs.
Another aspect usually left to be desired is the theming aspect. Many present snow domes are mainly rather dull structures at the inside. This may be due to the fact that most initiators did not have a leisure or theme park background. Creating complete indoor virtual alpine or arctic worlds with day and night effects will make new snow domes, stand out from the crowd. This move is comparable to how traditional indoor swimming pools have been converted into (sub)tropical worlds. Ski Dubai which opened in late 2005 is an example of how new generation snowdomes take this aspect in to greater consideration.
One of the most imaginative plans for year-round skiing is SkiTrac which proposes to build a giant revolving snow hill which would have a section where snow fell and so as the dome revolved the snow would keep falling on it, replenishing the surface. They planned this system for several venues over the past five years including Ohio, Sydney and North Wales although all of these projects have unfortunately fallen through. There are currently promising proposals for initiatives in China and Korea.
On a smaller scale the R-Evelution concept, marketed through Unlimited Snow, is a large bowl shaped slope with a diameter of 12, 16, 24 metres or even larger. It moves in such a way that there is a continuous skiing, snowboarding or even tubing. On top of the special mats polymer or real snow can be used. These systems allow indoor skiing at more limited investments.
New developments are also so called instant fun activities that do not require the learning process for skiing and snowboarding. This creates a better occupancy rate in off peak seasons, such as summertime and also provides opportunities for warm countries without a winter sports history and theme parks.
Other interesting developments are the use of “instant structures”, such as domes made of truss and membranes or air supported structures. Unlimited Snow uses these structures for its large span re-locatable and mobile igloo shaped buildings but also for future instant domes on hill sides. These buildings can have the same insulation capabilities as fixed buildings and provide more economical solutions with a building time of just a few weeks. These kind of technological developments may stimulate a rapid expansion of the snow dome market.
Snowmaking and snow domes are based on a relatively new technology. Also new high capacity and user friendly lift systems for indoor use and many other aspects of snow domes are being developed. Therefore further innovations and developments can be expected.
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