The snow making program at Sun Peaks Resort is getting a major boost as it expands and upgrades the current complement of cannons that blanket the slopes when Mother Nature needs a hand.
The resort currently has about 30 mobile and fixed snow guns in its arsenal, including three that are fully automated.
Erik Meertens, Sun Peaks Resort senior director of mountain operations, said the resort is hoping to acquire another 10 to 20 fixed automated guns by next year.
“All these machines have onboard weather stations. They will read the ambient air, temperature, the humidity,” he said.
“The snow guns should start automatically as soon as the temperature hits that set point, -2.5 C, and it'll shut down if it gets too warm as well.”
Meertens said the resort is dealing with Michigan-based SMI Snowmakers and Italy-based TechnoAlpine, who both supply automated snow guns.
The machines can cost between $60,000 to $80,000 or more, depending on the model and accessories.
“The ownership has promised a multi-million dollar investment over the upcoming five to six years,” Meertens said.
He said this year has been a “test year” for the resort, which has invested in a mix of equipment as it gauges each company and looks to where it can make efficiencies.
How it works
Meertens said the snow guns are fed water from a reservoir that’s filled up annually by the spring melt.
The water is piped down into the valley to the snow guns, which are equipped with an onboard air compressor and fan.
“We are mixing snow and compressed air to basically atomize a water droplet then shoot it into the air,” Meertens explained.
“The temperatures, which are below zero, will then allow that water droplet to mist into basically a snow droplet.”
The colder the temperature, the faster water reserves can be converted and the more snow can be produced. He said the machines can also control how “dry or wet” the snow is.
The fixed automated guns the resort plans to acquire will be strategically placed at areas on the mountain where machine-made snow has historically been needed.
Automation to maximize efficiency
While the resort's water reserves don't last through winter, upgrading existing snow guns to be automatic and buying new ones will mean water usage will become more efficient.
Meertens said the automated guns also mean crews won’t have to spend hours starting each one individually, and they can all be controlled from resort offices.
“The time saved, the water saved, the effort saved, is huge by going to automation,” he said.
He said the resort’s arsenal of snow guns also adds extra insurance that the resort will open for race training in early and mid November, prior to being opened to the public.
“To get those folks on snow early is crucial to their ability to compete at a high level,” he said.
“I wish we had more, but we have a finite amount of water.”