With summer in full swing in the Northern Hemisphere, the FIS Cross-Country World Cup Organisers are gearing up for winter. In order to provide the best possible snow conditions, a number of Organisers have invested in snow farming.
Snow farming is practised to stock up with snow that is produced during winter, stored in a shady location, equipped with a drainage system and covered with a thick layer of wood chips or saw dust to reduce melting.
The FIS Cross-Country World Cup Organisers in Ruka (FIN) produced more than 15,000 m3 of snow last February which is enough to cover a 5 km loop. The snow will be moved to the competition tracks three weeks prior to the event in late November in case there is not enough natural snow.
The Swiss World Cup Organisers in Davos have used snow farming since 2008. Last winter, Davos tripled its capacity and will open a 4 km track by the end of October 2016.
Also Organisers in La Clusaz (FRA) are well prepared with 6,000 m3 of snow, which will be used for the World Cup competitions in December.
Meanwhile, the new World Cup venue Ulricehamn (SWE) has a buffer of 13,500m3 which is ready to be used for the competitions there in late January.
Tehvandi Sport Center in Otepää (EST) last winter produced more than 10,000m3 of snow which was covered with 50 cm thick layer of sawdust. It is enough to cover a 2 km loop of the World Cup track.
Finally, the Organisers of the upcoming FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti (FIN) are well prepared for the highlight event next February with stored snow reaching 5,000 m3 in addition to powerful snow production equipment.
Source: fis-ski.com
