In the Snow

Dave Kelly awarded Carson White Snowsports Achievement Award

Dave Kelly of Magic Carpet Lifts/RMCE, Inc., was awarded the Carson White Snowsports Achievement Award. The North American Snowsports Journalists Association (NASJA) recognizes innovators and pioneers annually who have made a remarkable contribution to North American winter sports. The Carson White Snowsports Achievement Award is their highest honor award. It is named in memory of Carson White, the first president of the U.S. Ski Writers Association, the predecessor of NASJA.

To read more about Kelly’s achievement and outstanding contribution to the winter sports industry, visit: www.nasja.org/carson-white-snowsports-achievement-award-past-recipients/.

Managing GIS data – easily, accurately, digitally

Whether slope grooming, snowmaking or management is the issue, the SNOWsat GIS Data Manager is an indispensable tool for the entire team. Geospatial data can be managed and updated easily in this software. The result is a perfect, comprehensive map of the ski area that everyone can work with.

It has never been this easy adapting and managing GIS data

The geographic information system (GIS) of a ski area includes all spatial data relevant to everyday work: profile of the terrain, slope edges, positions of the snow guns, areas to be covered with machine-made snow, anchor points for winch cats, roads, buildings and much more. This GIS data serves as the basis for all business cases (construction activity, creation of snowmaking and grooming plans or statistics) in the ski rea. In the past, a surveying company had to be commissioned to manage this data. Thanks to the GIS Data Manager, a new digital SNOWsat solution, the employees in the ski area are now able to update this data on their own.

How the SNOWsat GIS Data Manager works

The SNOWsat GIS Data Manager is a solution for managing the GIS data in the ski area. Data points are either added manually or recorded using the snow groomer. Vehicles equipped with SNOWsat are capable of recording anchor points or positions of snow guns, for example. In addition, they can follow slope edges. The user can then adapt the existing slope edges to the recorded driving paths using the software and thus update them. An accurate map of the entire ski area is created that is automatically available not only in the office, but also in all snow groomers.

Maximum precision and efficiency in snowmaking

In the SNOWsat GIS Data Manager, plans for snowmaking can be created and areas to be covered with machine-made snow can be defined. A snowmaker or slope manager compares the current snow conditions to the plan. They can derive concrete measures for snowmaking and slope grooming from this plan. At the same time, the software supports coordination between teams as all responsible persons have access to the data. Working with the snowmaking plan not only increases efficiency in the ski area, but also reveals new opportunities for saving money.

The SNOWsat GIS Data Manager is an indispensable tool

Cedric Degraeve is in charge of snowmaking in the Saint-Gervais ski area in France. Since last winter, his team has been using this new solution and he is enthusiastic about it.

He said, “The data helps us to identify critical areas early on and to adjust our snowmaking and slope grooming activity with a clear focus. The software simplifies communication between the teams and provides the basis for efficient collaboration!”

Prinoth to groom Beijing 2022

Following successful negotiations all is decided: The alpine ski runs at the Olympic Games in Beijing 2022 will be brought into top form by Prinoth snow groomers. The company, with business worldwide, has revealed itself to be in the top league and will be a partner in the most important wintersports event in the world.

To prepare the pistes for the Winter Olympics, over 50 of the latest generation vehicles, complete with fleet management and snow depth measuring equipment, will be employed. Prinoth’s high-end technology will once more stand in the spotlight of top-level sport.

Prinoth was to supply vehicles for the FIS World Cup race in Yanqing, China, this past February. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this event was canceled. Therefore, the first Prinoth vehicles will be used in preparation for the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup in Guyangshu, Zhangjiakou, China, on Feb. 6-7, 2021. Prior to that, the “all round package” will be put in place and made ready in the Olympic ski resort. In coming years, Prinoth will also introduce SNOW HOW for optimal piste conditions, the highly regarded fleet management system with Leica snow measurements. This leading software within the sector should significantly increase efficiency and economy, reduce fuel costs and thus assist the Olympic organizers in running a trendsetting “Green Event.”

Further vehicles are projected for supply in 2021. Thus, the existing fleet will be completed with the Leitwolf, Husky and Bison models, and be ready for operation to groom one of the most challenging routes in Olympic history. The organizers were impressed not only by the efficient performance of the engine, but also by the first-class extensions and accessories, such as the automatic winch, the Nordic Liner and the Power Tiller.

Prinoth’s “line-up of achievements” in major sporting events continues with this contract for Olympia 2022. The company has already been responsible for piste preparation at the Olympic Games in Lillehammer (1994), Nagano (1998), Turin (2006), and Sochi (2014). In addition, the organizers of the World Ski Championships in Åre, Sweden, and the Nordic World Ski Championships in Antholz, Italy, and Seefeld, Austria, relied on the performance capacity and dependability of Leitwolf and company. In their Italian homeland, Prinoth is awaiting the next major operation as an official partner at the World Ski Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo in 2021.

New product from Axess

New circumstances and conditions require new solutions. This also applies to life in times of COVID-19. Axess has launched a new module for this purpose. By measuring body temperature, it detects when a person has a fever and whether they are wearing a mouth-nose protector mask. Only then will access be granted. This function is important for stadia, museums, exhibition centers, leisure parks or swimming pools, and allows event organizers and operators to reopen their doors within the new legal requirements.

“Requests from international markets have prompted us to act quickly here. We will be installing the first system soon,” said Oliver Suter, CSO and board member of the company. He was the driving force behind the project and, together with the development team, able to implement this new product in a very short time. In the future, the module will be integrated into all product lines and supplemented with an additional face recognition system.

Axess has been supplying contactless operating gates since the beginning and developed this new application during the eight weeks of the shutdown. Once again, the technology forge is a trendsetter and one step ahead.

“This is possible because both software and hardware are developed in-house, which allows us to react dynamically to the market,” said Claudia Kopetzky, CMO of Axess AG and responsible for international marketing.

Apart from this new product, all Axess systems can be operated without contact. The range of e-commerce products allows bookings to be made from home. Tickets are issued at the vending machines, which are also operating without any contact to other people and 24-hours per day. Existing tickets can be reloaded in the online shop. The use of RFID or NFC technology allows entry without any further contact point. Social distancing and safe lifestyle made easy.