Pumping Snow: Le Snow Factory in Val d'Isere

Le Snow Factory in Val d'Isere, located in a giant hangar beside the Olympique gondola, is the largest snowmaking facility in Europe and cost €3 million to build.

It was developed by a team of engineers in Val d'Isère – with only the cannon nozzles coming from Canada.

The factory came on stream just in the nick of time last December, pumping out enough snow to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in only thirty minutes.


That's enough to cover Wembley stadium to a depth of 50 centimetres in just an hour. The Bellevarde ski area can be covered in less than a week.

This is all pretty misleading Iainm. Le Snow Factory is actually called "L'Atelier de la Neige" (The Snow Workshop). They don't make any snow there, it's a pumping / compressor station that supplies the snow cannons on the mountain with water and compressed air, there are hundreds of these in the alps. The building also houses the computer control system that controls the operation of the snowmaking equipment and a workshop.

You can go on a guided tour round it with Pierre Mattis who is head of snowmaking at Val d'Isère http://www.radiovaldisere.com/index.php?p=vids&year=2015&month=01 just click on the photo of the pumps on the left. As you can see in the video the machinery is not housed in a "hanger", but in reinforced concrete machine rooms that are located underground. If this is a new build €3 million would be very cheap, I think it's more likely that they have upgraded the existing facilities.

The amount of snow produced will vary according to temperature, under optimal conditions the pumping station is said to be capable of providing enough air and water to make 2000³m of artificial snow per hour.

In order to reduce the operating costs they have installed ABB variable speed motors to drive the high pressure pumps that feed the snow canons, these use up to 50% less electricity than conventional motors, 80% of the cost (€360, 000) was covered by a grant.

If you want to see a 'snow factory' you will have to go to either the Pitztal glacier or Zermatt where they have installed IDE all weather snowmakers http://www.ropeways.net/aktuell/ide3/index.htm
Or visit the TechnoAlpin factory, they make one that fits in a shipping container http://www.technoalpin.com/en/snow-guns/snowfactory.html

Have to say am not a big fan of snow making, one of the least environmentally friend things anyone could wish to engage in, even if when accounting for some recent efficiency improvements. There is a natural cycle to winter that people should learn to respect. Early season you ski high alpine pastures which require little cover and bin down. As season progresses the lower slopes open up and glaciers become skiable and touring can start. Towards end of season people need to learn to bin down again. Enjoy the natural environment and the snow conditions that come with it.

Ranchero_1979 wrote:Have to say am not a big fan of snow making, one of the least environmentally friend things anyone could wish to engage in, even if when accounting for some recent efficiency improvements. There is a natural cycle to winter that people should learn to respect. Early season you ski high alpine pastures which require little cover and bin down. As season progresses the lower slopes open up and glaciers become skiable and touring can start. Towards end of season people need to learn to bin down again. Enjoy the natural environment and the snow conditions that come with it.

Don't forget the 'fridges' for indoor skiing which IMHO is another travesty.

That's a really great post Swingbeep - some really good detail there and very interesting.

The post isn't meant to be misleading of course. It's based on a press release we received from Val d'Isere, hence their expression 'Le Snow Factory', the price and the rest of the details.