Media Room
PERISHER’S $19 MILLION SNOWMAKING INVESTMENT AN OUTSTANDING SUCCESS IN 2010
18 July 2010
Perisher's three-year $19 million investment in automated snowmaking that culminated in 2009, has again proven to be popular amongst skiers and snowboarders in 2010, providing quality snow cover in June on some of the resort’s favourite runs.
Since 11 May 2010 when the snowmaking officially commenced in the resort, Perisher has produced over 646,084 cubic metres of snow to date, without it skiers and boarders would have slim pickings up until recent natural snowfalls.
The snowmaking expansion has enabled the beginner and intermediate Happy Valley area and top to bottom on the iconic Towers Run on Mt Perisher, a must advanced skiers and boarders, to open already this season, although natural snowfalls have only registered just over 30cm. This weekend the popular Excelerator run in Blue Cow will also open, due to the efforts of the snowmakers.
Sixty-eight new energy efficient, fully automated fan guns and lances were commissioned in 2009, making a total of 271 snow guns now installed across Perisher Valley, Blue Cow and Smiggin Holes resort areas.
53.4 hectares of terrain for all standards of skiers and snowboarders are now under snowmaking coverage, enabling season-long consistency for guests to Perisher; enhancing their holiday experiences.
New in 2010, the Happy Valley T-bar has been extended 90 metres downhill to allow easier access for skiers and boarders from Mt Perisher to the mid station of the Quad Express, Front Valley, Pretty Valley and Blue Cow. Along with this, snowmaking guns have been positioned close by to enable season long snow cover reliability.
“Perisher’s snowmaking infrastructure and increased capacity now rivals many international alpine destinations; allowing guests more certainty when booking their snow holidays that we can provide a quality snow product at all times of the season,” said Peter Brulisauer Perisher’s CEO.
“Feedback from guests has been very positive, it’s made an incredible difference particularly to the popular Towers Run and Happy Valley areas which has opened on an excellent top to bottom cover. Best of all the new system is incredibly energy efficient and the water is recycled through the Snowy Scheme back into the catchment,” continued Mr. Brulisauer.
Over the 2009 winter season Perisher produced a massive 620,000 cubic metres of snow a 53% increase on 2008 and the biggest snowmaking production in Australia, the resort is well on the way to bettering that record in 2010.
Combine this with Perisher’s greater natural snow reliability, 1245 hectares of terrain and 47 lifts (that can carry over 50,000 people per hour) to choose from and it’s easy to see why Perisher will again be Australia’s most popular ski resort in 2010.
Snowmaking now covers popular resort areas including: Front Valley, from Mid Station of the Forester Quad Express through Yabby Flat and Goats Gully back to Front Valley, Snowy Trails, Happy Valley, Towers Run in Perisher Valley; Tube Town; the carpets and Captain Cook J-bar at Smiggin Holes; Early Starter, Road Run/Boot Hill, Zali’s, Road Run to Roller Coaster and Excelerator runs at Blue Cow; providing a diverse array of skiable terrain for all snow riding ability.
“Perisher’s increased snowmaking capacity has allowed not only side to side, but also top to bottom coverage, with the ability to lay down an increased depth of snow. It’s not just a veneer, it’s a seriously thick coating of snow that we can produce each night that we operate,” said John Palmer, Perisher’s Snowmaking Manager.
The work has not stopped yet, in the future, Perisher plans to increase snowmaking coverage to 110 hectares, aiming to have all trails linking the four ski areas covered from the seasons start to finish. All additional snowmaking will be automated ensuring every opportunity, that conditions allow, is maximised efficiently. Perisher also plans to fully automate all of its existing snowmaking over time. The result, skiers and boarders will be able to ski to and from each of the four areas, all season long, and have more consistent runs to choose from!