Innovative Year

Last season we saw many resorts and ski areas remain open well into July; my fingers are crossed for a repeat! We’ve packed this issue with great articles on some emerging technologies to help you get your slopes and trails in tip-top shape.

To start things off, we caught up with the founders of AirFlare, a simple, mobile app that turns a cell phone into a powerful rescue beacon during avalanche search and rescue. One of the incredible benefits of this technology is that the app doesn’t need to be open or connected to a network to be found. Simply knowing which Wi-Fi network someone uses can be enough find missing adventurers. Be sure to read “Saved by the Cell” for all that AirFlare can offer your guests.

This has been a great year for snow groomer innovation. PistenBully debuted the prototype of their fully electric 100 E snow groomer at Interalpin 2019. There is still more testing and development to be done before the prototype is production-ready, but this is a great step towards sustainable and alternative methods for snow grooming. We also caught up with Prinoth to discuss the new features for the Husky X and Leitwolf.

Read about the snow operations over at Jack Frost Big Boulder, two Pennsylvania ski areas roughly five miles apart. The small team, which has two full-time groomers, has set impressive standards for themselves including several of their nine terrain parks boasting over 40 features, and rebuilding parks almost daily.

As always, I hope you enjoy this issue of SnowOps and that it helps set you up for your best season yet! Don’t forget to reach out if you have any comments or topics that you would like to see in upcoming issues of SnowOps. Finally, be sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Here’s to a great 2019-20 Winter Season!

Cheers,

Lindsay Risto
204-953-2181
editor@snowopsmag.com