News from the heroes of the night
A great deal of work and expertise goes into creating these even, pristine slope grooves that all winter sports enthusiasts look forward to during the gondola ride to the top. Marion Tschofen, the snow and slope manager at Silvretta Montafon, is responsible for ensuring that the slopes are not only perfect for skiers and snowboarders in the morning, but also efficiently groomed. I spoke to him about his exciting tasks, his team and the impressive snow groomers.
“Our work begins when the last skiers leave the slopes. We usually start at 4.00 pm. A 30-strong team of drivers prepares the 140 kilometers of slopes in the ski resort every day - with dedication and perfection, it has to be said. Each of the 25 ten-ton machines with up to 612 HP moves up to three tons of snow. The “evening” is always different: “When it snows, we sleep upstairs and start at 04:00 in the morning until skiing starts again at 08:30 and the first winter sports enthusiasts arrive in the ski area,” Mario reports on the working hours of the Pistenbully drivers.
New snow groomers in use
The Pistenbully family has grown this winter season: Among the seven (!) new snow groomers, one vehicle in particular stands out - the 800. It is almost 10 meters long, weighs 15 tons and brings 612 hp to the slopes. Innovative software and measuring devices turn all 25 vehicles, which are in use every night, into state-of-the-art workplaces. With a broad grin on his face, Mario tells me proudly: “I would say our fleet of bully vehicles is state-of-the-art and our fleet is the best far and wide. Of course, working with machines like this is even more fun!”
Innovative Messsysteme von Leica
“Equipped with the snow depth gauge from Leica Geosystems, we measure the location and height of the vehicle no less than 50 times per second! This means that every Pistenbully driver can see exactly how much snow he has underneath him or the snow blade. The system has become indispensable for efficient slope grooming and snowmaking - especially in times of snow shortage and scarcity of resources,” emphasizes Mario Tschofen.
After night-time use, the telemetry data is closely scrutinized. Mario and his team check how much time and fuel was used on each individual slope. “Our aim is to optimize fuel consumption and the duration of use every day and thus minimize the environmental impact. With around 900 hours of use per winter season, every little optimization makes a big difference. We regularly discuss technical possibilities and requirements with our partner and snow groomer manufacturer Kässbohrer Austria. For example, we have already had the opportunity to test the E-PistenBully,” reports Mario.
Green Mountains Initiative
With the Green Mountains Initiative, Silvretta Montafon is trying to act as responsibly as possible for a ski resort and to create conditions that are as close to nature as possible. Specific goals include further reducing CO2 emissions, lowering energy consumption and increasing energy efficiency. According to Mario, the main measures that will contribute to this are keeping the vehicle fleet up to date, always working with snow depth measurements and keeping the team of Pistenbully drivers in the company for as long as possible.
If you are interested in this and would like to read more, you can find interesting information about snow management and the Green Mountains Initiative in general on the website: https://www.silvretta-montafon.at/de/lp/green-mountains-initiative/klima/schneemanagement
Heroes of the night - with passion
As hard as our job as a Pistenbully driver often is, it's just as wonderful: the blue hour and sunrises on the mountain, being outside, experiencing nature at night, the impressive machines that we get to operate - all of that makes this job unique,” Mario enthuses. “We have a great team of really good drivers. What makes our team spirit so strong is our common goal: we all want to get the best out of the slopes with our grooming - from the first to the last day of the ski season!”
