Before the advent of electric refrigerators and freezers, people in Finland cut a block of ice from a river or lake before the spring thaw, covered it tightly with an insulating layer of sawdust, and stacked it in barns, pits, or ice cellars to protect the produce from the warm air during the summer months.
Amid global warming and increasingly unpredictable and shorter winters, a modern twist on a traditional ice preservation technique is now being touted as a way to save Europe's struggling low- and mid-altitude ski resorts.
For example, last month the major French alpine ski resort of Alpes de Grand Serre announced that it had been forced to close because it could not afford to become a year-round destination to compensate for its shorter winter season. Guardian.
"Recycling" of snow
Finns have used sawdust to preserve snow for decades, including for winter sports. More recently, they have implemented mats made of polyester, the same material used for home insulation in Scandinavian countries, which manufacturers say can last more than 20 years.
Such mats have been used in ski resorts in Finland for several years - for example in Levi in Kittilä and Ruka in Kuusamo. This season, for the first time, the Finnish company Snow Secure will deliver its products outside the country.
Ice surfaces are already in use at Tromsø Alpinpark in Norway and Saas-Fee in Switzerland, and from next year they will also be delivered to Sierra Nevada in Andalucia, Spain, Europe's southernmost ski resort, Tyrol Basin in Wisconsin and Ski Apache in New Mexico in the United States.
The technology is based on collecting snow at the end of the season to be stored and used at the beginning of the next. Marko Mustonen, business manager of the Levi ski resort in Kittilä, said he started snow "recycling" back in 2016 to ensure it could open in time for the annual World Cup slalom in November. According to him, the onset of winter is less and less predictable – even in Northern Finland.
“The time frame when we get a true winter, meaning temperatures should be below freezing all the time, could be from early October to mid-November. Making snow when Mother Nature allows it also means the resort doesn't have to rely on the more energy-intensive artificial snow when temperatures are warmer,” he says.
According to Mustonen, snow levels on the resort's main trails this week were the same as they were at the same location last year, even though September and October have been extremely warm and temperatures have dipped below freezing in just the last few days.
“The start of the season has become very unpredictable due to climate change. But with the "recycling" of snow, we were able to make exactly the same amount as last year for the start of the ski season," he also points out.
Antti Lauslahti, CEO of Snow Secure, says being able to guarantee a resort's opening date allows businesses to reliably book staff. At the same time, tourists are aware that they will not face disappointment at the last minute.
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