Industry News
As ski resorts across the globe face increasingly unpredictable winters, snowmaking has become an essential tool for maintaining reliable ski conditions. Unfortunately, snowmaking comes with an environmental impact from its heavy water and energy use. A 2023 study by University of Waterloo, Canada, and the University of Innsbruck, Austria, estimated that it takes on average of 1,033 cubic meters of water and 3.1 tons of CO₂ to produce 1,000 cubic meters of snow in Canada. Resorts are constantly working on minimizing the environmental impact of snowmaking production and we have looked at two recent projects—Deer Valley Resort in Utah and St. Moritz’s Corviglia ski area in Switzerland—to highlight two very different approaches, with lessons in sustainability, efficiency, and environmental stewardship.
Deer Valley Resort’s historic terrain expansion this summer focused on a new low-energy snowmaking system capable of covering more than 300 acres of new terrain across nearly 100 trails. This expansion required 50 miles of trenching to install pipes and wires capable of pumping water from Jordanelle Reservoir up the mountain through the Provo River system, ultimately fueling 1,200 snow guns. The Jordanelle Reservoir was built from 1987 to 1993 by the U.S. Department of Reclamation and is located 6 miles north of Heber City.
To reach the new terrain at Deer Valley, water is released from the Jordanelle Dam into the Provo River, then pumped uphill through intermediate stations and a large holding tank before arriving at the new Hail Peak facility which will feed the 155 fan guns and 1,000 stick guns that are being installed in the Deer Valley expansion. While stick guns require less energy for snowmaking, the fan guns are by Technoalpin, the market leader in snow cannons. These new, state-of-the-art snow cannons require less energy than older models. In addition, the whole system will be fully automated, further reducing energy consumption. The energy used at the Hail Peak Pump House to pump water for snowmaking comes from the hydro power station at Jordanelle Dam, making it entirely carbon neutral.
Meanwhile in Switzerland, Corviglia-St. Moritz is building its second high-altitude reservoir, Naturspeichersee Nair Pitschen, as part of a long-term sustainable snow strategy. The first natural reservoir, Lej Alv, is larger, holding around 400,000 m³ of water and supplying snowmaking for the ski area while saving electricity for roughly 400 households annually. Nair Pitschen, slightly smaller at 300,000 m³, will help to further reduce energy consumption by 1 GWh per year, around 10% of the resort’s total electricity use, while also storing snowmelt for reuse in winter snowmaking.
Adrian Jordan, Head of Snow Sports & Mountain Experiences at Corviglia, explains: “With two natural storage lakes, we can fully cover the slopes with recycled snow water. Snow water recycling represents a cycle: water melts in spring, we store it over summer, and use it for snowmaking next winter. The water circulates on the mountain, no pumping from the valley is needed, reducing energy use and environmental impact.”
Corviglia already operates a snowmaking system with 322 snow cannons, covering around 80% of the slopes. Most are removed after the initial base is created, minimizing energy and environmental impact. As the reservoir is on top of the mountain, the there is no need to pump water from the valley, instead snow cannons are gravity-fed. The addition of the second reservoir ensures that water is always available on-site, allowing snowmaking to begin immediately during cold windows, further enhancing efficiency. Like in Deer Valley, power in the Engadin mountains comes from renewable sources. Furthermore, Corviglia uses bio compressor oils in its snowmaking machines, which is fully bio degradable.
The construction of the reservoir is nearing completion and was designed to preserve local flora and fauna. Grass layers were carefully removed and replaced like a giant jigsaw puzzle, and stones were returned to their original positions, leaving the landscape largely untouched. The project balances ecological, economic, and social sustainability, with the lake also serving as a recreational area for guests. Jordan emphasizes the importance of the project for long-term tourism in the region: “Various climate scenario studies indicate that ski areas at our altitude will have good to very good snow reliability with a snowmaking system for at least the next 60 years. The second natural storage lake is another important project in our long-term snow sports strategy regarding the offerings for our guests.”
High-altitude snowmaking reservoirs are no longer a niche infrastructure project in Europe—Davos-Klosters also added a third artificial lake at the Jakobshorn this year, the Fuxä Lake, which will increase snowmaking capacity by 54% from melt- and rainwater. However, the legal situation in USA around water rights could render this option impossible for Deer Valley, as hydro operators are legally protected and have rights to specific volume of melt-water. A high-altitude storage lake could represent a major opportunity for Deer Valley as it would save several gigawatt-hours of electricity each season. Using gravity instead of pumping water up from the Jordanelle Reservoir at 6,188 feet (1,888 meters) to mid-mountain around ~8,100 feet (2,470 meters) or higher up could significantly reduce carbon emissions.
Across the Alps, the Rockies, and beyond, ski resorts are increasingly investing in technology and infrastructure to cut carbon emissions while securing reliable snow conditions—a tough balance to maintain these days. Resorts are not only adapting to climate change but also innovating to reduce their footprint, showing that sustainable snowmaking can take many forms depending on local geography and resources. Taken together, these efforts reflect a growing global commitment to balancing winter tourism with long-term environmental stewardship.
