Ski resorts are reportedly buying in innovative snow-saving mats in a bid to combat the affects of climate change.
Some lower altitude ski mountains in Norway, Switzerland, Spain and America are set to use the Finnish innovation to recycle old snow as a way to overcome reducing snowfall levels and unpredictable winter weather.
The snow mats allow resorts to 'farm' snow by using a form of ice preservation that utilizes extruded polystyrene. By collecting snow at the end of the season, resort managers can recycle and store it, keeping it cold with the polystyrene, which is also used as a form of insulation in homes, and then use it to kickstart the skiing season the following winter.
The invention is a modern twist on Finland’s long tradition of preserving ice. Before the introduction of modern fridges and freezers, blocks of ice covered in a thick, insulating layer of sawdust were stacked in barns and cellars as a way to keep and preserve ice for the storage of food.
According to several reports, snow-saving mats have been in used at Finnish resorts for several years but for the first time the developers, Snow Secure, are now suppling them for snow storage outside Finland.
The named resorts are Tromsø Alpinpark in Norway and Saas-Fee in Switzerland. Other resorts that are also said to be considering the method next year are in Spain's Sierra Nevada, Wisconsin in the US and Ski Apache in New Mexico.
It's claimed that being able to farm snow allows resorts to predict when they will open for the winter season and it could also mean that mountain centres do not need to rely on the creation of more energy-draining artificial snow when temperatures are warmer.
Some European resorts, such as La Sambuy, Alpe du Grand Serre and Grand Puy, all in France have announced they have been forced to close due to a lack of snow in recent years.
