The snow trickles quietly
With the snow storage hall adjacent to the Skisport-HALLE Oberhof as a winter sports location has a sustainable and efficient piece of the puzzle when it comes to snow production and its storage.
Sometimes impressive sculptures are created when the snow storage hall in Oberhof swirls the freshly produced crushed ice through the air. From a height of up to ten meters high, the white gold trickles to the ground and gradually piles up into a tapered giant. A pipe system attached to the ceiling the fine snow and ice flakes, which are so essential for the preparation of winter sports facilities suitable for the World Cup, can be distributed in the 42-metre-long and 28-metre-wide hall.
Commissioned in September 2022 and with a capacity of up to 7,500 cubic meters, the comprising system has long proven itself in the snow management of the Thuringian winter sports center – not only as the final, but perhaps even the most important piece of the puzzle. “We can produce 150 cubic meters of snow per day here,” says Heiko Schacht from the Thuringian Winter Sports Center Association. Heiko Schacht, who is also responsible for the operation and preparation of the immediately adjacent LOTTO Thüringen Skisport-HALLE, adds: „The fact that we produce here in the hall, which is not additionally the weather and can even make use of solar energy in the process is an absolute bonus.”
The fine snow flakes are produced in a snow factory - a two-storey container structure - stored behind the hall. From the reservoir fed with precipitation the water is fed via an air cooler and pumped into three icing tanks. On the inside of the round tanks, which are almost 2.5 meters high, a fine film of ice is formed, which in turn is carefully loosened by rotating blades and into the transfer hopper below. In a cellular wheel sluice, the ice the portioned splitting of the ice flakes before the now finished crushed ice is transported by transported by a blower and pipeline to the desired place of use or storage.
Self-sufficient snow production
Remarkable: The entire roof of the snow storage hall is fitted with photovoltaic modules. The solar power generated from this covers the energy requirements of snow production in full and can also be used to operate the ski sports hall and the other sports facilities and buildings. With the addition of precipitation water, which is ultimately returned back into the natural cycle, it is even possible to achieve self-sufficient technical snow at the Oberhof base.
„For the predictable and early training operation and for the protection of Competitions with fixed dates this self-sufficient snow production capability has been shown after a short operating time as a game changer, of course in conjunction with the classic snow deposits and the snowmaking technology outdoor. As a basic preparation is also created for the World Cup tracks a sturdy base, which in the best case naturally like with a thick natural snow cover should be covered", says Heiko Krause, technical manager of the oberhofer sports facilities.
How and when the snow for the Biathlon World Cup from 9 to 12 January 2025 on the track is reached, but it will be precisely coordinated. As organizer we are here in a very close exchange with the Zweckverband Thüringer Wintersportzentrum, the world association IBU and the german ski federation, says OK boss Bernd Wernicke and adds: Our common goal is to provide the athletes not only good but best competitive conditions." With sustainable and goal-oriented effectiveness of the snow storage hall you get this goal at the border eagle a decisive step closer.