The Complete Guide to Artificial Snow Making

The White Gold Revolution and How Ski Resorts Create Winter

Artificial snowmaking started as an accidental lab discovery but has become a multi-billion euro and dollar industry. Up to 95% of ski resorts rely on snowmaking and I have skied in Italian Alpine resorts which depend on the fake stuff for 90% of their trails. So how does this affect your choice of resort or time of year for your next ski trip?

There’s a heck of a lot to learn here, so jump straight to the snow-sure ski resorts if you just want to know where’s the best snow to book a snow sure skiing package.

How Does Snowmaking Work?

There’s no way to explain this without getting a bit scientific, so trap in or just jump to the next paragraph.

Basically, natural snowflakes form really slowly in clouds (vapour deposition), but artificial snow forms through “heterogeneous nucleation” which is a much more rapid freezing of water droplets.

The “wet bulb temperature” combines air temperature and humidity to measure the cooling of the atmosphere and below -2.5°C (27.5°F) wet bulb temp, the water droplets can freeze during their short drop from a snow gun to the piste. When I look at the water leaving the gun at high pressure, I’m actually seeing it atomise into droplets (30-70 microns is smaller than a human hair), and they must freeze completely before landing.

The energy you need is not just cooling but also for the phase-change (from a liquid to a solid) = energy from ambient air temperature, evaporative cooling, increased surface area from atomisation, and from compressed air expansion (Joule-Thomson effect).

What Are the Main Types of Snow Cannon?

Fan Guns are most common and use internal compressors and powerful fans to launch water droplets up to 50 metres, which provideds enough “hang-time” for water to crystallise. At 1-2 kWh per cubic metre of snow, they still work when it’s not cold enough for a lance but cost €26,000-€32,000 each!

Lance Guns (Snow Sticks) are more energy-efficient, using 0.6-0.7 kWh per cubic metre of snow (half the energy of fan guns). The vertical aluminium tubes up to 12 metres high, use compressed air to create nucleation sites for water crystallisation. They’re more economical and quieter, but need quite complicated piped-air and produce lower-quality snow.

Automated Control Systems have massively improved efficiency and can reduce energy consumption by 30%, by making snow only when the conditions are spot on.

Do Chemicals Get Added To Make Snow?

Yes, snowmaking is often done at warmer temperatures by using “nucleating agents” like Snomax, which contains proteins from Pseudomonas syringae bacteria, and can raise the working temperature to -0.6°C and increase snow by 40-50%. The bacteria’s proteins are used like tiny templates for ice crystals to form on and they can make up to 100,000 times more nucleation sites than untreated water.

New innovations include feldspar minerals tested in Spain claims 30% energy savings and operation at temperatures 1-1.5°C warmer, because the minerals mimic a natural cloud nucleation.

Who Invented Artificial Snow?

Was Snowmaking Discovered by Accident?

Yes, a Canadian researcher Dr. Ray Ringer was studying ice on jet engines in the 1940’s when his team’s attempt to recreate icing accidentally made snow. Apart from clogging their wind tunnel this amazong discovery laid the foundation for commercial snowmaking, although Ringer never tried to patent it.

Snowmaking became commercial in 1950 when Wayne Pierce, Art Hunt and Dave Richey of TEY Manufacturing made the first snow-making machine using a paint spray compressor, garden hose, and spray nozzle. In December of 1949 they had secretly installed a prototype at Mohawk Mountain in Connecticut and created the world’s first ski area with artificial snow.

From the 50’s to 80’s Snow Making Became Mainstream

The Tropeano brothers Joe and Phil of Larchmont Engineering made irrigation equipment before Phil discovered snowmaking on 22 December 1950 while testing frost protection systems for orange groves. Their company bought TEY’s patents and began production and sales to US ski areas.

Consecutive poor snow seasons in the late 80’s (I’m old enough to remember those) proved that snowmaking was essential for many resorts to survive and so many more bought snow cannons.

Is Snow Production becoming more High Tech?

I don’t remember seeing snow guns when learning to ski in the 80’s but there were definitely more in the 90’s when computer control came to snowmaking and reduced labour costs while doubling snow productivity. The newest systems I see in the last few years use weather forecasting, real-time monitoring and optimisation, and can even make snow at temperatures up to 25°C (77°F) using refrigeration. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics relied almost entirely on artificial snow.

Which Ski Areas Depend On Artificial Snow The Most?

North America has most with 87% of US resorts using snowmaking – the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions have 98% of pistes covered and, without artificial snow, these ski areas couldn’t survive. Canada’s resorts consume 43.4 million cubic metres of water annually, producing 42 million cubic metres of snow, but generating 130,095 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.

European Alps ski resorts vary quite a bit and I can see it when skiing different countries – Italy is 90% dependent, followed by Austria (70%), Switzerland (53%), France (37%). These differences are partly about cultural attitudes toward snowmaking (more of my friend ski industry pals are agin it) but the location of villages compared to the ski area also has a big effect – Austrian resorts spent €925 million in snowmaking tech due to their ski towns being often lower down the mountains, while Switzerland has spent €382 million with its mountain villages often higher up and enabling a longer season of ski-in / ski-out near to your accommodation.

How much Water and Energy do Snow Cannons use?

An average ski resort uses 2,800-4,200 cubic metres of water per hectare of slope covered and individual snow guns need 50 to 85 litres per minute, with large resorts like Heavenly using up to half a billion litres in dry years. Despite relying more on natural snow, the French Alps alone use 20-25 million cubic metres for snow making every year.

Snow lances use 0.6-0.7 kWh per cubic metre and fan guns needing 1-2 kWh and a European resort’s energy costs typically run to €400,000-€600,000 per season. In Canada snowmaking takes 478,000 MWh each year, which is enough to power 17,000 households and accounts for 50% of an average ski resort’s electricity bill.

What Is Snowmaking’s Environmental Impact?

What is the Eco Footprint of Artificial Snow?

The dense compact snow (400-500 kg/m³ compared to 100 kg/m³ for natural powder) can alter mountain ecosystems because this artificial blanket delays spring melt by up to 2 or 3 weeks, disrupting plant growth cycles and reducing nitrogen uptake in the spring and autumn.

There are wildlife worries which include lower bird diversity near ski runs (I read about 835 documented deaths from ski lift collisions in the French Alps and Pyrenees in a 20 year study) and noise from snow guns which can disrupt animal behaviour, plus the man-made hydrology can affect the water systems. Soil under artificial snow can freeze deeper and remain biologically inactive longer, with some areas showing less vegetation recovery.

Are Snow Making Chemicals Dangerous?

Pseudomonas syringae proteins in Snomax remain fungicidal even after sterilisation, leading to bans in France since 2005, and I think new surfactants like “Drift” (allows higher temp snowmaking) have to raise questions about long-term ecological effects.

Is Artificial Snow Making becoming Greener?

Resorts using renewables like green electricity are reducing CO2 emissions by 95% and water recycling, gravity-fed designs all try to minimise waste. Some of our resorts are achieving carbon neutrality through big sustainability programmes and we’ve a guide to help you choose one of the most environmentally friendly ski resorts for your next skiing vacation.

What’s The Difference Between Natural And Artificial Snow?

Under a microscope each natural snowflake is a unique and complicated six-sided shape with delicate branches made of 90-95% air. Artificial snow is simple frozen spheres which are dense and uniform and just 70% air. These basic differences are what alters the skiing experience when you and I slide down the slopes.

Natural snow forms through “vapour deposition” falling through several kilometres of the atmosphere which allows complex crystal growth, whereas artificial snow freezes in seconds as it falls 25 metres or less creating what scientists call “frozen droplets” rather than proper snow crystals. This is why artificial snow has twice the density and three times the durability of natural pow.

Is Artificial Snow Different to Ski or Snowboard on?

Yes, for skiers and snowboarders, these differences create quite different feelings to ride on with natural snow being softer and more forgiving but artificial being easier to learn on despite falls being harder. I love natural powder for the floating feeling that makes epic ski days but artificial snow is consistent and lasts longer – sure it’s harder under skis, harder in crashes, and transforms into ice faster when there’s lots of traffic, but it keeps us skiing well into April!

I’ve noticed beginners often find groomed artificial snow easier for learning on because its predictable, and some advanced skiers do like artificial snow’s superior edge grip for high-speed carving but I generally prefer the dynamic variety of natural snow. The terrain-park builders in Tignes love artificial snow’s durability for jump construction and racing depends on artificial snow because the consistent, hard surface provides fair competition and withstands repeated runs. In fact race organisers add water to natural snow to create the icy conditions that allow maximum speed.

What Does Artificial Snow Production Cost?

The New Price of Winter

Installing big snowmaking kit is serious money with complete systems costing between €450,000 to €5 million depending on size and the local climate. Vail Resorts has spent a whopping $100 million across all their ski areas.

What is the ROI of Artificial Snow?

Of course extending the season is the main benefit for a ski resort because adding 5 to 12 operating days to the winter can include holiday periods like Christmas and Easter. Winter Park achieved 200+ day seasons after major snowmaking investments, compared to the regional average of 127 days. Studies show ski resorts would lose $1.07 billion annually without artificial snow and that low-snow years reduce economic activity by $1 billion.

Snowmaking Tech Innovation And Climate Change

What are the Next-Gen Snow Production Systems?

TechnoAlpin’s SnowFactory produces snow at temperatures up to 25°C (77°F) using containerised refrigeration units, which uses five times the energy but makes snow regardless of climate for lower-elevation resorts and warmer temperatures. New nozzle designs and variable-flow tech is trying to squeeze more efficiency from each litre of water and kilowatt of power.

Climate Change Adaptation Strategies of Making Snow

The numbers are sobering when with under 2°C warming, 53% of European ski resorts face “very high risk” even with snowmaking. At 4°C warming, that rises to 98%. Most of our ski resorts are very high-altitude but those below 1,500 metres may become unviable for winter sports regardless of snowmaking. Cloud seeding tests in Colorado generated 5-15% additional snowfall per storm and snow farming (storing snow through summer) saves 80%, but these are really expensive and I feel uncomfortable about changing weather on purpose.

Snow Quality Control and Efficiency of Making it

Ski areas target specific densities around 400-500 kg/m³ for base layers, 250-300 kg/m³ for skiing surfaces, but this varies by temp and humidity, so automated systems maintain quality by adjusting water-air ratios in real-time based on atmospheric conditions.  Water recycling can capture spring melt for next season’s production and better energy management includes load-shedding during peak demand and utilising off-peak rates.

My Advice For Making the Most of Artificial Snow

What’s the Best Equipment and Technique For Artificial Snow?

Basically you need to adapt, because sharp edges become essential when the hard surface needs more edge control, more frequent waxing combats the increased friction from the granular surface and you might even want stiffer skis.

Reading the Mountain

You can learn to identify snow conditions visually because new artificial snow looks bright white and grainy, then artificial snow becomes greyer and icier as it ages. I recommend the usual “spring conditions” advice of carving on the groomers in the morning and then go looking for north-facing slopes and areas with afternoon shade after lunch… or just do as I do and ski a long fast morning then hit the après starting with a late lunch!

More: See the top 10 most snow ski resorts in the world or browse all ski holidays in them