Turoa Skifield, Mt.Ruapehu, New Zealand
Located in the Nagano mountain region west of Tokyo, Fujimi Panorama Resort needed reliable snowmaking infrastructure for their most popular 1,000+ meter vertical slope to ensure longer seasons and maintain snow surface quality despite increasingly difficult weather conditions in recent years.
Objectives and Solutions
With a rugged volcanic surface requiring at least 1 meter of snow for skiing, supplemental snowmaking is mandatory at Turoa Skifield on the North Island of New Zealand. Like many resorts, Turoa’s lower mountain areas have been affected by climate change, with snow levels creeping higher over the past decade. As part of an ongoing master plan with SMI, Turoa wanted to ensure snow coverage at these lower elevations.
The engineering and construction phases posed unique challenges, however. Because the resort is within Tongariro National Park, extreme measures were required to limit the
impact of equipment and crews, such as transporting workers, equipment, and materials by helicopter.
This complicated infrastructure planning, which was further compounded by the resort’s location at the park’s highest level. The hard volcanic rock surface also required innovative approaches to what would otherwise have been routine construction.
But the extra effort paid off for this turn-key success. With 22 fully automated SMI Super PoleCat Towers added to 10 existing manual PoleCat carriages, Turoa’s new system helps the resort build a solid, long-lasting snow base, despite the challenging conditions.
SMI Infrastructure Installed
Pumping & Water Management:
New pump station with 2x 300 kW (400 HP) pumps delivering 5,678 lpm (1,500 gpm)
Room for two additional pumps for future expansion
The existing pump house is automated for both snowmaking and reservoir filling
New reservoir constructed
Automation & Control:
Full automation via SmartSnow software controlling pump stations, snow guns, and aspirated weather devices
Multi-protocol communications: Radio, fiber optic, copper, and RS485
Snowmaking Equipment:
22 fully automated Super PoleCat Towers added to fleet
10 existing manual PoleCat carriages retained
Total snowmaking capacity: 2,300 lpm (608 gpm) from the existing pumphouse using 12 snow guns
