Les Gets - Massive investment for Les Gets's Snow making
Les Gets has invested around €9.6M in new snow making equipment this past summer. This is exciting for the resort as it will mean it will have excellent skiing conditions from the very start of the season, right through to the end.
Environmental
The snow machines are using air and water without chemicals, so there is no negative impact on plants or animals. Additionally, where the new reservoir was built, great care was taken to ensure minimal disruption to local wildlife and any breeding animals, such as marmots, were moved to a safe location away from the skiing area.
Snow Coverage and what has been built
Before the latest investment, around 35% of the resort was covered by snow cannons. This has now increased to around 60km of piste for this season - 50% of the ski area. There are future plans to increase this by a further 25%.
This has been achieved by building a new reservoir - the Renardière – this now holds 75 000 cubic metres of water, an investment of around €3.3m just for the reservoir alone. Located near the top of the Turche ski lift, it will feed the snow cannons right from the start of the ski season. Some 85 ha of the slopes - equivalent to 135 football pitches in area, will be covered in artificial snow in these sectors alone. Additionally, the new easy blue going from the top of this area to the bottom of the Perrieres lift now has snow blowers top to bottom.
The new snow cannons are mainly for the following pistes: Tulipe / Stade Ranfoilly / Reines des Prés and Eglantines.
How good is artificial snow?
There are many benefits to artificial snow: A base of artificial snow can be designed to allow rain to pass through it more easily and also to withstand sun, this means that a piste with a good base of artificial snow will last longer than one with natural snow.
Snow machines can be programmed to create up to 15 different types of snow, building different layers according to the time of the season and weather conditions. Long gone are the days when artificial snow was like skiing on ice or sugar.
What this means for the skier?
If you were to book your holiday and are lucky to have an amazing snowfall, then in Les Gets you will have some fantastic off-piste skiing among the trees and also the pistes will be in the best condition possible. All the fresh snow will have landed on a firm surface, so the pisteurs will have been able to create a beautiful, soft, grippy piste.
On the other hand, if you were to book your holiday when the temperature is warmer and there is no natural snowfall and clear blue skies, then the snow cannons will be working hard at night, to create the perfect snowpack on the piste
Additionally, the slopes above Les Gets have a grass base and a only 30cm centimetres of snow is needed to provide excellent cover. By contrast, pistes in many high resorts are covered by rocks and at least a metre of snow is required to provide adequate cover.
With Les Gets’s latest snowmaking technology, grass base, and good snowfall, the resort is one of the most highly guaranteed to offer good skiing conditions.
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