Artificial snow is on the rise as new technology and automation help combat warmer, wetter winters
By Eric Niiler | Photographs and Video by Joe Klementovich for The Wall Street JournalAs winters have become warmer across the U.S. and natural snowfall has become more scarce, some resorts are investing in automated snow-making technology to keep the trails open.
As the spray settles on his sleeve “you can tell whether you are getting wetter snowball snow, or something that is very dry and good for resurfacing a trail,” shouts Mr. McCluskey, a 28-year-old snow-making supervisor. A lack of natural snow has also pushed European ski resorts to move trails to higher elevations and switch to summer sports such as mountain biking, while an Italian firm has developed a device that can make snow at nearly 70 degrees, albeit using a lot of electricity.“Technology is getting better and better,” said Nick Sargent, president of Snowsports Industries America, a Park City, Utah-based trade association.
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