“Such a portal has been in demand for many years. Perhaps because our winters are getting shorter and shorter, and the desire to extend them in a more environmentally friendly way is growing. Here you can easily find research and information about environmentally friendly snow production, storage, conservation and preparation of snow”, says Erik Røste, chairman of the project "Snow for the Future" and President of the Norwegian Ski Association.
The Snow Competence Centre is a «web-based centre». The website will be a living page that is developed and updated based on input and experiences from the ski and construction community, as well as from updated research results.
“The target group for the website are small and medium-sized clubs, arenas and facilities that want to obtain knowledge they can use in connection with the operation and possible upgrade of the facility”, says Ingrid Camilla Claussen, research manager at SINTEF Energy.
The Snow Competence Centre is the practical part of the research and development project "Snow for the future". The project is about developing climate-friendly and temperature-independent snow production and is supported by the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Culture and Sports, among others.
“For us, it is crucial to share our research, and to offer open and accessible information in both Norwegian and English. We now share expertise in sustainable snow production, with ski destinations, organisers, ski centres and clubs all over the world”, says Ingrid Camilla Claussen, research manager at SINTEF Energy.
It is a goal to eventually start up a physical snow competence centre as well. This centre is currently planned at Granåsen in Trondheim, with Vassfjellet Winter Park as an alpine partner.
“Snøkompetanse.no is a fantastic project that gathers a lot of important information for industry professionals. Both those who run the World Cup further internationally, but also clubs and ski destinations at all levels will benefit from the practical information and tools available on the website”, says Atle Skårdal, FIS technical manager for Alpine Skiing.
