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Taming Snowcats
One beast of a ride
15.12.2021

When the ski/snowboard day is coming to an end and the winter sports enthusiasts slowly make their way home, the working day for our heroes of the night begins. The job behind the gearsticks of the snowcat is highly valued and much desired. In their capable hands lies the perfect shape of our snowparks, funcross & funslopes. Day in and day out, the facilities have to be prepared so that the quality, fun & flow are given for the skiers and snowboarders of the respective facility.

Curtain up

Generally speaking, snowcat drivers are responsible for the maintenance of the slopes. Depending on the temperature and the weather, this can become a real supreme discipline. In the fun facilities, however, precision is the key. It's not about the cat eating up as many kilometres as possible, but rather millimetre work. The obstacles have to be precisely embedded into the snow masses so that everyone can slide over them safely and stoked. The installation of modular tunnels for example requires concentration and very detailed planning.

funslope hauser kaibling

Build up

Currently, our Mountain Men & Women are working in numerous areas in four different countries. In order to build a fun facility,  we spend several days preparing, pushing, building and shaping. Our masterminds on the snowcats usually set the tone and groom for hours. The snowcats are beasts and move huge mountains of snow with their 500 hp. This is how our facilities are created in the shortest time possible.

funslope schoenanger
funslope alpbach

Shaping Funslopes

The Funslopes are all about one thing: Fun For Everyone! With swift banked turns, snappy jumps and rapid tunnel rides, fun is guaranteed for everyone. However, this only works if the slopes and obstacles are regularly maintained and cared for. Masses of snow have to be transported away, buried tunnels have to be shovelled free again and kickers have to be freshly shaped. Especially the fun twisters need precise and regular maintenance. Otherwise, they wouldn't look like this work of art:

 web schmitten 09 02 2018 scenic roland haschka qparks 050

Behind the Scenes

Before a fun facility can even be created, there are metres of snow in front of us. First, the heavy masses of snow are transported to the desired locations with the snowcat in order to build twisters or kickers, for example. The shape crew then takes care of the necessary fine-tuning and shovels smaller masses of snow into place. In case of heavy snowfall, night shifts are required. The team must therefore be able to rely on each member.

Here we would like to show you a Vimeo video.

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