"We provide 100 percent snow security," says Antti Lauslahti, Snow Secure's CEO, proudly. "Any ski resort can start the season at a specific date." He adds that the system has performed well even when summer heat waves push temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Beneath the blankets, temperatures do not exceed roughly 1 or 2 degrees Celsius. Snow Secure, and its clients, can check that their icy stockpiles remain cool thanks to real-time temperature sensors.
It's not just ski resorts that can make use of stored snow. One of Snow Secure's clients is a timber-processing plant. Staff there keep large pieces of wood under a thick layer of snow topped with the blankets. It keeps the timber from drying out too much in the summer, ensuring that it stays fresh and easy to cut, says Lauslahti.
Elizabeth Burakowski at the University of New Hampshire says that, in general, snow storage is "a great strategy to address the uncertainty that we have when living in a climate that's warming rapidly." She adds that ski resorts should consider using electric-powered snow-grooming machines, to reduce emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.
"It's an elegant technology," says Kjell Skogsberg, who works in the renewable energy industry. "It's really reliable and has been used for centuries."
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