Artificial snow will make the competition fairer.
Text | Takeri
It was nearly evening, the tourists of The Chongli Genting Ski Park in Zhangjiakou, wrapped in silver, dispersed, and Huang Yongbin, the snowmaking and electrical director of the field events department, led a team of snowmakers to start work. More than 100 snow-making equipment are in motion, snowflakes flutter all over the mountain, and 20 gold medals will be produced here in skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
As early as the first international test event of the snow sports at the Beijing Winter Olympics, the snowmaking and site repair capabilities of Genting Ski Park were once out of the loop in China.
So, why do ski competitions, including the Winter Olympics, rely more and more on artificial snowmaking, which is "fake snow"?
Artificial snow is not "fake snow"
In recent years, artificial snow has been heavily used at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Sochi and Pyeongchang. Especially at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, artificial snow was used at 90% of the total amount of snow used. During the Obstacle Course World Cup, genting venues made snow in the proportion of 60% artificial snowmaking and 40% natural snowfall.
On January 16, Huang Yongbin carried out snowmaking work at Genting Ski Park. Source: People's Vision Photography | Hu Wang
Artificial snow is not accurate to think of artificial snow as "fake snow", water molecules in nature in solid, liquid and gaseous form, constantly changing under different temperature conditions, the so-called snowmaking, just the liquid water in the low temperature conditions into a solid form.
For this reason, snowmakers are often referred to as "ice magicians". In the words of snowmaker Huang Yongbin, snowmaking requires temperature below 0 degrees Celsius, and humidity is best below 50%. They control the compression-mix ratio of water and air, which is atomized and sprayed by a snowmaker and condensed into snow crystals in the air. The farther the spray distance, the better the snow quality.
A snowmaking device is working
Secondly, the placement of snow machines is also learned, even if it is the same snow track, the wind speed and wind direction must be taken into account every time the snow is made, and the snowmaking situation must be checked on the ground every 1 hour. To this end, Huang Yongbin has practiced a "unique skill", listening to the roar of snowmaking equipment can judge whether the operation is normal, and grabbing a handful of snow can test the quality of snowmaking.
"Scattering shows that the snow quality is too dry, but it is too much moisture, the dry and wet are moderate, and the snow quality is the best." In Huang Yongbin's view, chongli's climate is very suitable for artificial snowmaking, and the quality of snow is very high. "High-quality artificial snow with high density, strength and easy shaping, is a good choice for track snow. And artificial snow is more resistant to high temperatures than natural snowfall. ”
As a result, the snow season in Chongli can be extended from the beginning of November of the first year to around April of the following year. Artificial snowmaking is significant for ski resorts, especially ski events.
Why snow must be made
Some people will ask why the Winter Olympic venue must make snow, which has a lot to do with the snow requirements of the Winter Olympic track.
The FIA document "Design Requirements for Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding Venues for the 2022 Winter Olympics" states that the snow track needs to guarantee about 71,500 cubic meters of snow, and when this figure is added to the melting coefficient, it will reach 107,200 cubic meters. Even smaller, large-jump tracks need to maintain at least 11,000 cubic meters of snow.
This figure means that it is difficult for us to accumulate such a high amount of snow through natural snowfall, and because the track is usually built in the mountains with complex terrain, the transportation cost is too high.
Hebei Zhangjiakou Winter Olympic venues welcome the first snowfall in 2022. Source: People's Daily News
Even if the transportation cost is not considered, even if the natural snowfall reaches 3 meters thick, it can only form a snow layer of 30 cm to 40 cm after snow pressure, and it cannot meet the requirements of the 'ice-like snow' required for alpine skiing competitions at the Winter Olympics. "If we always wait for nature to give us enough snow, it's likely that we won't be able to organize the race as planned." Joe Fitzgerald, who was director of freestyle skiing competitions at the FIS for 21 years, also commented.
Therefore, in accordance with international practice, in recent years, the alpine ski resorts of the Winter Olympic Games have used artificial snowmaking.
It is worth noting that most of the world's snow resorts will fully consider the issue of water recycling. Artificial snowmaking does not simply consume water, the resulting snow will return to the natural water cycle again, and if the corresponding small watersheds are well planned and designed, most of the snow melt will return to the reservoir.
For example, the water used in snowmaking at the National Alpine Ski Center comes from two sources, a natural lake under the mountain and a water circulation system on the mountain. The meltwater after the snow season and the rainwater received on a daily basis will be collected through the natural channels in the competition area and collected in the pond dam located at an altitude of 900 meters, which is used for the greening of the competition area and the snowmaking of the next snow season.
For some people's concerns about whether it will affect the local water resources and energy problems, Yan Jiarong, spokesman for the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, responded that from the perspective of actual water consumption, the water demand in Yanqing during the games accounts for 1.6% of the total local water consumption and 4 ‰ of the local water resources. The water demand in Zhangjiakou during the competition accounted for 9.8% of the total water consumption in Chongli District and 2.8% of the water resources in Chongli District.
Artificial snowmaking requires limited water and will not have an impact on regional water security and the ecological environment.
Snowmaking makes competition fairer
Of course, in addition to meeting the snowfall of the Winter Olympic track and the reuse of water resources, many people do not know that artificial snow will make the competition fairer.
The average skier prefers to glide on the newly falling "powder snow". Contrary to this perception, however, once the alpine ski track is ready, new snowfall will become the "enemy" of the race.
Naturally occurring snowfall, melted snow that re-condenses, and snow that accumulates over a long period of time have different physical properties, and even differences in snow temperature can affect their properties. In order to meet the fairness of sports competitions, trait stability is very important for the slopes.
The American Ski Association's Track Specialist Training Manual describes that almost all work, including snowmaking, has only one purpose, which is to ensure that athletes can enjoy stable and fair track conditions regardless of the order of departure. In short, this fair condition is manifested in the fact that the pistes are hard enough. However, hardening the slopes is not an easy task, and in order to facilitate hardening operation, the snow on the track itself must have relatively stable physical characteristics.
"Snow is a very complex material that can be said to be very difficult to handle." Fitzgerald points out that artificial snow is more likely to be formed into uniform snow trails after being pressed, leveled, and injected with water (in order to form hard, icy snow) than natural snow, which is more physically variable.
The Alpine Ski Racing Pistes And Maintenance Guidelines, written by the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, also clearly state that artificial snow is best suited for the construction of the base layer of the pistes due to its high mechanical strength.
References: Xinhua News Agency, Guangming Network, Observer Network, People's Network
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