Praz De Lys: Official Inauguration Of Demaclenko´s Snowmaking System

It was a first for France: never before had an official inauguration been dedicated exclusively to a new snowmaking system. In early February, Praz de Lys saw a première: DEMACLENKO’s new snowmaking system was solemnly turned over for future use at an official celebration.

Praz de Lys – Sommand is a French ski resort in the western Alps with a sweeping view of the Mont Blanc. To make sure that winter visitors will be able to look forward to a good and punctual start of the winter sport season, DEMACLENKO was commissioned with the far-reaching extension of the existing snowmaking system two years ago. Operations on the new extension started successfully in December, and the project was officially inaugurated in early February. It was a very special event: never before had an inaugural celebration been devoted to a new snowmaking system in France, so the DEMACLENKO event in Praz de Lys was a first. Franck Tiffreau, the director of DEMACLENKO France took advantage of the opportunity to say a few personal words to the operators and guests. In his address, he thanked the ski resort for its successful cooperation and their trust during the planning and implementation stages of the comprehensive project.

Thanks to the excellent performance of DEMACLENKO’s turnkey solution, more than 100 EOS lances and 8 Ventus 4.0 and Titan 2.0 fan guns are now operational on the slopes. The water supply comes from the new water reservoir (with a volume of 46,000 m3) and is sent to the snowmakers through three pumps with a total delivery rate of 900 m3 per hour. The air is compressed through two compressors, each with a capacity of 1,246 Nm3 per hour. 116 pits and 12.5 km of infrastructure complete the network, guaranteeing snow production of a total 35 hectares within 30 hours.

The frictionless and completely automatic operation of the system has been made possible by Snowvisual 4.0. Thanks to DEMACLENKO’s futurist visualisation software, it is possible to make the optimal use of snow windows and to employ resources more efficiently while reducing costs. What is more, the system evaluates the data which have been collected and their detailed analysis serves as the basis for optimizing snowmaking.

The success in Praz de Lys confirms the excellent work carried out by DEMACLENKO France Teams, opening up new prospects for further large scale projects.