Snow in Düsseldorf in October! Where Does it Come From?

With less than a week to go to the World-Cup Opener in Düsseldorf, the organizers are working hard to prepare a perfect ski trail. This is no mean feat in October. So how is it possible to have snow this early in Central Europe?

We did a bit of research and found out that it is the result of a high-tech operation involving a climate controlled dome, snow science, and a lot of manpower. The organizers are touting the environmentally friendly nature of the operation. We certainly applaud them for their efforts in this regard, but it is important to note that even with such efforts, this is nowhere near a carbon-neutral undertaking.

The Snowmaking Process
Only a few other cities offer a 100% snow-guarantee. At the end of October there WILL be snow on the banks of the Rhine River. Since Mother Nature cannot be counted on, Mr. Snow has been hired for the event. “Mr. Snow,” also known as Peter Promegger, the chief-technician of the ski dome Neuss (Jever Skihalle), is responsible for the entire snow-making operation and the preparation of the ski trail.

The World Cup snow is made 14 meters above the ground inside the climate controlled ski dome. Installed at this height are twelve snow cannons that produce extremely fine fog from pure drinking-water (no chemicals added). Supported by the air temperature of the ski dome (-4° Celsius), the fog crystallizes to fine snow when it falls to the ground. To keep a high snow quality in the ski dome, the floor in Jever Skihalle Neuss is cooled by a cleverly designed system of pipes that ensures a constant snow temperature of -17 degrees. The result of all this is a snow that forms and falls in a manner that produces a more “powder-like” snow. This unique snowmaking system is relatively eco-friendly regarding energy consumption — energy usage is comparable to that of a swimming pool.

The most challenging part of the process is transporting the snow to the race site — Düsseldorf’s Old Town. Snow is first transported outside the ski dome using a snow cat and then loaded into trucks. Starting on Thursday the 25th, five trucks will shuttle snow from the ski dome in Neuss to the banks of the Rhine River. Only trucks with the latest emission technology are used — all are fueled with bio-diesel. The 3,000 cubic meters of snow are made from 1,500 cubic meters of water, which corresponds to the capacity of a 50m swimming pool.