Ischgl triggers avalanches within minutes – thanks to WAC.3®

Securing Ski resort Ischgl

Facts

Project:	Securing Ski resort Ischgl
Place:	Ischgl, Tyrol
Country:	Austria
Year:	Installation since 2009
Customer:	Silvrettaseilbahn Ischgl
Protected Objects:	Ski slopes and mountain railways
Installed systems:	- Wyssen Avalanche Tower 12 shots - WAC.3^®

Ski resort must be safe

Ischgl (Tyrol, Austria) is a well-known winter sport resort with 1.3 million overnight stays per winter season. Guests mainly use the extensive ski slopes – over 40 cable cars and chairlifts with more than 230 km (140 miles) of groomed runs. To ensure guests can continue to enjoy this first-class range of facilities and slopes, the Ischglers attach great importance to safety. In order for guests to enjoy te slopes in all snow and weather conditions, an efficient and reliable system for remote-controlled avalanche triggering is required, which is in operation 24 hours a day.

How we can protect

In order to increase safety on the slopes and in the ski resort, 55 avalanche towers have been installed in recent years at sensitive points in the starting areas of the ski resort‘s well-known avalanche paths. The ski resort can thus open the slopes earlier or keep them open longer after snowfall. Similarly, in spring, due to the regular activation, there is not as much snow on the avalanche slopes and the pistes can therefore be used without danger despite the warming. The use of the avalanche towers day and night and detonating avalanches via computer instead of out in the field, make the work of the avalanche service team safer. The constant readiness of the avalanche towers (24/7) enables better protection of the ski resort, especially in bad weather conditions, and reduces the number of closed installations. Wyssen avalanche towers enable effective avalanche triggering with minimal impact on nature. In the neighboring ski resort of Samnaun there are also avalanche towers, upwards of 70, that have proven themselves for more than 10 years, securing the ski slopes and the settlement area.

Innovations for protection in ski resorts

Since the construction of the first avalanche blasting tower in 2009, experience has shown that preventive avalanches can significantly reduce slope closure times. Wyssen avalanche towers enable effective avalanche triggering with minimal impact on the environment. Especially in spring, the downhill runs can be used safely and kept open longer. The new WAC.3^® user interface allows significant improvements. Thanks to the web-based operation and connection via mobile radio, several systems can be triggered simultaneously. This saves an enormous amount of time. Another major advantage is the constant monitoring of the systems by the manufacturer. If any technical problem should arise, the service technicians can already plan preventive measures via remote access or, if necessary, on site before the next snowfall occurs. This high standard of operating system and service takes pressure off of the avalanche control team and promotes public safety.