2014 Olympics Venue

Rosa Khutor, Sochi, Russia

Objectives and Solutions

Rosa Khutor Resort near Sochi in Russia was the host of the alpine, snowboard, freestyle and cross competitions for the 2014 Olympic Games. The snowmaking design and owner objectives were extremely challenging due to the big vertical, marginal temperatures, wide slopes, environmental aspects, energy and logistics. The broader project objectives were to include the best technology in a very powerful system with good value. Significant Olympic experience and a strong local Russian partner like SKADO were also requested.

The Alpine course layouts and mapping changed considerably during the planning process, but a detailed engineering study was commenced to document and detail the proposed snowmaking system.

The Rosa Khutor leadership team engaged local engineers along with SMI Snow Makers, Skado and the RK engineering team to assist with the lakes, pumping, cooling, water pumping and piping distribution system, power supply and distribution and communication engineering along with detailed construction schedules.

mw pumping power

m3/hr water to slopes

meters of pipe

snowmaking stations

Pumping Station

More than 8 MW of primary and booster pumping power delivers over 2,750 m3/hr (12,000 gpm) of high-pressure water to the slopes, while 35,000 meters (115,000 feet) of piping feeds 450 snowmaking stations. A total of 403 fully automated Puma and Super PoleCat Snowmakers—mounted on a combination of towers, swing arms and carriages—are deployed for snow production in all areas.

Automation

SMI’s SmartSnow™ software and controls are the brains behind the automation. Three computers and two large monitors control and display precise information on all aspects of snowmaking—from real-time weather and flow rates to operation hours—making the whole production process simple and efficient. SmartSnow is monitoring and controlling the lake and sump levels, the water cooling pumps and towers, the three pump stations, the weather devices and snowguns. The software is dual language for both Russian and English.

snowmaking

There was considerable debate on the advantage and disadvantages of fan and stick snowmaking technology. The wide slopes, the limited and very marginal weather conditions, energy limitations and wind fighting capability were the key factors in Rosa Khutor selecting an all fan system with primarily fixed position tower fans. Swing arms and portable carriages were utilized on the steep slopes and flatter areas.