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ARENA SlopeManagement

Steep Management

ARENA SlopeManagement

By Maximilian Mündler MSc, Product Manager

Last week I listened to the latest episode of the Storm Skiing Podcast with Alterra Mountain Company CEO Jared Smith. In the opening sequence, the former CEO of Alterra Mountain Company, Rusty Gregory, talked about how ski resorts are currently going through a transformation process that is bringing them into the digital age. He mentioned that Smith is the ideal CEO to lead the company through this time of change, as he has done so successfully in his previous positions. Smith later stated that these changes in digital technology over the next 5 to 10 years attracted him to become CEO of Alterra Mountain Company. If we take the message of these men and look at it from a mountain operations perspective, we come to the point of “Why work with ARENA.”

 

The expertise of ARENA SlopeManagement is based on the invention of their snow height measurement system almost 15 years ago. This technical application soon became a must-have tool for most Alpine ski resorts. Further development, in close cooperation with ARENA’s customers, has led to revolutionary changes in how European ski resorts organize and carry out their grooming and snowmaking operations.

These process changes have enabled resorts to significantly reduce their financial outlay for grooming and snowmaking by reducing the amount of water, energy, and manpower required. Many resorts have posted this success on their sustainability web pages, with up to 25% savings. Georg Bliem, CEO of the Planai Ski Resort in Austria – host of the 2013 FIS World Ski Championships and host of the famous FIS World Cup Night Race Slalom – has his own way of describing the progress they have made, mentioning that together with ARENA his resort is able to reduce costs by the amount of the initial cost of a brand-new groomer per season. While other providers still only measure the amount of snow under the groomer, further progress and the integration of big data analytics led ARENA to its SlopeManagement concept, which once again revolutionized snowmaking and grooming. Starting in 2019, ARENA combines data from snow height measurement, snowmaking, and meteorological services to optimize resort processes based on data analysis. “We will make our snowmaking even more efficient. To do this, we want to link and analyze all the data we have been collecting on the mountains for years in a more intelligent way,” says Henrik Volpert, CEO of the Oberstorf-Kleinwalstertal Group in Germany, which owns seven ski resorts in the Alps. Josef Reiter, CEO of Mountopolis in Tyrol, Austria, adds that the challenges will become even greater in the future due to soaring energy prices and climate change. As part of the ARENA project, we create the conditions for data-driven decision-making in snow operations.

New technologies have led to a completely updated snow height measurement system, which was unveiled at the InterAlpin trade fair in April 2023. Better satellite coverage, advanced sensors and algorithms, plug-and-play installation, and newly developed software for both grooming and data analysis were ARENA’s latest steps toward a bright future for the company and its customers worldwide

Reach out to Steep Management, we are willing and happy to help you be better.

We can help you create a healthier ski resort by providing individualized solutions to your specific situation—no matter the size of your ski resort, or where you are in North America.
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Steep Management has experience in ski area operations, particularly with the challenges of strategic daily routines and workflow. Developed For Ski Industry Professionals, by Ski Industry Professionals. Through our software products we can assist you in maintaining focus on those things which you and your team need to meet your goals and objectives.

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Data and Information

Database of record: Centralized and organized data assists in recognizing and evaluating patterns, resulting in more thoughtful planning and informed predictions.

Rapid, intuitive retrieval of current and historical data (accessible on or offsite) improves decision making at all levels of management.

Simple report generation.

Reduces risk and potential lawsuits.

Supports visualization of current and future mountain infrastructure (e.g. Gazex explosives locations, forest thinning, designing new runs, parking, etc.).

 

Please click on the images to learn more

Ski Patrol

  • Ease of real-time data entry (no more logbooks or spreadsheets!).
  • Use of common language allows for consistent communication and information sharing.
  • Increases safety by minimizing accidents through pattern analysis of incidents.
  • Accident Investigation and Risk Management.
  • Snow Safety (Ski Patrol) Training.

The web and mobile application suite will provide editing and data collection tools for mapping incidents (wrecks, accidents) of any kind.

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Avalanche Module

 

Ability to document, track and analyze slope conditions with one tool.

Ease of real-time data entry (no more logbooks or spreadsheets!).

 Centralized and organized data assists in recognizing and evaluating patterns, resulting in more thoughtful planning and informed predictions.

Provides detailed current and historical weather patterns for visualizing/predicting.

Saves money through more precise use of explosives. 

Please click on the images to learn more.

Dispatch

The dispatch and risk module leverage Esri’s Survey 123 for ArcGIS, providing an intuitive survey-form, data-driven workflow for point feature collection and reporting. Data collected with SmartMountain Survey apps, which are available for both web browsers and native desktop and mobile apps for standard operating systems, are integrated with one or more SmartMountain modules, providing real-time or disconnected and later synchronized workflows for data collection and integration.

Each ski resort decided what they wish to display on the Dispatch Dashboard including on-hill incidents, walk-in incidents, on-hill refusals,  missing persons, work details for different departments, ski patrol rosters for the day, clearances, and sweeps.

Please click on the images to learn more.

OPERATIONS LOGBOOK

  • Logs for Lift Maintenance, Lift Operations, and Groomer inspections, as well as building inspections.
  • Logs can record data and signatures, can record stops, station assignments.
  • Logs are tracked by calendar.

INFORMATION

  • Management review made easy through the use of Excel – reviewing a major grouping of assets or a single component of an asset such as a drive or a gearbox.
  • All information related to a system(asset) is in one place whether it be a lift inspection report, a manual, oil analysis, a service bulletin, or a letter from a vendor.

DASHBOARD

  • Every user has a unique dashboard.
  • Dashboards can be customized to reflect a user’s specific needs.
  • Quick access to the status of work and cost .

SCHEDULE/ WORK ORDERS​

  • The schedule function in MountainOffice provides for detailed instructions by task, recording of data such as the temperature of a gearbox, and service bulletins.
  • All schedules can have a time or counter trigger.