After the first successful tests in 2006 the Weisse Arena Group which runs the Laax ski area in Switzerland has introduced a snow farming pilot project in collaboration with the Canton of Graubünden.

At the end of last winter in the area of Crap Sogn Gion, snow was put in the half pipe using snow machines and covered with a compound cover. The snow saved meant that the half pipe and snow parks could be built earlier and the energy costs for snow production were also reduced.

Last summer after tests the previous year, a section of the piste of approximately 20,000 square metres on the glacier was covered with a compound cover. This meant that two to three metres of snow could be saved during the summer and the piste machine hours could be reduced by around 40%.

The projects are currently being repeated and will be evaluated ecologically and scientifically for the next five years. The results will then be incorporated into a list of best practice criteria for snow farming and glacier covering.