STSA president Peter Davis, expressed how pleased he is that the new snow fencing is working as planned. “The efforts of the STSA volunteers over the past two summers are certainly paying dividends!”. Peter researched the ins and outs of snow fencing extensively while designing the project. His many hours spent interpreting exotic US road authority documents seems to have paid off! “They are a new design based on snow fences used in the USA to keep the snow off major interstate highways, and it is clear that they cope well with capturing the snow blowing past in blizzard conditions”. This mornings cam shot shows quickly disappearing poles and rope on the bottom end of the Mawson Tow. Peter believes that with some ongoing fine tuning, the snowfall could be drifted even further across the area.

The original vision back in 2013 was for the new fencing to work in tandem with the slope improvement work that flattened and expanded the area at the base of the Mawson Tow (May 2013: slope work).

Snow fencing works by using natural effects. A lower pressure area is created on the lea (downwind) side of the fencing. This causes the air born snow to slow down, and in combination with the added turbulence that’s created, the snow drops to the surface and accumulates. More snow then builds up across a given area on the lea side of the fencing and the whole process is self perpetuating. The height and spacing of the fencing slats determines how far the snow accumulation throws out from the fence line.

Historically, this area at the bottom of the tow was always problematic. It was a region consisting of rock piles (a legacy from much older slope grooming work), constricted and dangerous skiing corridors and a small, awkwardly sloping loading area. The entire area had a low snow holding ability due to its exposure to high winds from the west (RH side of the pic). In low snow years and at the end of the seasons, this area typically became pretty dangerous and difficult to use. Snow boarders in particular found the loading area very awkward .

Continued improvements such as this, to the safety and ease of use of the area at the base of the Mawson Tow, will be most welcome by club members and the public alike.

Let us know what you think in the comments section?