Daylesford snow park idea being developed

Alex Tomlinson is working with a small team on an ambitious project; to create a snowy environment in Daylesford for families and children to enjoy each winter.

Mr Tomlinson, who has been working on the project for two years, wants to create a more enjoyable winter for the town with a park that would include toboggan runs and small ski and snowboard runs with magic carpets for children to learn the sports.

"We want to create something that kids and families can enjoy. When Daylesford and surrounds get natural snow fall there are always people driving around like crazy trying to find the hot spots where snow has fallen. So I thought, what's better than to create something that lasts a longer time?"

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The team is currently testing different snow-making methods to work out which approach creates the snow most efficiently, including which method is the most energy and water efficient so the park is as sustainable as possible.

Currently, with just eight hours of snow making on a night when the temperature dips below 0 degrees, the team is able to fill half an acre with metre-deep snow.

The team is still trialling the methods and developing the project but one thing is already certain: in order to make snow, it needs to be cold.

The snow guns being tested use water and air. The air cools the water particles down as they travel through the gun and freeze as they are pushed out into the atmosphere.

For this method to be successful, the air temperature needs to be below 0 degrees.

The other system the team is considering would see snow being made in a shipping container and then blasted out through a pipe.

This would allow snow to be made in any weather environment.

The team is seeking community input on the project, called Alpine Snow Park and is currently scouting locations for where the park can be established.

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