|
Snow grooming is the process of manipulating snow for recreational uses with a tractor, snowmobile, snowcat, piste caterpillar, truck or snowcat towing specialized equipment. The process is used to maintain ski hills, cross country ski trails and snowmobile trails by grooming (moving, flattening, rototilling, or compacting) the snow on them. ==Equipment== Modern groomers built for ski slopes employ front mounted, hydraulically operated blades, powered rotary tillers and specialized shaping equipment for not only maintaining ski slopes, but also for building half pipes, ski/snowboard terrain parks and snow tube parks. Cross country ski trails are also groomed in similar fashion, but use specialized drags that imprint ski guides instead of grooming a wide path suitable for high speed snowmobile use. A snow groomer is a tracked vehicle equipped in front with a shovel (or dozer blade) and behind with a cutter (or roller). It is usually driven by diesel engines. When the machine drives over a snowfield, it pushes snow ahead of it and, at the same time, smooths out any surface unevenness. Manufacturers include Formatic, Kässbohrer, Prinoth, Ratrak, Logan Machine Company, Tucker Sno-Cat, Snow Trac, Thiokol, Ohara Corporation / AZTEC Snow groomers can handle very steep gradients due to their low centre of gravity and large contact area, but they can also be assisted by winches. Using cable lengths of up to 1,200 metres and a tractive force of up to 4.8 tonnes, winches can support the machines on steep slopes.〔(Neue Windentechnologie für steilste Hänge ) (Sherpa-Winde, Prinoth) ISR Internationale Seilbahn-Rundschau 22 April 2011, retrieved 5 September 2014〕 Snow groomers warn skiers and snowboarders with visual or acoustic signals. Groomers are mostly sent out during the night time after the close of the ski area so as not to interfere with daily and night skiing.〔''(Snowmakers, snowmaking prevail when Mother Nature is uncooperative )'' - ''Pocahontas Times - Mountain Times'', Vol. 6 No. 2 February 2007〕 Due to their mobility and low ground pressure (typically 0.040 to 0.060 kg/cm² (about 4 to 6 kN/m²) snow groomers are sometimes used elsewhere, e.g. for agricultural purposes, moving bulk goods, working on peat bogs or at biogas sites.〔(Pistenraupen zum Bewegen von Hackgut ) TEST Pistenraupe Prinoth LH 500, Anwender: Thermo Wipptal AG, ([photos dated 15 June 2011), retrieved 5 September 2014〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Snow grooming」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|