Tadano PM 18 SP loader crane rides a PistenBully at Kronplatz

Plan de Corones – better known as Kronplatz – sits at over 2,270 metres above sea level and offers more than 100 kilometres of pistes. Keeping the resort running through the winter falls to lift and slope operator Funivie di Valdaora SpA (Olanger Seilbahnen AG), whose technicians must reach snow cannons mounted on fixed towers several metres high, in temperatures that regularly drop below -20°C and with wind gusts of 80 to 90 km/h. For years the job was done with ladders and harnesses.

Crane on tracks

The solution developed with Tadano and its knuckle boom dealer for Trentino-Alto Adige, Frei & Co., puts a PM 18 SP loader crane with a work basket on a PistenBully snow groomer – the only carrier that can move across snow-covered slopes where no truck or rented mobile crane can operate. A custom lateral tilt system, developed with an Austrian partner, keeps the crane level on uneven and steep terrain. The project took more than a year from order to delivery, covering the crane, subframe, tilt system, stabilisers and certification; final assembly at altitude took just two to three hours.

“As a premium ski resort, we want to be premium in terms of safety as well. With the crane basket, the technician reaches the work area directly and safely, without having to climb around the snow cannon.”

— Andreas Del Frari, Technical Manager, Funivie di Valdaora

The operator had trialled a similar concept for three seasons with a rented groomer and a smaller crane, which exposed the shortcomings: no tilt system, poor weight distribution and too little capacity. On the earlier set-up the crane also tended to drift sideways under load on slopes, so Frei & Co. fitted the PM 18 with the slewing gear of the larger PM 23.

“It is not a standard setup, but it was exactly what was needed to guarantee full control even on the steepest slopes.”

— Hannes Frei, Frei & Co.

Self-sufficient from November to April

With some 140 to 150 snow cannons across the resort, many on fixed towers, the machine gives Funivie di Valdaora the same flexibility in winter that a service truck provides in summer. “If a snow cannon breaks down, or machinery needs repositioning, I cannot call an external company. From November to April, the slopes are ours and we need to be self-sufficient. With this vehicle, we truly are,” says Del Frari.

Delivered to Kronplatz in December, the unit has completed its first winter of operations, servicing tower-mounted snow cannons by radio remote control. Its duties are already expanding to slope-side entertainment structures, ski cross containers and the resort’s covered snow storage facility. Frei & Co. says other ski resorts are considering similar installations and expects further orders to follow.