Gopeshwar, Nov 11 (PTI) The Auli Skiing Centre in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, known for hosting national-level winter sports, will soon begin producing artificial snow using snow-making machines.
Ajay Bhatt, President of the Uttarakhand Winter Games Association, told PTI that a successful initial trial of the long-dormant machinery was conducted on Tuesday, during which the equipment successfully produced snow.
He added that the plan is to begin systematically laying a layer of artificial snow on Auli’s Nanda Devi skiing slope by December 20.
Expressing gratitude to Uttarakhand Tourism Secretary Dhiraj Singh Garbyal, Bhatt noted that the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), the Tourism Department, and the Uttarakhand Winter Games Association undertook the task of reviving the machinery 20 days ago -- a process that has now yielded a successful first trial.
“With the water-supply infrastructure now ready, the team is awaiting the right temperature conditions in Auli; once the temperature becomes favourable, the production of artificial snow will commence. This will allow tourists to enjoy the snow in Auli even if natural snowfall is delayed during the winter season,” Bhatt said.
During the South Asian Winter Games held in Auli in 2011, artificial snow-making machines were installed near the skiing slopes to address a shortage of natural snow.
A reservoir was also built nearby to store water for the artificial snow.
Although the equipment was used a few times initially, it frequently failed to function properly when artificial snow was required. It has remained largely non-functional since 2018.
