Photo: Zaugg

SI World 1/2022, Snowmaking & Slope Maintenance

Zaugg: Powerful machine for tobogganing fun

The Tobogganing Park in Switzerland would be unimaginable without the Snowbeast, as optimal operation of the attractions requires ideal conditions. The power pack from ZAUGG has no problem coping with the labour intensive clearing.

Tamara Mair

2. May 2022

When we hear the term “winter sports,” most of us automatically think of skiing. However, not everyone is attracted to the slopes to explore the mountains on skis or a snowboard.

Nonetheless, it should be possible to entertain these people in the winter too, with an appropriate alternative. With its Tobogganing Park, Leysin is one of the few locations in Switzerland to offer precisely this entertainment.

Every year, the park’s tobogganing provision attracts up to 50,000 additional visitors to the mountain village in Vaud. Strong people and powerful machines are essential for the complex preparation and maintenance of the Tobogganing Park.

This place would therefore also be unimaginable at any time without the Snowbeast from ZAUGG AG EGGIWIL.

ORIGINS OF THE TOBOGGANING PARK

During a storm in 1999, Leysin was cut off from the outside world for three days. That is when former professional bobsledder Silvio Gobellina came up with a simple idea: he had tractor inner tubes inflated, which he attached to tractors and snowmobiles. The tourists were then towed across the plains, and tobogganing was invented. The following year, he decided to open 2 tracks, and so the Tobogganing Park was also born. The complex creation of the entire installation currently uses three ZAUGG Snowbeast blowers.

Snowbeast at the Tobogganing Park

At the Tobogganing Park, a Snowbeast is especially equipped with an X-Designer, which can be used to create the steep turns. The X-Designer allows curve construction like that on bobsled tracks – tobogganing reaches speeds up to 60 km/h.

The other two machines have square units and are used primarily for the construction of igloos and snow villages. Every season, this is how the walls of a total of eight igloos are constructed.

The igloos serve as restaurants for visitors and one of them is even used as an ice chapel. Furthermore, the square units are ideal for general construction of the park and for snow clearance on the squares and walkways.

“The only reason we chose the Snowbeast as a tool is that it is the most robust machine we tested,” Leysin Tobogganing Park Operations Manager Alain Cano tells us.

The cooperation

with ZAUGG AG EGGIWIL is extremely important to Alain Cano (far left) and his staff.

The machines allow work with a very large volume of snow and are constantly pushed to their limit. Even after countless hours in operation with huge quantities of snow and in extreme weather, the Snowbeast holds its own.

Alain Cano is convinced that there is no equipment available on the market that could compete with the performance of the ZAUGG Snowbeast. As such, he jokingly refers to it as a “savage machine.”

Alain Cano personally sees the machine’s manoeuvrability and its quick response to steering movements as its greatest advantages. He is constantly amazed how much power the equipment has.

This is also appreciated by the operators, whose life it makes significantly easier.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Level 5 Snowbeast

Length	284 cm
Width	1,292/ 1,392 mm
Chassis width	1,100 mm
Weight	1,430 kg
Capacity	42 kW (58 hp)
Torque	185 Nm
Clearing capacity	Approx. 400 t/h

Conclusion

It is clear that winter and snow are vital both for a winter destination and for a winter service equipment manufacturer. However, the story of the cooperation between the Tobogganing Park and ZAUGG AG EGGIWIL from Emmental demonstrates that their success is dependent on more than just the weather.

Mutual support and active communication are equally important for the development of both parties. Winter sports and winter service are constantly changing, and continuous adaptation through innovation and technology is therefore essential.

Equally certain is the fact that winter is a long way from dying out.

Eight tracks,

one loop-the-loop and a Big Air Bag – at the Park, an adrenaline rush is guaranteed.

Moving forward together

The Tobogganing Park has always been the test centre for ZAUGG Snowbeast blowers. Alain Cano believes that, with tobogganing, he can offer ZAUGG exactly the right setting for the continuation of this development.

Blowers can be delivered and tested at any time, as required and as they ought to be, i.e. to the absolute limit. The Park staff watch closely and provide critical feedback on further potential optimisations.

One notable example/result of this cooperation is the development of the X-Designer: together with Silvio Gobellina, ZAUGG developed the X-Designer for accurate construction of its steep turns.

“I think we will carry on this close cooperation, so that development of the machine continues with us as the test centre. ZAUGG is certainly always very welcome,” AlainCano adds in conclusion.