A ski slope is not just like another. Racing director Hans Pieren has highest demands for the quality of his World Cup slope. The slope has to be extremely hard and compact. And in the matter of fairness of the competition the slope condition has to stay the same from the first to the very last competitor. The influence of the condition of the racing slope on the driving behaviour is huge. The slope preparation is therefore a science in itself, which also contains complex irrigation. For the watering an injection bar is used. With this tool the slope is being iced at temperatures around the freezing point in order to create an optimal surface. However, if fresh snow should fall it has to be removed before the starting of the race. On Thursday, shortly before the beginning of this year’s World Cup from the 9th to 10th of January in Adelboden heavy snow began to fall. In the last minute, far more than 50 volunteers cleared the snow from the slope away to the edge with their ski. They were actively supported by the Aebi TT280, which is equipped with crawler tracks and an overhead winch. Its speciality: secured with the overhead winch even the steepest parts of the slope can be prepared. The specially developed winch contains 500 meters of working rope and operates with a traction force up to 4 tons. To secure the Terratrac, the rope can be attached to a tree or a cableway pole, for instance. The 360° rotatable swivel arm enables flexible working at the slope. And while the big and heavy snow groomer could damage the sensible surface of the slope and the extensive caterpillars could lead to irregularities by turning around, the Aebi TT280 can move around without any negative impacts on the slope thanks to rubber tracks and all-wheel steering. Equipped with a Schmidt VP wedge snowplough, the Terratrac can easily clear away the fresh snow from the slope just below the starting point. With a clearing width of 2.4 meters and the power of 109 PS the Aebi Terratrac is clearly preferable to manual clearing by hand or ski respectivly.
Thanks to its crawler tracks and overhead winches the Aebi TT280 is optimally suited to prepare even the steepest slopes quickly and efficiently. The resources of the supporters can be spared and used where no machinery can be used. Furthermore, in Adelboden in demand are the Aebi VT450 Vario and TT280 for all kinds of transportation work. Tarpaulin, power cables, signs, or barrier nets for the slope – the two red helpers on 4 wheels, or tracks respectively, are in constant use at the World Cup in Adelboden and are getting supervised by the competent and long-standing Aebi partner Ernst Kropf Landmaschinen.
The Aebi team wishes the responsibles a successful end spurt with all the preparations, all the athletes a successful World Cup weekend and all viewers lots of exciting moments at the “Chuenisbärgli”.
