Silvrettaseilbahn AG, the owners of a ski resort located at Ishchgl in Tyrol, Austria wanted to expand their capabilities for the production of artificial snow.

WALO has constructed a snow reservoir 2,500m above sea level, with a storing capacity of around 165,000m³. This is filled mainly by natural melting water and flood water flow. The water can also be pumped from another storage tank.

Once the design had been agreed and drawn up, a drainage layer was applied with specialist equipment called a slope paver, followed by a layer of binder course and then a layer of Dense Asphaltic Concrete (DAC) over the slope and the floor level.

Finally the whole asphalt area was covered with a mastic sealing. A raised barrier, known as a berm, was also installed 3m underneath the crest. This berm was covered with rock fill as well as an asphalt coat. This prevents the natural looking rock fill placed in the upper 3m of the reservoir basin from slipping down.

The whole project including earthworks, pipe construction and the concrete and asphalt works was completed over one summer. Many different teams were all working at the same time on different parts of the scheme, providing a logistical challenge.