Afriski Mountain Resort in Lesotho has reported receiving approximately 2cm of snow on Tuesday morning, which started at around midnight and continued until 3:30am.
According to the resort, snowmaking at the resort also supplements the natural snowfall when the conditions are right and helps prepare the resort for the winter season, with a week of cold weather and low humidity it’s currently perfect.
Afriski technical director Graham Joyce says due to adjustments and improvements to the water storage facility at the quarry above the resort, they are fortunate to have more control of the system and more efficient water pressure management.
“A newly built pump house at the top of the slope insulates our pumps to prevent our pipes freezing. All these factors contribute to simpler operations, in terms of producing what we all want – snow!
“We are super excited, our new system is operating even better than anticipated, we have a week of cold weather, to capitalise on even more snowmaking before season starts.
“It is important to note that the roads in the area are currently closed to 2×4 vehicles and only open to 4×4 vehicles with good quality off road tyres or snow chains. Our ski season opens on the 10th June and runs until the end of August, we look forward to having our guests hit the slopes with us,” Joyce said.