Snow shaper contributes efforts to constructing high-quality ski tracks at venue for Beijing 2022

To contribute his expertise in preparing ski tracks, Wang Shitong, a Beijing local, became a member of the operation team at the alpine ski venue at the Genting Snow Park located in Chongli district of Zhangjiakou in north China’s Hebei Province in 2020.

Picture taken on Jan. 28, 2022 shows the half-pipe venue in Genting Snow Park in Chongli district of Zhangjiakou in north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

Wang, who is nearly 60 year old and has been engaged in the trade for nearly 20 years, said becoming a snow shaper at the venue is a special honor for him because it will bring him closer to the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, and it means huge responsibility.

The Genting Snow Park, which contains six world-class competition slopes, will host freestyle skiing and snowboarding competitions during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

It takes two steps to build a good ski track—making the snow and then pressing it. “The snowmaker will first place piles of snow along the track and then the snow bumps are pressed by a snow groomer to form lanes with gentle ups and downs that can meet the conditions for hosting ski and snowboarding events,” Wang said.

“If the snow gets too dry, it will be difficult for us to shape it; if the snow is too hard, it will easily become ice, which is almost impossible for us to shape or press,” Wang explained.

Thanks to the powerful snowmaking system at the Genting Snow Park, the artificial snow there boasts high density and intensity, and is easily groomed. In addition, the snow park uses natural rainfall and recycled water in snowmaking, effectively avoiding water wastage.

In Wang’s view, constructing bumps along the ski tracks is like sculpting. He and his colleagues must make sure that the ski tracks are well shaped so as to meet international standards and aesthetic requirements. “While shaping the snow, an excellent snow shaper knows what movements the skiers will make in the air and where they will land,” Wang said.

According to a recently released report, the number of Chinese people who have participated in winter sports training, amateur or professional competitions, and winter sports-related leisure activities has reached 346 million. It surpassed the goal of 300 million set in 2015 when Beijing won the Olympic bid.

“Over the past 20 years since I joined the business, I saw an increasing number of children visit ski resorts and parents send their children to winter sports camps,” Wang said, adding that the rapid development of winter sports in China is attributable to firm support from the government.