With FINNFOAM boards, you can minimize soil exchange and cost-effectively create a load-bearing subgrade. By using thinner insulation layers, you can reduce transportation costs and ensure that snow remains on the ski track even after a rainy week. FINNFOAM INFRA insulation blocks ground heat, maintaining snow tracks and allowing for the early and sustained opening of winter sports venues, even in mild conditions.
Blocking ground heat to maintain snow tracks with Finnfoam INFRA Insulation
To create a good first snow track, the insulation of the bottom of the track plays a significant role in ensuring that the snow does not melt away once it is spread out. During mild winters, and especially if the early winter phase becomes prolonged, artificial trail snow tends to melt, both on top and at the bottom of the track, because it is significantly affected by the heat from the frost-free ground.
The Finnfoam INFRA insulation boards block the heat transfer from the ground to the snow layer of the trail, which significantly slows down the melting of the snow even in non-freezing temperatures, without any cooling equipment and energy consumption. The Finnfoam insulation also acts as a ground frost insulation layer in the structure, preventing frost damage to the surface structure if a roller ski trail is built on top.
Insulating roller ski trails and first snow trails
Sports venues as well as first snow tracks are often built in areas where the soil has poor carrying capacity. With the help of Finnfoam INFRA insulation boards, it is possible to minimize soil replacement needs and create a frost damage-free and load-bearing area for the large work machines that are often used in these areas. This is also the most cost-effective way to create a roller ski track that doubles as the perfect base for a first snow track.
Finnfoam INFRA boards as the saviour of the snow track
With the help of Finnfoam INFRA boards, winter sports venues, such as ski tracks and ice rinks, can be opened significantly earlier and maintained in good condition throughout the winter. During mild winters, and especially if the early winter phase becomes prolonged, artificial trail snow tends to melt, both on top and at the bottom of the trail, because it is significantly affected by the heat from the frost-free ground.
The Finnfoam INFRA insulation boards block the heat transfer from the ground to the snow layer of the track, which significantly slows down the melting of the snow even in non-freezing temperatures, without any cooling equipment and energy consumption. The snow-melting effect of the heat from the non-frozen warm ground below is even greater than the melting effect of non-freezing air temperatures on the surface of the snow. In addition, the Finnfoam INFRA boards prevent the trail from becoming “mushy” during mild and wet weather, which can prevent the need for maintenance during a prolonged mild period.
Tested in practice
In recent years, Finnfoam's INFRA panels have been tested, with good results, in several ski resorts in Southern Finland. For example, after a week-long heatwave and torrential rains, there was still about 40 cm of cannon snow left in the area insulated using 50 mm thick Finnfoam INFRA boards, while there was only 5–15 cm of ice/sludge left in the uninsulated area.
When insulating the base of a ski trail, it is sufficient to add 10–20 cm of crushed stone on top of the Finnfoam INFRA panels, which will freeze on the first day of frost as the Finnfoam cuts off the heat transfer from the ground.
Finnfoam INFRA boards
Ask more about trail insulation:
Niklas Andersson
Finnfoam Oy
+358 400749742