Savognin mountain railways

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Savognin Bergbahnen AG

logo
legal form Corporation
ISIN CH0002134473
founding 1962
Seat Savognin , Switzerland
management Christoph Passecker
( Managing Director )
Markus Schröcksnadel
( Chairman of the Board of Directors )
Number of employees 110
sales 8.65 million CHF
Branch Transport, tourism
Website www.savogninbergbahnen.ch
Status: 2015

Spherical panorama of Tgeps in the Radons part of the ski area Show
as spherical panorama

The Savognin Bergbahnen AG is a Swiss transport service - and tourism companies , whose activities on the region Savognin / Riom-Parsonz in the canton of Grisons focus and the areas mountain railway operation and gastronomy include. The company employs around 30 annual and 80 seasonal employees and generated sales of 8.65 million Swiss francs in the 2014/2015 financial year.

The Savognin Bergbahnen AG is listed on the Swiss stock exchange SIX Swiss Exchange listed . Markus Schröcksnadel and the brothers Anton and Peter Schmidl own 51 percent of the shares. The Schröcksnadel and Schmidl families hold equal shares in Savognin.

Field of activity

The mountain railway operation is the company's main business and contributes around 6 million francs to sales. Winter operations are the main business with around 205,000 first-time entries (45,000 in summer). The rest is achieved through gastronomic offers (2 restaurants, 1 snow bar).

The company operates a total of 13 facilities: a gondola lift , two chair lifts , four ski lifts (two of which are double ski lifts ), a short funicular , two small ski lifts and a treadmill .

history

When the Gotthard Railway went into operation in 1882 , many pass roads that served as north-south traffic axes lost their importance, and many mountain villages such as Savognin lost their livelihood. In Savognin, winter sports were discovered for the economic upswing and against emigration . The driving forces at the time were the local chancellor Leza Spinatsch and Tobias Kuoni.

founding

Old logos from Nandro and Savognin Bergbahnen

On May 25, 1962, Tobias Kuoni founded the stock corporation “Nandrò Ski- und Sessellifte Savognin-Piz Martegnas AG”. The name Nandrò got the company from the Val Nandro , a side valley of the Oberhalbstein , in which the ski area is located. The name Nandrò-Bergbahnen AG Savognin remained the official name of the company until December 1998. In the summer of 1962, Nandrò AG built three transport systems without the help of a helicopter (which didn't exist at the time) : a double chairlift from Savognin to Tigignas, a ski lift from Tigignas to Somtgant and another ski lift from Somtgant to Piz Martegnas . The last systems were completed on December 20, 1962 - two days before the opening of the three railways. A single trip per section cost 1.50 francs in the winter of 1963/64, a day ticket 10 francs. Around 196,000 people were transported in the winter season.

Early pioneering achievements

Bumper sticker «My goal Savognin»

In the following years, the company made a number of other pioneering achievements . Among other things, it set up the first automatic snow and slope report in 1965, built the longest gondola lift in the world in 1969 and was the first holiday resort in Switzerland to introduce a car sticker with the inscription “My goal Savognin”. In 1973 the music group Peter, Sue & Marc even wrote a song with the text "My goal is Savognin". In 1978 the company built the first large snowmaking system in Europe (see below), which brought snow security to the ski area . As a ski area with the only snow system far and wide, Savognin became an attractive training location for professional skiers, and between 1983 and 1995 it hosted seven FIS double events. In 1985, thanks to the snow system, the women's slalom world cup was even held in Savognin. In Leysin in the canton of Vaud , where the World Cup was supposed to take place, there was no snow, and the ski area had no snow-making facilities.

Lake / parking lot

Spherical panorama of the lake / car park double use facility during the filling Show
as spherical panorama
Double use lake in summer (above) and parking lot in winter (below)

In the summer of 1986, the Savognin Bergbahnen, together with the municipality of Savognin, built the double-use lake / parking area for CHF 2.5 million. An area of ​​1.4 ha was asphalted and has been used as a parking lot for winter sports enthusiasts since then . In spring, the winter parking lot is flooded from a spring via an underground water pipe and a 40-60 m wide and 250 m long swimming lake with a maximum depth of 2.80 m is created. The water is directed into the Julia via an overflow . Due to the dark asphalt floor, the lake quickly warms up to a pleasant bathing temperature in summer. There are also numerous recreational opportunities around the lake ( beach volleyball , mini golf , children's playground ).

Sale to Austrians

In 2010 Markus Schröcksnadel - son of the Austrian Ski Association President Peter Schröcksnadel - and the brothers Anton and Peter Schmidl bought 51 percent of the shares . The Schröcksnadel and Schmidl families hold equal shares in Savognin. In addition to Leo Jeker, the main shareholders Astrid Kuoni and Jörg Pool also sold the majority of their shares. The well-known block of shares in the municipality of Savognin remained unchanged. The new men are well-known figures in the Austrian mountain railway industry and have been working together for a long time. In 2000, the families took over the Großglockner Heiligenblut ski area and repositioned it. They also participate in a number of other Austrian mountain railways. Therefore, the season tickets of the Savognin Bergbahnen are also valid in the eight ski destinations Kössen / Hochkössen , Hinterstoder, Wurzeralm , Hochficht , Kasberg / Grünau , Ötscher , Grossglockner / Heiligenblut and Hochkar in Austria. The declared aim of the new owners is to invest in new facilities and to keep Savognin in the top league of family ski areas. For this purpose, it was also introduced that children up to the age of 10 can use the mountain railways free of charge when accompanied by a paying parent. The new owners said they had the same ideas about the development of the company and the management philosophy as the previous major shareholders.

Prizes and awards

QQ - The seal of approval from the Swiss Tourism Association.png
Cups from the ski area test for the snowmaker of the year.

Since 2001, the company has had the QI quality seal from the Swiss Tourism Association, Level 2. In addition, the company has received a large number of awards in recent years . For the 2003/04 winter season, the ski area has won the prizes from the international ski area test for the friendliest train and mountain restaurant staff , for the best management (Teias Wasescha), for the most competent snow master (Leza Schmid), for the best snowmaking system , for the best Piste maintenance and won the cable car operator of the year (Leo Jeker). From the same test, Savognin received the prizes for the best snowmaker and the best snowmaking system as well as the piste seal of approval in the 2007/08 season, and the prizes for the friendliest cashier team , the 3rd place as a family ski area and repeated the Awarded piste seal of approval. Since 2008 the ski area has received the highest awards for family friendliness in several tests , including snowfriends.ch (2008/09), skigebiete-test.de (2009/10) and alpensicht.com (2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14). On November 14th, 2006 Leo Jeker, the longtime director of Savognin Bergbahnen, received the "Milestone 2006" for his life's work . The milestone is awarded annually by the specialist newspaper hotel + tourismus revue , the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (seco) and the Swiss Tourism Association (STV).

Snow system

In the 1950s, engineer Joe Tropeano from the USA happened to develop the first snow cannon when he wanted to improve lawn sprinklers by using compressed air and unintentionally produced snow. With this, Joe Tropeano went down in history as the discoverer of industrially produced snow. In Europe, winters with little snow began to appear in the early 1950s. In Savognin, the valley run had to be closed, especially after longer periods of foehn . The area around Savognin naturally suffers from lack of snow. In 1976, those responsible at the Savognin Bergbahnen looked around for existing snowmaking options, but did not find any satisfactory solutions. They therefore decided to come up with an overall concept for the construction of a snowmaking system themselves . The first large snowmaking system in Europe was created.

The first large snow system in Europe

Sign above the entrance to the Savognin pumping station

The project planning took place in the winter of 1977/78. Construction began on July 12, 1978. The snow system was created in the summer of 1978 with the support of the inventor Joe Tropeano from the USA, Sture Hennigson from Sweden and the Chur hydraulic engineer Reidar Hegland. A trench was built from Savognin ( 1167  m ) via Tigignas ( 1589  m ) to Fugna ( 1813  m ) and two lines were drawn, one for the water and one for the compressed air. A pumping station with 3 pumps and 5 compressors was built in Savognin . The pumps also had to ensure a water pressure of 12 bar and an air pressure of 7.5 to 8 bar for the top snow cannon in the system . A pumping station with two pumps was also built in Tigignas. The cannons came from the USA via Sweden. The water was drained from the Julia . Savognin snowed for its guests for the first time on November 23, 1978 and the slogan "Savognin snowed for you" was circulated. Olympic champion Heini Hemmi and Landammann Tona Collet christened the snow system on December 8, 1978. The construction of the snow system, consisting of 10 Larchmont-type high-pressure cannons distributed over a 3.5-kilometer-long runway, cost CHF 3.4 million. The driving forces from the beginning were Dr. Tobias Kuoni ( Chairman of the Board of Directors ), Leo Jeker ( Director ), Teias Wasescha ( Operations Manager ) and Leza Schmid (Chief Snowmaker). All of them remained loyal to their offices for over 30 years.

  • Instructions on a Larchmont-type snow cannon on the first day (November 23, 1978).

  • The snowmakers of the first hour pose in front of a Larchmont snow cannon.

  • The first snowmakers with the slogan “Savognin is snowing for you” in front of a Jumbo snow cannon.

  • The chief snowmaker Leza Schmid operates a Visper snow cannon.

media

Strips of artificial snow on the valley slope in Savognin.

The reactions also testified to the innovative strength of Europe's largest snowmaking facility. Savognin was initially ridiculed by the Swiss ski lift owners, but soon the snow cannons aroused national and international interest, and the delegations from all ski areas traveled to Savognin to find out about artificial snowmaking. Savognin was often mentioned positively or negatively in the media when it came to snowmaking systems. Pictures of the white snow band on the last green section to the valley station in Savognin became famous throughout Switzerland and beyond. Points of criticism were the noise from the snow cannons at night, the high water consumption of the snow cannons and the fact that the snow remained lying around for a longer period of time and so there were crop failures. Others claimed that targeted snow-making in areas of the piste that had dried out early on protected the ground from injuries from skis and reduced piste damage to zero. In the summer and autumn of 1990, a political battle over snowmaking raged in Graubünden. A cantonal popular initiative to ban snow-making was voted on. Leo Jeker, director of Savognin Bergbahnen, headed the committee against this initiative as president of the Graubünden tourism interest group. On December 2, 1990, the Graubünden people decided against the initiative with 56% and 44%. In 1998 the clause was even repealed according to which a maximum of 5% of the slopes may be snowed.

expansion

Snow lances and the artificial snow piles above Tigignas

In the summers of 1994 and 1995, the Savognin Bergbahnen completely rebuilt the snow system for 3.2 million Swiss francs. More powerful pumps were installed in the Savognin pumping station, the Savognin - Tigignas section was completely renewed and optimized for semi-automatic operation with firmly fixed snow lances (HKD system). The snow lances used significantly less compressed air and thus energy and no longer had to be moved by hand. They replaced the previously used Larchmont and Visper cannons. The energy consumption could be reduced by 40%. In the summer of 1997 the snow system was expanded from Fugna ( 1813  m ) to Somtgant ( 2117  m ) and from Tigignas ( 1589  m ) to Monas ( 1713  m ). A small, semi-automatic pumping station with a pump was built in Fugna. In the summer of 2003, the Tigignas - Fugna line was renovated and upgraded for semi-automatic operation. In the summer of 2005, the snow system was expanded to Piz Martegnas ( 2670  m ) (fully automatic operation). This required the construction of a fully automatic pumping station with two pumps in Somtgant. A 3000 cubic meter reservoir was built under the valley station of the 6-seater chairlift . The expansions cost 5.3 million francs. In the summer of 2009, the fully automatic snow system between Monas and Somtgant was built for 1.2 million Swiss francs. The water was supplied by the Somtgant pumping station. In order to be able to guarantee the pressure of 12 bar at the top cannon, a third, smaller pump was installed in the pumping station as early as 2005. In the summer of 2014, the Savognin pumping station was completely renewed for 700,000 francs, the pumps were strengthened and the pumping station was upgraded for fully automatic operation. Finally, in the summer of 2015, another CHF 350,000 was invested in the renewal of the snow-making system, which enabled snow-making at limit temperatures (previously −5 ° C to −7 ° C, now −2.5 ° C). Since 1978, the mountain railway company has invested more than CHF 13 million from its own resources in the construction, expansion, optimization and renewal of the snow system. The operating costs per winter without interest and amortization are between 150,000 and 180,000 francs. The Savognin Bergbahnen alone bear the construction costs, operating costs, interest and amortization. Thanks to the modernization and automation, the number of snowmakers could be reduced despite the expansion of the system. While it initially needed 12 people for 24-hour operation, today it only takes 3.

Railway systems

Slope map from the Savognin ski area

The following railway systems are or were to be found in the Savognin ski area:

Existing railway systems

Valley station Mountain station Plant name route Type Year of construction and renewal Height difference length Capacity per vehicle Manufacturer
Naladas valley station Naladas mountain station Naladas Naladas - Crap Farreras Ski lift 1966 (1999) 464-527 m 1540-1729 m 2 Städeli / Garaventa
Radons I valley station Radon I mountain station Radons I Radons - Tgeps Ski lift 1969 379 m 1504 m 2 Städeli
Piz Cartas I valley station Piz Cartas I mountain station Piz Cartas I. Tgeps - Piz Cartas Ski lift 1969 468 m 1703 m 2 Städeli
Laritg valley station Laritg mountain station Laritg Mot Laritg - (Martegnas) Colms Ski lift 1975 (1998) 385 m (previously 476 m) 1540 m 2 Garaventa
Radons II valley station Radons II mountain station Radons II Radons - Tgeps Ski lift 1975 361 m 1405 m 2 Garaventa
Piz Cartas II valley station Piz Cartas II mountain station Piz Cartas II Tgeps - Piz Cartas Ski lift 1975 468 m 1703 m 2 Garaventa
Valley station 4er Savognin Mountain station 4er Savognin 4-seater Savognin Savognin - Tigignas Chairlift 1987 441 m 1744 m 4th Garaventa
Valley station 6er Martegnas 6er Martegnas mountain station 6er Martegnas Somtgant - Piz Martegnas Chairlift 1998 556 m 2169 m 6th Garaventa
Inclined lift with valley station Inclined lift with mountain station Inclined lift Tigignas (restaurant - 4-seater chairlift) Funicular 2001 10 m 82 m 12 Niederberger
Panoramabahn valley station Panoramabahn mountain station Panoramabahn Tigignas - Somtgant Gondola 2012 511 m 1638 m 10 Leitner
  1. ↑ Was extended by 189 m in 1999 to replace the dismantled Stanegn chairlift. In addition, a slight curve was built in.
  2. ↑ The lift used to go to Piz Martegnas. In 1998, when the Colms ski lift was dismantled, a sharp twirl curve was built and the mountain station was moved to the ridge above Colms.
  3. ↑ As a double ski lift parallel to Radons I.
  4. ↑ As a double ski lift parallel to Piz Cartas I.

Railway systems that have already been dismantled

image Plant name route Type Year of construction and renewal Dismantling Height difference length Capacity per vehicle Manufacturer
2-seater chairlift Savognin 2er Savognin Savognin - Tigignas Chairlift 1962 1987 422 m 1668 m 2 Städeli
Fugna ski lift (right) Fugna Tigignas - (Fugna) - Somtgant Ski lift 1962 (1988) 2012 411-527 m 1362–1766 m 2 Städeli
Martegnas ski lift on the right Martegnas Somtgant - Piz Martegnas Ski lift 1962 1998 555 m 2147 m 2 Städeli
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Image wanted BW
Stanegn Stanegn - Colms da Parsonz Ski lift 1966 1982 270 m 910 m 2 Städeli
Cable car 1st section Cable car 1st section Savognin - Malmigiucr Gondola 1969 2000 511 m 2554 m 4th Müller
Former mountain station of the 2nd section of the gondola lift Cable car 2nd section Malmigiucr - Radons Gondola 1970 2000 189 m 2737 m 4th Müller
Colms ski lift (left) Colms Somtgant - Colms Ski lift 1978 1998 303 m + 42 m 1160 m + 165 m 2 Garaventa
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Image wanted BW
2 sticks Stanegn - Colms da Parsonz Chairlift 1982 1998 431 m 1453 m 2 Garaventa
Triple chairlift Somtgant 3 Somtgant Tigignas - Somtgant Chairlift 1984 2012 524 m 1747 m 3 Garaventa
  1. ↑ Was built to Somtgant in 1962, shortened by 404 m in 1988 and extended again to Somtgant in 1998.
  2. ↑ Valley-mountain-valley lift.

Mountain restaurants

The following mountain restaurants and bars can be found in the Savognin ski area:

image Surname Type particularities
Tigignas mountain restaurant Tigignas mountain restaurant Self-service restaurant / restaurant with service Picnic room, children's menus, children's toilets and changing table
Somtgant mountain restaurant Somtgant mountain restaurant Served restaurant
Roggi's Baizli Roggi's Baizli Served restaurant Party tent
Steil'Alva mountain restaurant Steil'Alva mountain restaurant Self- service restaurant / full service restaurant Children's menus, aperitif in the La Bargia hut
Berghaus radons Berghaus radons Served restaurant Local cuisine
Mungga-Stuba Mungga-Stuba Self-service restaurant
Tigia mountain restaurant Tigia mountain restaurant Served restaurant Traditional restaurant
James Beach Bar James Beach Bar bar
Quadrin bar

Web links

Commons : Savognin Bergbahnen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Savognin Bergbahnen AG: 50 years of Savognin Bergbahnen AG. 1st edition. Walder, advertising agency, 2012.
  2. ↑ a b Savognin Bergbahnen AG: 53rd Annual Report 2014/15. 2015.
  3. ↑ Savognin Bergbahnen AG: 52nd Annual Report 2013/14. 2014.
  4. ↑ Savognin Bergbahnen AG on the monetas.ch website. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  5. ↑ a b Pioneering achievement, developments, highlights, awards (PDF; 176 kB) ( Memento of the original from February 19, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Website of the Savognin Bergbahnen. Retrieved February 19, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.savognin.ch
  6. ^ Savogninerlied on YouTube. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  7. ^ "Savognin Bergbahnen in the hands of Austrians Austrian money should secure the future" . In: Tages-Anzeiger , December 1, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  8. ↑ Tariffs & Timetables ( Memento of the original dated November 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Website of the Savognin Bergbahnen. Retrieved November 5, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.savognin.ch
  9. ↑ The best in 2003/04 website from the International Ski Area Test. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  10. ↑ The best in 2007/08 website from the International Ski Area Test. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  11. ↑ The best in 2010/11 website from the International Ski Area Test. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  12. ↑ Test report Savognin - Beginners skigebiete-test.de. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  13. ↑ Rating Savognin Alpensicht.com. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  14. ↑ Awarding of Milestone 2006. ( Memento of the original from November 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Swiss Tourism Association. Retrieved November 5, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.swisstourfed.ch
  15. ↑ Simone Leitner Kaibe khoge Freud . ( Memento of the original from November 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF) In: hotel + tourismus revue , May 20, 2009. Accessed November 5, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / epaper.htr.ch
  16. ↑ Bavarian State Office for the Environment Snowmaking systems and artificial snow (PDF). ( Memento from November 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  17. ↑ Pioneer of the white splendor from the cannon . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , February 2, 2009. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  18. ^ Leo Jeker Seilbahnen Schweiz - "30 years of snowmaking in Europe" . Conference 10./11. March 2009 in Savognin. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  19. ↑ The snowmaker and his passion . In: Bündner Tagblatt , March 8, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  20. ↑ The Swiss pioneer of artificial snowmaking . In: Tages-Anzeiger , January 5, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  21. ↑ a b Oliver Fueter "Less resistance to snow cannons" on the SRF homepage , January 30, 2013. Accessed November 10, 2014.
  22. ↑ Eerie thunder . In: Der Spiegel . No. 16 , 1986 ( online ).
  23. ↑ At the crossroads . In: Der Spiegel . No. 10 , 1987 ( online ).
  24. ↑ a b Snowmaker from the very beginning. ( Memento of the original from November 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Homepage of Meinegesundheit-online.ch. Retrieved November 10, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.meinegesundheit-online.ch
  25. ↑ Susanne Taverna Leza Schmid: The man with a feel for the snow . In: Bündner Tagblatt , March 8, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  26. ↑ Savognin expands snowmaking facilities in summer 2009 . Seilbahn.net. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  27. ↑ Leza Schmid - Riom / Savognin, snowmaker . ( Memento of the original from December 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Graubünden tourism. Retrieved November 10, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.graubuenden.ch
  28. ↑ Savognin cable car database . of the Swiss ropeway database. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  29. ^ Ski lifts Savognin. Skiresort Service International GmbH. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  30. ↑ Mountain restaurants ( Memento of the original from May 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the homepage of Savognin Tourismus im Surses. Retrieved April 14, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.savognin.ch