KOPAONIK SKI RESORT 28 PROJECT RECOMMENDATIONS MARCH 28, 28 Prepared for: Ministry of the Economy and Regional Development of Republic of Serbia Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 15 11 Beograd, Serbia Prepared by: Ecosign Mountain Resort Planners Ltd. 873 Timber Lane, Whistler, BC, Canada VON 1B8 Phone: (64) 932-5976 Fax: (64) 932-1897 E-mail: info@ecosign.com Web site: www.ecosign.com
1. Introduction Ecosign staff member Eric Callender, Mountain Planner, conducted a three day detailed site inspection at the between February 19 th and 22 nd 28. Ecosign would like to express our gratitude to Ski Resorts of Serbia & Jurica Stankovic for the excellent cooperation and assistance provided to Mr. Callender, and to Horvath Consulting for organizational assistance. While onsite Mr. Callender utilized GPS instruments to accurately record the locations of all ski pistes and ski lifts at Kopaonik, and also noted snow quality and customer circulation and concentrations throughout the resort. Mr. Mlađan Dinkić, Minister of Economy and Regional Development, and Mr. Goran Petkovic, the State Secretary of Tourism in the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development, has asked Ecosign to recommend projects which could be undertaken during the 28 summer construction season, with the immediate goal of improving and expanding the existing ski facilities at Kopaonik. This letter report briefly outlines Ecosign s analysis of the existing ski facilities, and provides our recommendations for projects which could be undertaken immediately to improve the. 2. Existing Mountain Facilities The Existing Mountain Facilities Plan is provided on Figure 1, illustrating accurate ski lift and piste locations for the entire Kopaonik ski resort overlaid on 1:25, scale government mapping. A total of 25 lifts have been assigned numbers and inventoried according to the Kopaonik ski piste map. These lifts have a combined hourly capacity of 27,8 people per hour, and are able to support 9,48 skiers per day. A total of 54 ski pistes and skiways, with a combined length of 42. km covering 76. ha of groomed terrain has been accurately measured and inventoried using GPS equipment. This total includes 33 return-cycle ski pistes which are identified numerically in conjunction with the ski lifts. These ski pistes have a combined length of 29.5 km and encompass 65.1 ha of groomed ski terrain with a daily capacity of 3,75 skiers per day. The remaining 21 skiways and skier access routes are indicated alphabetically and are not considered in the daily piste capacity calculation, as they are primarily used by skiers only when traveling throughout the ski resort. These skiways total 12.5 km in length and cover 1.9 ha. 1
In general, Ecosign s analysis has confirmed that Kopaonik s uphill ski lift capacity significantly exceeds the downhill ski piste capacity. The skier capacity of each system of ski lifts and ski pistes are illustrated below in Plate 1.1. Skiers 1,3 1,2 1,1 1, 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 31 14 Sunčana dolina 1 6 LIFT VS SKI TRAIL CAPACITIES SKI TRAIL BALANCE BY LIFT SYSTEM 19 Suvo rudište 2 8 7 Malo jezero 3 51 33 Pančićev vrh 4 53 18 Centar 5 1,18 38 Duboka I 6 83 33 Karaman greben 7 68 35 3 Mali Karaman 8 Lift System 7 24 13 19 18 1 11 Mali Karaman A 8A Marine vode 9 Karaman 1 Jaram 11 16 3 Gobelja relej 12 Lift Capacity Piste Capacity Skiers 1,4 1,3 1,2 1,1 1, 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 14 11 22 18 Gobelja greben 13 Kneževske bare 14 Bela reka I 15 56 11 Bela reka II 16 Struga 17 Ledenica 18 33 11 Gvozdac 19 Lift System 1,28 5 Duboka II 2 1,5 3 Krčmar 21 13 4 Mašinac 22 2 5 HT 23 4 4 MC 24 PLATE I.1 Lift Capacity Piste Capacity 2
Lift and piste systems 6, 7, 8, and 2 have large skier capacity imbalances because these lifts have been upgraded to high capacity four-passenger chairlifts, but their associated ski pistes have not been increased in capacity. Existing double chairlift 21, Krčmar, also has significantly more lift capacity than piste capacity as only one narrow ski piste is available for return cycle skiing. Only lift and piste system 12 has more piste capacity than lift capacity (platter lift Gobelja relej). Skier capacities have not been calculated for lifts 15, 16, and 17 because there is no return skiing due to lack of snow below access Lift 15, and Lifts 17 and 18 have not been operated in the past 15 + years. Utilizing Ski Data information provided by Ski Resorts of Serbia, Table 1.1 lists the five most popular ski lifts at Kopaonik based on the total number of lift rides between December 1 27 and February 2 28. Ecosign notes that the top five lifts at Kopaonik provide 76% of all lift rides- a clear indicator that Kopaonik has too many lifts for current business levels. TABLE I.1 KOPAONIK TOP FIVE LIFTS BY RIDERSHIP Popularity Rides % of Lift Lift Name Lift Hourly Total No. Type Capacity #1 543,639 24.8% 7 Karaman greben 4C 2,4 #2 47,154 18.6% 8 Mali Karaman 4C 1,8 #3 385,71 17.6% 4 Pančićev vrh D4C 1,8 #4 228,257 1.4% 2 Duboka II D4C 2,4 #5 18,771 5.% 9 Marine vode P 6 Total Top 5 1,673,522 76.3% Resort Total 2,194,318 rides Dec 1 27 - Feb 2 28 3. Recommended 28 Ski Resort Projects Figure 2, Recommended 28 Projects, illustrates the general lift and piste renovations and expansions recommended by Ecosign for the upcoming season. The projects are presented in their descending order of priority and in the chronological order in which they should be undertaken..1 Upgrade Lift 7, Karaman Greben Lift 7, a fixed-grip four-passenger chairlift installed in 24 is clearly the most popular and busiest lift at Kopaonik, currently providing 25% of all rides at the resort. Although the existing theoretical capacity of this lift is 2,4 pph, the lower ability skiers using this lift have difficulty loading and unloading efficiently at the design speed of 2.5 meters per second. As a result, this lift is typically operated at a reduced speed which increases the ride-time to an uncomfortable 1 minutes and reduces the actual hourly capacity. Replacing this lift with a detachable quad chair with 2,4 pph capacity will significantly improve customer experience by providing an easier and more 3
enjoyable load and unload experience, and will reduce the lift ride-time to under 5 minutes. The load elevation of Lift 7R should be lowered to match to the load elevation of the adjacent detachable quad chair, Lift 4 Pančićev vrh. The Lift 7R lift line should therefore be extended approximately 5 meters horizontally beyond the existing terminal location. The bottom terminal of Lift 7R needs to be extended and lowered to create a combined skier plaza. Existing ski pistes 7 & 7A are regularly overcrowded and are very narrow, with average widths of 26 & 21 meters respectively. Ecosign has illustrated locations where these existing ski pistes should be expanded up to a total of 5 meters wide on the steeper sections, and between 3 to 4 meters wide on the flatter sections. A proposed new ski piste, 7B, has also been conceptually illustrated. Ecosign has been informed that the installation of a snowmaking system at Kopaonik has also been budgeted and planned for 28. While specific snowmaking project recommendations fall outside of the scope of this Letter Report, the installation of snowmaking on the lift 7 ski pistes should be a priority. The ski pistes must be widened and graded before the installation of snowmaking piping and hydrants to ensure that the snowmaking system is installed along the edge of the expanded ski pistes. 4
.2 Replace Platter Lifts 11 & 12. A second priority identified by Ecosign is to improve the circulation of skiers throughout the Kopaonik resort. Currently, skiers are reluctant to remove their skis and cross the highway (which is also a safety concern), where they must then walk uphill a considerable distance to reach the bottom of Platter Lift 11, Jaram. Platter Lift 1, Karaman, also routinely has large lift queues due to its low 6 pph capacity. Highway Crossing between Lifts 1 & 11 Ecosign proposes to relocate and modify the existing Lift 7 equipment (a fixed grip four passenger chairlift installed in 24), to construct a single twodirectional chairlift that will replace existing lifts 11 & 12. This new chairlift will have a single midstation designed to allow skiers to load chairs traveling in opposite directions at the same time. An example of this type of midstation is shown on the opposite page. This proposed lift will have a capacity of approximately 2, pph in each direction, and will carry skiers safely and conveniently over the existing highway. Ecosign also proposes the construction of a skier s bridge over the highway, and the development of new ski pistes on the currently underutilized and very desirable north-facing ski terrain adjacent to the existing Lift 1. Ecosign will need detailed survey information to correctly design the skier overpass bridge and the proposed lift midstation, and recommends that the technical requirements of relocating the existing Lift 7 equipment be verified by Doppelmayr as soon as possible. 5
Bi- directional Midstation Fixed-grip four- passenger chairlift, Tryvann, Norway.3 Telecord Transfer Tow Ecosign proposes the installation of a 125 meter long telecord access lift (photo on next page), aligned along skiway J near the top terminal location of Lift 1. The 5th most popular lift at Kopaonik, Lift 9 Marine Vode, has a low 6 pph capacity and commonly has a long lift line-up queue. Customers who are wary of this bottle-neck currently choose to hike up to the top of Lift 1 from the intersection of skiways J and K to avoid long lift queues at Marine Vody. While replacing Marine Vode will most certainly be a future project identified during the masterplanning process, installing a telecord is the most cost effective way to provide convenient northbound skier circulation. It would also be possible to install a 2nd short telecord along skiway K, which would allow southbound skiers to bypass Lift 8 when traveling back to the village. 6
Typical Telecord lift.4 Replace Platter Lifts 12 & 13 with a single detachable Lift The desirable ski terrain located at the northern most region of the ski resort is currently under serviced by the two existing platter Lifts 12 & 13, and contains some of the best quality and deepest snow at Kopaonik due to it s favourable slope aspect. Additionally, the minimal existing natural forest cover in this area will allow significant ski piste expansion with minimal disruption to the natural environment. Ecosign proposes the installation of a detachable four or six passenger chairlift in this area which would service all of the existing ski pistes and provide additional capacity for ski piste expansion. Detailed mapping of the top and bottom terminal sites will be required to accurately and correctly locate this lift, however the proximity of the bottom station to the highway also suggests that a terraced skier parking lot should be constructed, which would help to alleviate the congested parking areas in the existing village site. Ski terrain located near Lift 12 & 13 7
4. Summary The existing lift system has a daily skier capacity of 9,48 skiers while the piste system has a daily skier capacity of 3,75 skiers. Lift ride data and site observations indicate that although the majority of the existing ski lifts are underutilized, the most popular areas of the resort suffer from overcrowding on the lifts and severe overcrowding on the ski pistes. Improvements to the resort should focus on reducing the overall number of ski lifts while increasing lift capacity and balancing the ski pistes and lift capacities. Improving skier circulation throughout the resort will improve the customer experience and reduce congestion areas. Ecosign recommends undertaking the following projects in 28: 1. Upgrade Lift 7 to a detachable quad chair and re-grade the bottom terminal to optimize skier circulation in the base area. Expand the Lift 7 ski pistes. 2. Replace platter Lifts 1 & 11 with the relocated Lift 7 equipment & construct a skier bridge over the highway & new ski pistes. 3. Install a telecord lift to improve skier circulation within the resort & optimize the proposed Lift 1R installation. If projects 1-3 are completed and budget and construction timing allows an additional lift installation: 4. Replace platter Lifts 12 & 13 with a high speed detachable chairlift, and expand the ski pistes to be in balance with the increased lift capacity. Construct a parking lot at the northern edge of the resort to reduce vehicle congestion in the village and to encourage skier circulation within the resort. Respectively submitted, Eric Callender, Mountain Planner, Ecosign Mountain Report Planners. 8