In this study, the snow conditions of South-Central Slovakia (Inner Western Carpathians; temperate zone) were analyzed to assess the suitability for ski slope operations without snow production under 1000 m a.s.l. For the study site of the Košútka Ski Centre, meteorological conditions for snowmaking, snowpack characteristics, and snow water equivalent (SWE) compared with seasonal precipitation were identified. To identify the months suitable for snowmaking, the number of potential snowmaking days (PSD) and the required number of snowmaking days (RNSD) were calculated for six winter seasons from 2010–2011 to 2015–2016. The results showed that the conditions of natural snow cover were not appropriate for ski slope operation because of a low natural snow depth. For the Košútka Ski Centre, it was concluded that the essential base layer snowmaking for ski slope operation is possible only for a few days in the winter season because of the increasing mean value of the mean average daily temperature and the consequently higher occurrence of liquid precipitation in the winter season. Essential high snow production results in the heterogeneous distribution of snow on the ski slope, and in high snow depth, density, and SWE of the ski slope snowpack, and in prolonged melting.

Snow production results in high volume of snow that is remaining on the low-elevation ski pistes after snowmelt of natural snow on the off-piste sites. The aim of this study was to identify snow/ice depth, snow density, and snow water equivalent of remaining ski piste snowpack to calculate and to compare snow ablation water volume with potential infiltration on the ski piste area at South-Central Slovak ski center Košútka (Inner Western Carpathians; temperate zone). Snow ablation water volume was calculated from manual snow depth and density measurements, which were performed at the end of five winter seasons 2010–2011 to 2015–2016, except for season 2013–2014. The laser diffraction analyzes were carried out to identify soil grain size and subsequently the hydraulic conductivity of soil to calculate the infiltration. The average rate of water movement through soil was seven times as high as five seasons’ average ablation rate of ski piste snowpack; nevertheless, the ski piste area was potentially able to infiltrate only 47% of snow ablation water volume on average. Limitation for infiltration was frozen soil and ice layers below the ski piste snowpack and low snow-free area at the beginning of the studied ablation period.

Climate change affects snowpack properties indirectly through the greater need for artificial snow production for ski centers. The seasonal snowpacks at five ski centers in Central Slovakia were examined over the course of three winter seasons to identify and compare the seasonal development and inter-seasonal and spatial variability of depth average snow density of ski piste snow and uncompacted natural snow. The spatial variability in the ski piste snow density was analyzed in relation to the snow depth and snow lances at the Košútka ski center using GIS. A special snow tube for high-density snowpack sampling was developed (named the MM snow tube) and tested against the commonly used VS-43 snow tube. Measurements showed that the MM snow tube was constructed appropriately and had comparable precision. Significant differences in mean snow density were identified for the studied snow types. The similar rates of increase for the densities of the ski piste snow and uncompacted natural snow suggested that the key density differences stem from the artificial (machine-made) versus natural snow versus processes after and not densification due to snow grooming machines and skiers, which was relevant only for ski piste snow. The ski piste snow density increased on slope with decreasing snow depth (18 kg/m³ per each 10 cm), while snow depth decreased 2 cm per each meter from the center of snow lances. Mean three seasons maximal measured density of ski piste snow was 917 ± 58 kg/m³ the density of ice. This study increases the understanding of the snowpack development processes in a manipulated mountainous environment through examinations of temporal and spatial variability in snow densities and an investigation into the development of natural and ski piste snow densities over the winter season.

The aim of this work was to assess how forest ecosystems dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) or European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) affect snow water equivalent (SWE) in relation to aspect and elevation. The research plots were established in a small headwater watershed of the Hučava flow belonging to the Poľana Biosphere Reserve (Central Europe, Inner Western Carpathians). The SWE values in this watershed (approximately 580–1270 m a.s.l.) were monitored during the three winter seasons starting from 2012–2013 to 2014–2015. The results revealed high variability in SWE and in snow cover duration between the studied seasons. The spatial variability was significantly affected by the forest ecosystem, aspect and elevation. The seasonal mean SWE value was lower by about 50–60% in the spruce forests and by about 21–30% in the beech forests compared to the open areas (100%). Over the whole seasons, the whole watershed mean SWE value on the slopes with the northern aspect was mostly higher compared to the slopes with the southern aspect. The effect of aspect was significant mainly in the open areas and in the forests dominated by European beech during the ablation periods of every season. In the case of the sufficient snow cover, the mean SWE value always increased with elevation. The elevation gradient of SWE was steepest at the open areas of the watershed in the peaks of the winter seasons. The three-season mean value of SWE elevation gradient (per 100 m) at the time of snow accumulation peak was equal to 16 mm in the spruce forests, 20 mm in the beech forests and 26 mm in the open areas. The research revealed that SWE is significantly affected by the forest ecosystem whilst its effect is dependent on the occurrence of dominant deciduous or coniferous tree species. However, the effect of forests is closely related to topographic characteristics (aspect and elevation) of a locality.