Every skier knows it: December marks the official start of the winter sports season. This year, the season promises to be even busier and more exciting with the upcoming Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Slopes come alive and lifts return to full operation. But what snow enthusiasts find ready to use is actually the result of months of hard summer work by high-altitude teams, preparing infrastructure, trails, and snowmaking systems. Among steep slopes and dense forests, sport, tourism, and technical operations coexist, all challenged by altitude, weather, and extreme logistics.
Part of this ecosystem is Funivie Arabba, which manages some of the most renowned ski resorts in the Dolomites. Their philosophy is simple: offer an authentic and sustainable experience. Sustainability is also at the heart of MB Crusher’s approach: transforming waste into resources, reducing waste, and limiting transport, all with tangible environmental benefits.
Bosco delle Salere: the MB-HDS314 hits the slopes
Reaching the Bosco delle Salere site, at the foot of the Pordoi Pass, means working in an environment where the mountain dictates timing and methods. Here, Funivie Arabba carried out two main interventions:
- Renovation of the Salere red slope
- Excavation of a 700-meter trench for the new snowmaking pipeline system (water, air, and electricity)
For this work, the MB-HDS314 screening bucket was mounted on a Liebherr 914 excavator, progressing approximately 70 meters per day. The goal was to produce fine, homogeneous material for the pipe bedding, avoiding external transport.
As operator Alessio Crepaz explains: “The MB-HDS314 provided uniform particle size, ideal for protecting the pipes, and maintained excellent productivity even with wet material.”
At high altitudes, where wet or compacted soil can slow operations, the MB Crusher screening bucket enabled faster work, consistent performance, and easier handling.
High-Altitude Work: Logistics and Sustainability as a Team
It’s not just the screening bucket that performs above 1,000–2,000 meters: the entire MB Crusher range is designed for sites where transporting material is difficult or expensive. The equipment can be quickly mounted, handle multiple materials, and allow multiple operations to be completed directly on site, reducing time, costs, and logistical impact, while preserving the geotechnical properties of the soil and materials used.
Selecting, crushing, moving, demolishing, or milling become integrated operations within an efficient system, all with one goal: optimizing time and costs.
This approach was applied a few hundred kilometers north, in the Austrian Alps.
Gosau Hintertal: snow ready thanks to the BF120.4
In Gosau Hintertal, snow is non-negotiable. To guarantee coverage, Dachstein Tourismus AG built an artificial reservoir at 1,000 meters to serve the Gosau-Zwieselalm and Annaberg-Zwieselalm ski areas.
The construction company Karl Pitzer GmbH faced a major operation: removing 120,000 m³ of material, adding 54,000 m³ of fill, and building embankments up to 22 meters high. The MB Crusher BF120.4 mobile crusher, mounted on a Liebherr 936 excavator, transformed limestone into material for roadbeds and draining aggregate for the reservoir.
As the team reports: “We saved time and money. No stops, no gravel purchases – we produced it directly on site.”
At high altitude, this operational autonomy makes the difference between a smoothly running site and one that stalls.
Operational Autonomy: the Key to Success
Temperatures, steep slopes, difficult access, and complex logistics all increase costs and time. With MB Crusher, however, on-site material can be turned into a resource, minimizing transport and maximizing efficiency.
Now that MB Crusher equipment has completed the work, all that’s left is to await Santa’s sleigh landing… the slopes are ready!
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