The Professional’s Camp is an attractive combination of consultation, training and plenty of information and communication. Once again this year, the concept attracted 40 drivers from 11 countries. Participants came not only from European Alpine countries, but also from Sweden, Finland, Spain, the Czech Republic and the USA. One participant even came from as far away as New Zealand to see the latest “FunPark” trends and technologies

This strong international participation is also a clear sign of the outstanding importance which the trend for FunParks has now assumed throughout the world. Parks of this kind are an almost indispensable feature in winter sports resorts, regardless of whether the resort is located in the European Alps, in America’s Rocky Mountains, or in the skiing resorts of Japan and New Zealand. For the young generation in particular, halfpipes, boardercross, bank turns, jumps and rails are the attractive alternative to classic skiing on the slopes. As a result, it is extremely important to quickly respond to new trends and to keep developing new attractions. The more attractive a FunPark’s layout, the greater a skiing area’s chance to win young people as tomorrow’s customers.

The most recent PistenBully models are always available at the FunPark Camp. The ParkBully was, of course, at the centre of attention. Thanks to its special equipment, it not only saves a great deal of time when building the various fun park features, it is also the only vehicle on the market able to cope with even the most extreme requirements. The special kinematics of the attachment carrier in particular give the auxiliary equipment an exceptionally wide range of movement. The work area is a total of 134° at the front and a total of 132° at the rear, based on the competitors’ measuring method. In addition, if safety regulations are complied with, the tiller can be operated in the raised position – an often essential feature for optimum forming of ramps, turns and more. That fact that features like this are well received can be seen from the model’s market success: just five years after its market launch, more than 300 ParkBully vehicles are now in use worldwide. This figure speaks for itself!

In addition to the ParkBully, practical familiarisation of the PipeMagician was again part of the FunPark Camp programme. Participants were shown how the PipeMagician can build fun park elements even with little snow. This is possible thanks to its large working radius. The pipes themselves can be continuously extended as the winter progresses. The PipeMagician also features continuous adjustment of the tilt angle depending on the given snow conditions. Furthermore, the PipeMagician is designed to work on either the left or right side of the machine. With the scraping, transport and solidification elements of its patented drive system, the PipeMagician is not only suitable for giving halfpipes the correct shape, it is also the ideal shaping tool for optimally preparing boardercross radii. The participants were also impressed by the PipeMagician’s excellent shaping characteristics even in icy snow conditions.

Building a fun park is only part of the work. Daily care of the individual snow formations is another: only clean edges, accurate radii and thus excellent transition areas guarantee the visitors’ enjoyment and safety. This was also an important topic at this year’s Professional’s FunPark Camp. However, this year too, the most striking result again was a perfectly styled FunPark, serving as a model for further projects all over the world. The event was a success for both the organisers and the participants. Both parties took home to their skiing resorts a wealth of valuable information and ideas.