Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG

New VarioTrackDesigner from Kässbohrer raises the bar for ski-trail grooming.

A fresh wind is blowing through the ski-trails of the world.

Laupheim, 4 January, 2006.  Ski-trails used in competitive sports have quite different requirements to ski-trails used by the general public. Children’s cross-country trails also have their own special requirements.

Can one attachment deal with them all? Is that possible? With the new ski-trail grooming attachment from Kässbohrer, it certainly is! With a wide range of adjustments, it meets every individual need and delivers perfect ski-trails even under the adverse snow and temperature conditions.

Thanks to the newly designed VarioTrackDesigner integrated into the trail-plate, you can move the entire right hand side trail plate laterally up to 600 mm, and so follow an ideal line over the terrain. This lateral adjustment facility has been requested by our numerous customers who are involved in preparing ski-trails for international competitive events.

You have to start young if you want to be a champion – the earlier the better if you want to lay the groundwork for a successful career in professional sports. There is now, for the first time, a grooming machine designed with younger skiers in mind. Despite the fact that young skiers are physically smaller, until now they have had to use the same size trails as adults. This is far from ideal, as it means that their legs are positioned at an uncomfortable angle, which can eventually cause damage to the hips. Because the width between the forming blades is adjustable, the VarioTrackDesigner makes easy work of preparing special cross-country ski-trails for children.

This adjustment facility is also useful for creating downhill ski-trails for public use, since a wider trail provides the skier with better grip when travelling downhill. Both the track width and the width of the blades are continuously adjustable from the driver’s cab. The VarioTrackDesigner may be parked in a raised position when not in use. For safety reasons, the tiller is then disabled.

The VarioTrackDesigner is driven via an additional fifth pump, which relieves the main tiller and reduces fuel consumption. Moving the teeth on the tiller shaft parallel to the movement of the forming blades also reduces fuel consumption, because less power is used when the full width is not tilled. A tiller speed of 2,000 rpm has proven to be the most effective for best results. A higher speed is unnecessary; it just uses more power and fuel and is more expensive to run. The VarioTrackDesigner works at a depth of 5 cm and will loosen even the most icy terrain.

The track arms have silent rubber bearings and ensure that the trail-plates plot an accurate course, even when negotiating bends. The central, multi-directional, rubber-mounted crosshead linkages of the trail-plates on the lifting arm compensate perfectly for uneven ground. The extremely hard-wearing forming blades are made of snow-repelling plastic and are hydraulically adjustable. Their action is assisted by two steel preparatory blades. Versions of the VarioTrackDesigner are available for fitting to both trail-plates or to the right-hand side trail-plate only.

The new VarioTrackDesigner ski-trail grooming attachment from Kässbohrer is in a class of its own. No other attachment on the market can compare for flexibility or is as responsive to the needs of so many different user groups – further proof of Kässbohrer's position as one of the world's major technological innovators.

VarioTrackDesigner ski-trail grooming attachment

Suitable for all Series 100 PistenBullys

Working width of the snow tiller: 2,500/2,800/3,100 mm

Grooming attachment with 2 hydraulically adjustable tiller shafts

Working width of one tiller shaft: 140 mm

Working depth of the grooming attachment: 50 mm

Maximum speed of the grooming attachment: 2,000 rpm

Blade distance: 260 – 360 mm (hydraulically adjustable)

Track distance: 1,200 – 1800 mm

via hydraulic adjustment of the right trail-plate

Lateral adjustment of the of the entire right-hand-side trail-plate for perfect track grooming.

The distance between the forming blades can be adjusted as required.