Prinoth Leitwolf: The alpha of snow groomers

In German “leit” comes from the word “leiten” which means to lead, so Leitwolf literally means the Alpha Wolf. And Leitwolf is not just a name, it’s a guiding principal to live up to and one that has lead Prinoth engineers to create the most productive snow groomer on the market. Let us explain.

When looking at the productivity of our snow groomers the vehicle as a whole needs to be considered. The synergies of all the parts working in unison in a snow groomer – from the weight to the engine, tracks, blade, tiller, cabin – all come together to deliver the performance of the vehicle.

Power-to-weight ratio. With its weight of just 11.4 tons and the MTU 530 hp engine, which delivers 2600 Nm of torque, it offers the best thrust and maneuverability, offering the operator better response times. Additionally, the maximum torque and power is reached at a relatively low rpm range. All of this contributes to the overall efficiency of the vehicle so in other words,more can be done in a faster time, using less fuel with a Leitwolf.

Optimal Centre of gravity. The straight-six engine in the Leitwolf is positioned just behind the cabin which balances the vehicle and distributes the weight evenly over the tracks. For the operator this means more driving stability, particularly in trickier situations such as steep, icy slopes, enabling the vehicle to maintain its path and groom the slopes efficiently.

Unique Adjustable suspension. Through a press of a button in the cabin, the Leitwolf tracks can be raised off the ground either at both ends or just at one. The function greatly enhances the traction and maneuverability of the vehicle when climbing, descending and turning. It is a much loved feature by operators. No other snow groomer has this capability and it is another factor that contributes to the ability of the Leitwolf to be so productive.

Igor Marzola, Managing Director of the Piz Sella-Val Gardena ski resort and long time Leitwolf owner, says: "There’s no match for the Leitwolf, it outperforms everything on the market”.

Pushing performance. Currently the industry’s widest blade is  5,950 mm, which is the width of the Leitwolf’s standard blade. However, equally as important to the width is the inside angle of the blade or what’s called the radius. An optimal radius ensures  that the snow rolls within the blade and doesn’t spill over the top or out the sides. This has a big impact on the amount of snow that can be pushed. If the radius isn’t optimized then spill happens and regardless of the width or even height, the blade won’t push as much snow as it could. So, with a wide blade and an optimum radius large volumes of snow can be pushed and prepared so that uniform surfaces are achieved, the number of passes reduced, and the consistency of the snow enhanced for the tiller to create its famous corduroy finish.

The perfect finish. The Leitwolf’s tiller is wide. In fact the cutter bar, which processes the snow, is the widest in the industry at 4600 mm. But it doesn’t stop there. The finisher, which is responsible for the famous corduroy pattern, reaches up to a huge 6430 mm with the side wings. This means, with each pass a larger surface area is covered allowing operators to groom more in less time.

Comfort and user friendly. With the unique-to-Prinoth centre seat, operators have the best all-round visibility to give them the flexibility when doing tasks such as tilling close to edges and obstacles or building features in parks and funlines. Additionally, the Prinoth Control Unit is exactly the same in all our latest snow groomers so operators can easily swap machines and know exactly where everything is—straight away.

When looking at the productivity of a snow groomer the vehicle as a whole needs to be considered, which is exactly the stance taken by engineers at Prinoth. The synergies of all the parts working in unison, from its weight to the engine, tracks, blade, tiller, cabin, hydraulics and electrics, all come together to deliver the performance of the vehicle.

For the Leitwolf, each of these components has been meticulously considered with the one goal of creating the most productive snow groomer.