An artists' rendering of the SnowVolution rotating disk slope

Some new designs coming from British and Italian companies could mean a future with no ski lift lines and endless ski runs 12 months a year.

The British SnowVolution machine is a snow covered rotating planar disc up to 300 metres (985ft) in diameter, inclined at 25 degrees, divided into four to six concentric rings each 15-30 metres (50-100ft) wide.

The rings rotate independently in either direction at tangential speeds of up to 15 metres/per second. Adjacent rings rotate in the same direction, and with a separating static or stationary ring, the remaining rings rotate in the opposite direction. Skiers and snowboarders are spread across the whole width of the disc giving high levels of utilisation.

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