A futuristic looking snow dome opens in the United Arab Emirates.

A new indoor snow centre using artificial surface slopes made by Italian company Neveplast has opened at the giant Bawadi Mall in the United Arab Emirate city of Al Ain. Continue reading ‘New indoor snow centre opens at United Arab Emirates mall’

Tourist Office

United Arab Emirates
Dubai

Telephone: (4) 294999
Website: www.skidxb.com

Description

Owners the Majid Al Futtaim have put Ski Dubai at the heart of the largest shopping complex outside the US – the Mall of the Emirates (Formerly Souk Al Nakheel). This introduces the next generation of entertainment, leisure and shopping centers to the region. At its heart is the first snow playground in the Middle East – with real snow.

The snow playground includes a ‘giant’ indoor ski slope served by a state-of-the-art ski quad chairlift, the slope offer downhill runs for both skiers and snowboarders from beginners to experts. The whole snow complex is enclosed under a high tech snow dome where fresh snow falls every night in a temperature-controlled environment.

The slope itself is built like an upside-down ‘L,’ and is 400m long from one end to the other with a width range of 20m to 30m. 1,600 people are able to use the slopes simultaneously. The entire slope is covered with at least three feet (90cm) of snow, generated by Acer Snowmec’s patented snowmakers that mimic the natural precipitation process to deliver real, high-quality snowflakes to the slope and surrounding chilled areas.

The slope itself also imitates nature, other ski slope projects built around the world – in Japan and Germany, for example – are simple and straight hill constructions that offer limited challenge and no real-world simulation.

There are no mountain ranges in the world that offer straight slopes. Natural topography is completely different, with twists and turns and gradients and banks, and trees in the middle. Instead of just another slope in a building, the designers have brought the Atlas Mountains of Morocco to the Emirates, trees, landscape and all.

Majid al Futtaim’s vision is to create a learning experience for all comers, and to introduce the ‘spirit of the mountains’ even to those who are not interested in skiing.

For those not content to simply frolic in the snow, the graded slope that forms one side of the run is ideal for learners, who can progress from the bottom of the slope to the top. Ski lifts and other people-movers will be on hand to take people from the main entry point up to whatever level suits their expertise.

It’s a progressive development facility; people who cannot ski at all will be able to have high-quality lessons. It will be an ideal tool for people to progress, especially for children.

The left-hand side of the slope is a mainly straight run designed for professionals. When this slope is completed, there’s no reason that Dubai could not host professional winter sports or international events of the highest calibre. There is also a permanent snowboarding quarter pipe running at the side of the upper slope. This can be added to by a temporary ramp to make a full half pipe set out to official competition dimensions. Snowboarding, freestyle jumping, slalom runs – can all be catered for. The snow/ice section includes interactive snow and ice play areas, frozen lakes and ice climbing walls.

The whole project includes retail stores, a giant hypermarket and parking for 7,000 cars. The entertainment and leisure facilities covers 45,000 square metres and include a 2,000 seat cinema complex; a food court; coffee shops and themed restaurants. The complex gets 30 million visitors per year. Construction work began in 2003.

keywords

Ski Dubai, United Arab Emirates