Tristan Findley Professional Resumé

Review: The Snow Centre

More to prove that I can review more than technology, I thought I'd post a review about my recent experience and day-out to the indoor (real snow) ski-slope 'The Snow Centre'. My time there was all too brief, but it was enough to rekindle the joy of skiing. Having not skied for over a year and a half (having missed the 2008/2009 season), the prospect of getting back onto real snow was exciting.

The Snow Centre is an enclosed hillside, with artificial snow created for the surface. For those that ski will be familiar with artificial snow, and how sugary it can be. The snow at The Snow Centre is not like this at all. From the moment I stepped onto it, I couldn't tell the difference between natural snow, and the snow that was under my boots. Skiing on it produces equally pleasing results, with turns cutting smoothly through the snow, with the edges gripping the correct amount. The temperature and general atmosphere in The Snow Centre is kept at a comfortable mountain temperature, and if you closed your eyes, you'd have a very hard time not imagining yourself on a mountainside. By the time you finish, you will indeed feel like you've just been doing real skiing.

During your day, you can't help but marvel at skiing on real snow in the UK. And indoors of all things. The experience is really rather surreal, and remarkably zen.

If you are into lessons, The Snow Centre can provide. I myself can't talk about the quality of the lessons as I did not attend one, so I asked my friend Stephen to write a short piece about his experience with the lessons. From what I observed of his lesson, the instructors are very professional, and have a very good way of teaching, sometimes using little games as a way to both lighten the atmosphere, and to help teach basic skills and coordination.

Stephen's Review - Through the eyes of a beginner

Having never skied naturally I decided to have lessons (you can't actually use the recreational ski slope unless you have a controlled level of skill)

Booking the lesson

I booked the lesson online, easy as pie to do and a good price I feel for what you got:

Lesson cost: £45 - 17yrs old and up. 1hr 45 lesson with an instructor. Being level 1 it's the basics really. Get a ski card at the end with your training progress
Clothing hire: £5 - waterproof coat, waterproof trousers, helmet, boots and ski's
Gloves: £6 - you get to keep these! for obvious reasons, gloves just aren't practical for lending back and forth

So you don't have to worry at all about buying all the gear, it's all provided for you for £5 and they will make sure it is the right size for you, and adjust the ski's for you. Just make sure you know your shoe size and weight.

The only hassle with clothing hire is it does take a little while to find the correct size stuffs, so make sure you have plenty of time before a lesson to get it all sorted.

The slope

Having never skied before it was a pretty cool (well kinda chilly) experience, but your well wrapped up so you don't feel the cold too much other then your nose may get a bit sniffy. The snow was great, it was just like real snow you see, same consistency and feel. There are three distinct slopes, the main one which is full sized, the training one which is about 3/4 the size of the main and another one in between which was for kids going down on rubber rings (why couldn't we do that too)

It was a nice atmosphere, tranquil music in the background, felt really big!

The Lesson

Okies so the lesson party was only about 8 people big, 1 instructor. He was a really nice guy, very friendly and approachable. As it was level 1 lesson it was the basics to get you going: how to attach yourself to the skis, how to move in them, how to move up a slope on them, posture and controlling your speed etc

The instructions were good, don't assume you will be good at it right away, it is a lot harder then it looks. But they take you through each part well I felt, though I wouldn't mind have having more practice on some bits there is a lot to fit into 1hr 30 minutes I guess. I struggled a little bit with the control. As Tristan said; as part of the practicing they also incorporate little games to do to help you get the hang of it whilst doing other things, so you stop thinking about what your skis are doing and just doing it. Nothing too tricky.

I struggled at first with turning round to start a descend, you have to make sure your legs and weight is in the right places, If you take too long like I did trying to get yourself straight you will start moving and mess up. I kinda got it in the end. I wasn't able to master the snow plough so I am still on level 1 lesson, but hey it was ok, I wasn't too disheartened, hopefully next time I can do it better now I know a bit more. Oh and I managed to crash into someone one time, but I didn't get hurt at all. Everyone is really nice and polite, plus everyone you are with are learning. Just be careful of kids

They gave you a little card which you keep, you get it signed after every level you complete to their satisfaction. I am already looking forward to going again, just need to get those snow-ploughs sorted

For the record you have to surpass level 4 on the lessons to be able to use the main slope. And at level 1 you don't go all that high up the slope at all. But yes the instructors are really good and I feel it was a fantastic experience on the whole. Definitely wanna go back and get better, it's good fun!

- by Stephen Alexander, Sept. 2009

My only small complaints with The Snow Centre, is that the mountainside isn't large enough to get a decent rhythm going, however I could just be finding this because of my experience level. I wanted to open the taps a little more, but couldn't due to the space restrictions. As you would expect with any indoor (and UK Based) ski run, there is one thing missing:

There is no mountain chalet... When the clock reaches half-past 12, you start looking about for the nearest provider of alcohol, expecting to be able to sit out in a deckchair in the sun for half an hour, and just chill with a nice glass of Glüvine, or a nice cold beer (not to mention some lunch). Alas, The Snow Centre has failed to provide just such a service, even if skiing is one of those things that you can indeed do after you've downed two or three glasses of your favorite beverage (HEY, for some of us, it makes us ski better!)

For those of you who want to experience what it is really like to ski, this is the best way of doing so, short of going abroad to a resort and spending a whole week doing it. I would say this is better, because if you don't like it, you've not wasted an entire week trying to do something that you clearly won't enjoy. For almost everyone, skiing is something that you would find relaxing, intensely rewarding, a great workout, and give you a skill that can take you to so many places in the future.

Hope to see you on the slopes in the future!

Thanks to Stephen Alexander for writing the review, and for sharing the experience with me.