The future of the UK's artificial slopes

Ever wondered why you board? It's weird that the UK has any sort of snowboarding scene at all, let alone have some top riders on the world stage and a thriving snowsports industry. We have a few small mountains in Scotland, plus a handful of resorts that every once in a while can produce some classic days, but the UK can hardly boast anything comparable to the Alps or the Rockies. Much of the UK's success, I believe, can be attributed to the UK's 100 or so artificial slopes, where many of us made our first linked turns.

But what of the future for the UK's slopes? It's increasingly easy to get to the Alps, but for many a year-round fix is required and that's where our local slopes come into play. Originally, slopes were made of Dendix and we have much to thank the "brush of death". Recently, newer surfaces have appeared; SnowFlex and PermaSnow, neither of which have the nasty voids and metal of Dendix and tend to be laid on a padded underlay. These new surfaces have enabled slope designers to create ever more complex slopes. Halifax, Sheffield, Aberdeen and Kendal lead the way in UK freestyle, whether you ski or board.

Unless you've had your head in a hole for the last few years, you can hardly have failed to notice the real snow indoor slopes in the UK and hopefully you've even been able to sample at least one of them. Tamworth SnowDome, Milton Keynes Xscape and Castleford Xscape are undoubtedly a huge bonus to the UK scene.

So what are the older slopes doing about the new kids on the block? Well, some like Warmwell and Norfolk, plus all the John Nike centres are heading down the SnowFlex/PermaSnow route to guarantee continued happy customers (and reduced insurance premiums). Bracknell's new PermaSnow slope opened a few weeks ago.

Some are expanding. Kendal has added new slopes recently and Halifax still has a halfpipe in the er... pipeline.

Sheffield's Snow Mountain
© SSV

Others have decided to move beyond the dryslope. Hemel Ski Centre is about to submit plans to move to indoor snow. We've seen the plans and they're impressive (and the slope is about 5 minutes from my front door, which is nice). Sheffield is already on SnowFlex, but has also submitted plans to create Snow Mountain, which will be a huge 300m long series of slopes, with a permanent halfpipe and kickers. A cable car will provide much needed uplift to the new centre from the local area. Wycombe Summit's new owners, SnowDome, remain keen to put the slope under a roof and bung on some real snow.

What is clear is that the UK's slopes are not resting on their laurels. The forward thinking continue to invest for the future and if I were to make a prediction, I'd say the UK can look forward to a reasonable number of great slopes, with the older slopes gradually closing. Anyway, we'll see. The future's bright. The future's white!

Duncan Worrell, SCUK Editor

Links:
You can read about Hemel's plans here.
You can read about Sheffield's plans here.
The SCUK Slope Directory to find out about your local slopes.

The item was first published in our newsletter on 4th February, 2005.