 Poster: A snowHead
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What a revelation. I've not been to a dry slope for 20+ years but took my 6 yr old today - he's only ever skied natural snow and Hemel.
We both absolutely loved it. 10am on a Sunday, nobody else on the slope. The slope itself (Brentwood) feels at least twice the size of Hemel and has lots to keep my son occupied (bumps, steeper sections, slalom gate marks paintd on the surface). I'd also forgotten how good plastic is for exposing technical flaws (many many in my case).
The downsides were outdated kids kit (fortunately we took our own) and a slightly under-invested feel about the whole place ( a few broken units on the poma, a fair number of twigs etc on the slope).
Like for like on price, I'd take the dry slope. But it wasn't like for like, it was £16 for 2 of us, 70% cheaper.
So why don't more people ski plastic? Why is Hemel absolutely heaving on a Sunday morning by 10, yet Brentwood is empty?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The only way is Essex!
Hi Dave, when Dendex was all we had we were happy!
We perfected our Snow Ploughs and we were king of the hill!
But when we got on the real stuff ....EeeeeeeeeeeeeeK !!!!
We leaned back and screamed.
It was good fun ... broken fingers .. face grazes ... I sort of miss it! (But not really)
I was lucky enough to live just up the road from a dry slope in an army barracks
It was bit like getting through airport security at St Ansted each time you wanted to go.
But its closed now and the whole place is being given over to the Lybian army for training now.
I wonder what they will make of the dry slope?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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snowdave, I had one ski hol at about 14 with school and then ph and I started skiing again at about aged 30. We had lessons at Stoke Dry Ski slope and our kids have had lessons there - its great as its slower than snow - so helpful in figuring out those technical faults IMO and yes, cheap as chips!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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(oh, and on our first proper ski hol together we didnt fall over once!! Despite going with friends and not having lessons while there!)
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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snowdave,
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| So why don't more people ski plastic? |
Because they're precious pussies. Anyone who regularly skis plastic will laugh at "difficult" snow conditions on a real mountain.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I learnt to ski on plastic, its brilliant. Great being in the fresh air, and much faster in the rain 
Only been in a fridge once - boring, crowded, over priced
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On the rocks, thats one of the things I love about it too - it makes you get "out there" in the Winter. Miserable Drizzly day here today but off we went and it does feel good (even though we were just observing the 6 year old!)
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I used to go to a plastic slope in Ayshire which didn't even have a lift - was very good for the legs and cardiovascular fitness. 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I learnt on a (proper) plastic slope and it was indoors. Injection moulded plastic made by Curver (like sticklebrix) lubricated by oil. Great for learning on, consistently slippy, good edge grip and didnt rip you to shreds when you fell. I liked it so much I stayed for 16 years. Good old Catterick Indoor Ski Centre in North Yorks.
I also still ski with friends I met/taught and coached to be instructors while I worked there. Met my now wife there, we had a ski themed wedding and honey mooned in Kitzbuhel. I proposed in Tignes.
Plastic fantastic for sure
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Sun 17-11-13 22:51; edited 1 time in total
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On the rocks,
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I learnt to ski on plastic, its brilliant
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Me too  - I learnt at Pontypool (taught by Fred Foxon), then spent time teaching myself telemarking at the Gloucester slope. Makes skiing the real thing soooo easy.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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So what are the best tips for getting skis to run faster on plastic? normal wax? pledge furniture polish?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| snowdave wrote: |
| So why don't more people ski plastic? Why is Hemel absolutely heaving on a Sunday morning by 10, yet Brentwood is empty? |
I'm not sure. Personally I prefer Dendix every time - there are fewer people there, fewer straight lining idiots, Dendix is way faster, and the runs are longer.
As far as not being ready for snow..... you're just doing it wrong! When I finally had the cash to visit the Alps, I just clipped in and rode away.
Perhaps it's an elitist thing - maybe an indoor slope in a shopping centre is "more accessible" because it's easier?
There's another thread here where people are talking about buying body armour to learn snowboarding. Those people probably won't want to use Dendix. My approach was to learn how to fall on day 1; another approach is to buy things to help you fall at less risk. Each to their own.
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Mon 18-11-13 13:31; edited 1 time in total
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I've tried out 2 different plastic slopes and the experience was sh!te beyond words. I would rather do something else.
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You know it makes sense.
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Frosty the Snowman, agreed. But then I'm not that fond of the indoor snow slopes either.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Interesting thread - I went to my local dry slope this weekend for the first time in several months and couldn't believe how badly I was skiing! I'm a relative beginner but have put in a fair bit of practice/lessons this year at the snowdome when the cheap spring/summer offers were on - I've been skiing parallel there for some time, but my snowplough returned with a vengeance on the dry slope and I felt out of balance for ages - big bash to the skiing ego!! It's definitely the way to expose dodgy technique and it must be good practice - will be going much more now...
It was great to be outside as others have said, skiing while looking down at the lake in the nearby park - and it's always much quieter than the snowdome. My slope prides itself on being the cheapest in the country and it really is ridiculously low cost: £8 per month if you want unlimited use, £4 for a lesson or more advanced 'masterclass', cheap brews too! Also, everyone there is so friendly - it's completely run by volunteers, all of whom make you feel really welcome and give you tips and advice (I always go on my own). Not that people aren't nice at the snowdome (I have met a couple of great people there), but it is a lot more impersonal.
Am also looking forward to the pleasure of skiing on snow again after a few weeks of dry slope practice and how much easier it will (hopefully) feel
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Poster: A snowHead
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I feel a trip to Ponty coming on.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It makes some difference how well maintained/ worn the surface is, and how wet it is. As a sprog I liked wet days as they were naturally faster with or without separate irrigation. Wax-wise, I just use an old board and whatever old iron in wax I have about the place. If you're racing you may want to get fancier: you can buy specific wax if you want.
I'd not ridden plastic for a lot of years until I went back a year or so ago. In an hour I found it tricky to make the adjustment from powder to plastic, and my piste board was too stiff for those speeds. Excuses aside, here you go for what it's worth (video contains granny music): https://vimeo.com/42090094
I suppose I see plastic and indoor snow at opposite ends of the spectrum... indoor stuff is trivially easy so perhaps a good place to start for many, and it probably gets more people into the sport. Plastic is more difficult than most piste conditions you'll encounter, so it's great to use as a gym by more experienced people or those who are naturally athletic.
Sadly both plastic and indoor snow are more expensive per vertical meter than heli-accessed powder is, the trick being that you don't actually get much vertical at these places because the lifts are so slow. The lifts at plastic slopes tend to be quicker than those indoors though...
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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But its closed now and the whole place is being given over to the Lybian army for training now.
I wonder what they will make of the dry slope?
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You're right about the barracks, but the club (Bassingbourn for anyone not local who couldn't guess) have two irons in the fire: firstly, trying to get their own access to the existing slope that doesn't involve going through the barracks so it can reopen on that site; and secondly (and more long term) developing a new slope in the quarry at Barrington.
In the mean time the club is using the slope at Welwyn - I'll be there with them tonight.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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When I learnt to ski in the mid 70s there was a plastic slope in Harrogate. I used to love it and there was a friendly scene in the slightly smelly clubhouse where the done thing was to dunk Mars Bars in hot chocolate .
One minor problem was that after straight lining down and stopping on the left most skiers there became much better at left turns than right.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Harrogate dry slope - I have vivid memories of a University race meeting there in the late 80s and hanging onto the rope tow for dear life as it slid through my leather gloves with a gentle burning smell.
Still, it was better than walking up the dry slope that we had at my school in Morpeth, Northumberland but that did mean skiing 2 or 3 times a week right through 'o' and 'A' levels as I told my folks I needed to clear my mind to revise effectively. Agree with everything people have been saying about technique, especially when 185cm stright skis were considered small for us on the dry slope. All the schools in Northumberland had access to this and took advantage of getting us going from about age 11 onwards which was a great kick start before the school ski trip to Voss in Norway.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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philwig, thanks for post, quite a lot of the mats have been replaced since you took that great vid. Sat morning now gets 100+ kids in 2 sessions every week, they seem to have fun. Sunday morning 40+ folk in family club, they seem to have fun. Etc Etc. Agree that plastic shows up your technical faults. Important thing for most of us is to actually slide rather than just talk about it. 
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Think of the poor old Sheffield dry slope, will love it if that re-opens!
I ski every week on dry slope raced at Brentwood a couple of weeks ago, I love it.
Summers funny when it gets sticky and u get an abrupt stop.
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sunnbuel, good to hear things are going well there, it's a great asset.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Philwig I remember going to the Summer Race League at Rossendale many many years ago. Two timed runs in the morning followed by head to head with others in your time slot. Starting with the fastest four to the slowest four. Great days.
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| frozennose wrote: |
Harrogate dry slope - I have vivid memories of a University race meeting there in the late 80s and hanging onto the rope tow for dear life as it slid through my leather gloves with a gentle burning smell.
Still, it was better than walking up the dry slope that we had at my school in Morpeth, Northumberland but that did mean skiing 2 or 3 times a week right through 'o' and 'A' levels as I told my folks I needed to clear my mind to revise effectively. Agree with everything people have been saying about technique, especially when 185cm stright skis were considered small for us on the dry slope. All the schools in Northumberland had access to this and took advantage of getting us going from about age 11 onwards which was a great kick start before the school ski trip to Voss in Norway. |
Went to Harrogate once, it was horrendous, very little Dendix but plenty of metal and a horrible drag lift.
I went to the liquidation sale when it went pear shaped. Brought a lot of ski racks for Catterick Ski Center. My colleague brought the mint condition nursery slope from the auction for £500.00 only to get a call from the autioneer a day later to say they'd had a higher bid on the books but forgot about it. My colleague doubled his money in 24 hours 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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How much does ski matting cost?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| mistral_ski wrote: |
Think of the poor old Sheffield dry slope, will love it if that re-opens!
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I used to go there every fortnight with my ski club at university in Nottingham. I saw it on a BBC feature with Woodsy a couple of weeks ago, and it was very sad to see the state it is in.
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mistral_ski wrote:
Think of the poor old Sheffield dry slope, will love it if that re-opens!
I used to go there every fortnight with my ski club at university in Nottingham. I saw it on a BBC feature with Woodsy a couple of weeks ago, and it was very sad to see the state it is in.
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I used to go every week with my school - was super fun and well maintained at the time. Big slope, decent lift (although I still remember the terror going on that T-bar as a novice boarder and having to go on two-at-a-time because of the lift queues with school, and I remember getting dragged for quite some way several times - ouchy ouchy).
Few years later and they grassed over the top of the red barron, pretty much stopped running the T bar and stopped maintaining the plastic or having any irrigation. No way could they compete with CasVegas with such a poorly maintained offering.
Very sad to see it gone.
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You know it makes sense.
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But when we got on the real stuff ....EeeeeeeeeeeeeeK !!!!
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Really???? When I transitioned from plastic to real snow I found it amazing, suggenly I could slide and turn and you could get away with small mistakes which would send you flying to the ground on dendex.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I learnt at Pontypool (taught by Fred Foxon)
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I'm impressed! I have FF's book on skiing - years old now but still very good.
kat.ryb, I agree. My son, aged 10, and I did a weekend in Cairngorm after lessons in Ayshire. The lift queues were unreal, and he struggled with the button lift (the plastic slope had no lift, so he'd never ridden a lift). But I can still remember his thrilled face, after his first 150m ski on "proper snow" - he turned round and "Oh Mum this is so much better than the dry ski slope".
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FAQ
