 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all!,
Not sure if I’m posting this in the most appropriate section (apologies if not).
Just looking for a few opinions on which real snow centre is the best?, if there’s any major difference between them.
I live near Leicester for reference of location.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!.
Daniel
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well I'd say Hemel generally has the best snow of those I've tried but given where you are Tamworth would seem the logical choice.
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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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I'm in Leicester and there is not much to choose travel time wise between Tamworth and Milton Keynes. I prefer MK so that's my slope of choice as Hemel is a tad too far.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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depends if you want park features , moguls, race gates, smooth snow, few people, etc. For general skiing just go at a none busy time, best snow will be first thing in a morning before it gets scraped around etc. I shan't be going to either of the ones I use at a weekend again now, simply too busy and difficult to do drills etc due to dodging people.
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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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Tamworth has a bend on the slope which gives a different gradient depending if you take it wide or tight, every other indoor slope in this country are straight with very little gradient change. But seeing as it's the oldest fridge it's also one of (if not is) the most expensive.
If you pick the right deal or offer at MK it's much better value and the snow is better quality.
Chill factore imo is the best value around (currently there's an offer of £17.99 for an hour + £5 every hour thereafter), good snow and the longest in the country. So although Tamworth is on my doorstep I often make the hour or so drive up...still works out cheaper for a couple of people even when fuel is factored in!
If your planning on more than one visit over the next couple of months I'd try them both (or all if you throw in CF), even if it's just a change of scenery!
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I’ve been lucky enough to ski in all the English domes in the last few months though not at all times of the day, here’s my thoughts;
Hemel: snow is trashed at the moment, wish they’d sort it out. Free parking.
MK: great snow normally, pillars down the middle can make it feel smaller than it is. Pay and display parking.
Tamworth: consistent snow, groomed 3 times a day. It’s small and can get very busy. Basically an ice rink so can be hard if you fall. Great vibe there. Pay on exit parking.
Manchester: good snow mostly, biggest dome but often features cut down the skiable area. Free parking.
Castleford: best snow of all the domes IMO. Free parking.
The kit in all the domes is pretty well used and can be variable. I understand Hemel’s got new gear recently. Been a while since I used rental anywhere so could have changed.
I live in Derby and given the choice I’d always go to Castleford even with Tamworth being closest.
If you join MK you get free parking and a good discount, from Leicester it’s be my preferred option.
Bear in mind while it’s real snow it’s not real. You can feel the difference. Also conditions deteriorate significantly through the day at all the domes apart from Tamworth which gets groomed.
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I've been a bit disappointed with the snow at castleford recently, it skis quite slowly generally but more of an issue is there seems to be sticky patches of snow which grab you as your skiing down.
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MK is the only one I've been to but I enjoyed it more than I was expecting to, and it wasn't too busy even on a Saturday afternoon. You can test skis from the Ellis Brigham store there for free as well, they have a small range to try out.
Last edited by After all it is free  on Sun 22-10-17 9:12; edited 1 time in total
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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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CF have just replaced all their gear. Certainly the skis and helmets. I suspect they have also changed the boots, but I didn't notice them. They've stuck to Head skis.
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I've only been to Hemel and to Tamworth. I've heard Tamworth is the worst and I can believe it having been to Hemel which has much better snow. They do groom Tamworth a lot but I quite liked the fact that they let Hemel git messy, I never thought I'd be able to practice bumps in a dome!
Anyway, in my experience, it's a real effort getting to the dome in a regular way, and that's the best way to take advantage. When I have bothered it definitely helps my development especially in the summer. So you should definitely try Tamworth.
Snowdome beats no-dome 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Awdbugga, yes I noticed the new skis today at CF. Was there for a few hours and the slope held up well until I left at 2ish.
@897sma, interestingly you echo the same opinion as a friend of mine. Not been my experience so it goes to show how changable the conditions can be.
@HoneyBunny, that’s a good point about testing skis. Ellis Brigham at MK and Castleford were great with me when I was looking earlier in the year. If the ski I was interested wasn’t at the store they offered to move stock so I could try them another day.
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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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I live in Leicester and the slope I use most often is MK. If I want lessons I travel down to Hemel to have lessons with Inside Out.
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I assume that mean "Indoor centre" as opposed to real snow that you get on the mountains and opposed to artificial snow that you also get in the many ski resorts. If so then my limited experience says Landgraaf.
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You know it makes sense.
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Landgraaf's not particularly convenient for Leicester though.
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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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@Tubaski, The question was
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Just looking for a few opinions on which real snow centre is the best?
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I gave my opinion. It is certainly worth a weekend in the summer
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Poster: A snowHead
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just had look on Hemels website with a view to getting a bit of pre season training in, have they upped their prices somewhat since last year? £29 for an hour feels like a good bit more than i paid before, sure it was closer to the £20 mark
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| johnE wrote: |
| I assume that mean "Indoor centre" as opposed to real snow that you get on the mountains and opposed to artificial snow that you also get in the many ski resorts. If so then my limited experience says Landgraaf. |
Ageeed, Landgraaf is well worth the 3 hour drive from Calais, 520m long slope with nice hard snow, the other main run is softer snow, on site hotel, bar and restaurants, a chair lift makes the uplift sociable
£160 all in for 2 days including fuel, crossing, food, hotel, 2 x 8 hour passes makes it a no brainer if you don't mind driving to the tunnel
We are back out there in 2 weeks 
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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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| Fish_Head wrote: |
| johnE wrote: |
| I assume that mean "Indoor centre" as opposed to real snow that you get on the mountains and opposed to artificial snow that you also get in the many ski resorts. If so then my limited experience says Landgraaf. |
Ageeed, Landgraaf is well worth the 3 hour drive from Calais, 520m long slope with nice hard snow, the other main run is softer snow, on site hotel, bar and restaurants, a chair lift makes the uplift sociable
£160 all in for 2 days including fuel, crossing, food, hotel, 2 x 8 hour passes makes it a no brainer if you don't mind driving to the tunnel
We are back out there in 2 weeks |
Can you breakout the costs ? Or is it a package ? That seems a good deal!
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Gustavobs wrote: |
| Fish_Head wrote: |
| johnE wrote: |
| I assume that mean "Indoor centre" as opposed to real snow that you get on the mountains and opposed to artificial snow that you also get in the many ski resorts. If so then my limited experience says Landgraaf. |
Ageeed, Landgraaf is well worth the 3 hour drive from Calais, 520m long slope with nice hard snow, the other main run is softer snow, on site hotel, bar and restaurants, a chair lift makes the uplift sociable
£160 all in for 2 days including fuel, crossing, food, hotel, 2 x 8 hour passes makes it a no brainer if you don't mind driving to the tunnel
We are back out there in 2 weeks |
Can you breakout the costs ? Or is it a package ? That seems a good deal! |
Will do it in the morning for you, i have it itemised on a spreadsheet
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Dmitri wrote: |
| I've only been to Hemel and to Tamworth. I've heard Tamworth is the worst and I can believe it having been to Hemel which has much better snow. |
Tamworth was the first of the UK indoor snowdomes and as far as I know the technology they use is basically an ice making plant and the ice is then shaved to create the "snow". Later snowdomes essentially use the same technology as resort snow cannons (i.e cold air and water) to make their snow.
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Landgraaf cost breakdown
Dates: 14-15th May 2017
No of people: 3
Tunnel £60.00
Fuel £82.30
Accom/Pass/Food/Parking £234.48
2nd Day Lift Pass X 3 £76.05
Travel Food £16.05
Total Spend £468.88
Cost per Person £156.29
Notes:
THE ABOVE COSTS DO NOT INCLUDE SKI RENTAL
3 PEOPLE SHARED 1 ROOM - 3 SINGLE BEDS
Landgraaf cost projection
Dates: 10-11th November 2017
No of people: 4
Tunnel £60.00
Fuel £82.30
Accom/Pass/Food/Parking £437.00
2nd Day Lift Pass X 4 £160.00
Travel Food £20.00
Total Projected Spend £759.30
Projected Cost per Person £189.83
Notes:
THE ABOVE COSTS DO NOT INCLUDE SKI RENTAL
4 PEOPLE SHARING 2 ROOMS - 2 SINGLE BEDS EACH ROOM
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Sorry to be a pooper, but - I don't use them. Save your money and go to the Alps is my advice @Parzival,.... have been to Castleford, Hemel and Chill Factore at various times pre-season over the years and on every occasion I walked away and thought it a waste of time and money. Last time was about 5 years ago and now I just get fit elsewhere biking or gym work and save ski time for the real thing. Too many queues, too busy, not enough vert drop, snow poor....and it ain't cheap.
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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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| Fish_Head wrote: |
Landgraaf cost breakdown
Dates: 14-15th May 2017
No of people: 3
Tunnel £60.00
Fuel £82.30
Accom/Pass/Food/Parking £234.48
2nd Day Lift Pass X 3 £76.05
Travel Food £16.05
Total Spend £468.88
Cost per Person £156.29
Notes:
THE ABOVE COSTS DO NOT INCLUDE SKI RENTAL
3 PEOPLE SHARED 1 ROOM - 3 SINGLE BEDS
Landgraaf cost projection
Dates: 10-11th November 2017
No of people: 4
Tunnel £60.00
Fuel £82.30
Accom/Pass/Food/Parking £437.00
2nd Day Lift Pass X 4 £160.00
Travel Food £20.00
Total Projected Spend £759.30
Projected Cost per Person £189.83
Notes:
THE ABOVE COSTS DO NOT INCLUDE SKI RENTAL
4 PEOPLE SHARING 2 ROOMS - 2 SINGLE BEDS EACH ROOM |
@Fish_Head thanks for that! It seems a good plan for an extended weekend!
Just came to my mind that national express probably have some cheap tickets to Eindhoven if someone looks to save even further.
@Markymark29 I would guess you’re very experienced skier and understand that it’s probably not very fun since but for those beginners and intermediates is quite useful!
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@Gustavobs, Yes, i'm sure for early days its valuable if nothing else to get used to the kit. I'd try go when its off peak though, they can get very busy with lots of large groups and students etc flying about, quite dangerous. I had a good session practicing on my own one time at the edge only to be smashed into by a snowboarder, out of control.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Gustavobs wrote: |
| Just came to my mind that national express probably have some cheap tickets to Eindhoven if someone looks to save even further. |
Landgraaf isn't all that close to Eindhoven.
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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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ChillFactore has the best "snow" in my opinion. Makes me wish I lived in Manchester.
I live in London and both Hemel and MK are like skiing in a bowl of sugar. Every time I go there it's the same...despite people telling me maybe I've gone on a bad day. But to be fair, it's better than a dry slope.
Chill also is much longer so you can get a good carve going if you time it right in busy periods.
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@snoski91, if I lived in London I’d be on cheap flights to GVA and Cham rather than thinking about going to a fridge in Manchester 😜
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You know it makes sense.
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| Markymark29 wrote: |
| @snoski91, if I lived in London I’d be on cheap flights to GVA and Cham rather than thinking about going to a fridge in Manchester 😜 |
Not everyone can go abroad. Just saying Chill has the best indoor slope from all the ones I’ve visited.
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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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@snoski91, sorry wasn’t trying to be rude, merely making the point that there are plenty of cheap flights and train options from London to the Alps plus self drive pretty easy.
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