 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi there,
Has anyone skied the Dubai thing yet?
CW
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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cardweg, I'm going to Dubai on business for a couple days late in March, but I'm not sure I'm going to have the time - though I'd love to.
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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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laundryman, I think it's open 10a.m-10p.m if that helps you to fit a visit in. Take your own gloves.
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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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Mmm,
Wifey and I are off there for a week in April - she thinks it's a beach holiday ... little does she know 
I'm curious as to why you need your own gloves - after all I believe they give you everything else (including socks) in the price. Any thoughts?
It's a long time since I skied on indoor snow, but my recollection from summer 1995 is that it was quite icy - has anyone heard any feedback about this place at all? How cold is it? Would fleece (spring skiing) gloves do? Do you need a hat? etc etc...
CW
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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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cardweg,
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Wifey and I are off there for a week in April - she thinks it's a beach holiday ... little does she know
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I like the way you think! 
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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'll be there in October.
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Paul Mason, fingers crossed you don't have another medical hiccup prior to that trip. 
I think gloves are deemed unhygenic because of a) what you might have on your hands and b) it's so easy to wipe a snivelly nose without obvious signs being left. Mind you I wouldn't like a hired helmet either - bet some of those get a bit rank.
Temps - from memory the air temp is about -3C during sessions and there is no wind so I'd guess 'spring skiing' gloves and jacket would be fine. You can always work harder to warm up. I think Mrs Kevin McClean is the only near snowHead who has actually skied the place. Perhaps a PM to Kev with any other specific questions ...... ?
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Thanks Ian for your advice
CW
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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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My wife has skied there on a business trip. What struck her was the sheer audacity of building a haven of snow in the desert. It's great value for money, especially compared to a dry slope and everything is more or less included in the price (about £18 for two hours). The slope is about 450m long and the gradient has some variation, though you should ignore some of the dire warnings that advise 'experts only'.
Angela felt two hours was a bit long but she is not that keen a skier anyway. Well worth a vist, if your environmental conscience can handle what is such a profligate use of energy and resources!
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I was in Dubai and as a keen skier I went to have a look..I suggest you stay on the beach unless it's your only chance to get a ski in this year...or if you want to cool down it's a good place to go..but it's one slope...not that long and the shops in the shopping centre are far more worthwhile spending 2 hours in.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| lemanieg wrote: |
| ...it's one slope...not that long and the shops in the shopping centre are far more worthwhile spending 2 hours in. |
isn't that sort of the case with pretty much any indoor skiing area? not that i have ever been in any, but the idea seems rather dull to me. taking lessons is the only thing i can think of that could draw me into one of those. or am i missing out on something here? 
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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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Its the creme of indoor ski slopes IMHO. I didnt ski it but think I would next visit. Its actually longh enough that you cant see top to bottom, but not in a Tamworth way.
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Peter Leuzzi, not knocking you but it was designed that way. There's a big bend in the middle. The theory being than on a natural piste you can't see the bottom from the top so the client specified it that way. Also happens to maximise the length of run within a given vertical height. All this time after it opened, only Kevin Maclean's partner has actually skied it and reported back via Kevin (AFAIK). No more snowHeads actually given it a go ????? Do tell 
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You know it makes sense.
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I have some photos on a powerpoint thingy...
(It's late... I've had a taxing day...)
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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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id honestly rather ski than shop icke, cant believe you just looked ,id have been straight in there ,beats the drylope though 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Off to Dubai tomorrow, but I don't think I'll have time. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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laundryman, have a good trip. 'Aussie Legends' in the Rydges Plaza Hotel is a pretty good watering hole if it's close to you. But there is no shortage of bars in hotels. Expensive unless you can hit a Happy Hour. Small restaurants not part of a hotel are NOT licensed.
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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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kuwait_ian, thanks. I'm staying at the Dusit Hotel - know nothing about it, it was booked by the client. At LGW at the moment. If there are any  browsing in the North Terminal, I'm at the T-mobile hotspot in departures, if you fancy saying hello!
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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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Emirates - dead impressed! Seems a pretty good hotel too. Might try Aussie Legends tomorrow evening!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Well, I made it this evening!
Got to say it beats Milton Keynes! From my memory of MK 2 years ago, I'd say the Dubai slope is about twice as long; doubtless official stats can confirm or deny that. There are green, blue, red and black slopes and a mini park thing; the green and blue are very short beginner pistes served by an escalator type lift, and the red and the black have a chairlift. Actually, they're not really red and black; you wouldn't be surprised to get short sections as steep as the "black" (and of course it's only short anyway) on a blue in the mountains. At least, that what I think, but I may not be a good judge.
Organisationally, it's set up pretty well; you buy a 2 hr hands-free pass for about £20 which includes all kit (boots, skis, jacket, trousers, socks). The pass also works your locker. When you get back to the changing room, you can even wave the card in front of a reader to find your locker number. Good for senile old f@rts like me! The boots and skis are entry level Rossignol; I'm not sure if you can get better if you whine about it and/or pay extra, but no decent kit was evident. Naturally, my feet were between two sizes, and I opted for the large boots, which really were a bit sloppy - hey, ho. The bases of the skis were not bad, but there were some notches in the edges. That's my excuse anyway! The only thing they don't rent is gloves, but you can buy them from the next door shop. I was far too tight to do that, and thought my Lancastrian toughness genes would see me through. Actually, it was a bit parky! Bring your own gloves and wear two layers underneath your jacket if you ever go.
As always, it all felt a bit odd for the first half hour, and my skiing was cr@p. Eventually did some nice-ish carves and a couple of runs down on one ski then the other. A bit of slipping on those though, I can do better! The snow was much better than my one time at MK (which was a bit slushy) - pretty firm underneath with a couple of inches of loose-ish stuff on top.
For some reason, the place seems manned by South Africans. The guy at the top got a bit shirty with me for lifting the safety bar too early for his liking. He ticked me off for doing this:  on the second occasion! You can tell there's no competition for 1000 miles! Bet I've ridden more chairlifts than he's had hot dinners!
The place was not too crowded in the middle of the evening; mainly beginners but two or three people were skiing/boarding quite nicely.
Here are some photos, just to prove I'm not making it up.
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kuwait_ian, worked up a bit of an appetite for après after the skiing, and I'm now several pints of Guinness (at the Aussie Legends) further on! Not a bad re-creation of your typical Aussie pub - thanks!
The main drag outside is a bit of a bore - you've got to get a taxi round the block just to cross the road. It feels very, er ... American!
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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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AN02ZEJ, at £20 for two hours, in the middle of the desert, I suspect that the project has been subsidised somewhat.
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laundryman,
Nice photos and report.
Nice to find something common between ourselves and the Islamic population.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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laundryman, TVM for a good report. Pleased you made it to the slope, enjoyed both it and the apres. Slightly surprised that the staff are mainly South Africans. At the salaries being offered before it opened, I reckoned few would apply other than from pretty poor countries with low wage levels.
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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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Considering the major issue of global warming and melting glaciers, the fact there is ski facility in a climate like Dubai's strikes me as madness.
Having said that, I suppose having them at all is an issue regardless of the country.
Should we really be supporting places?
Some will say that I'm a kill joy or thet there's no directy link etce etc, but shouldn't we start taking these issues seriously before it's out of our hands, assuming it's not already of course.
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kevins1966, can't say it hadn't crossed my mind. That said, it was pretty mild in Dubai while I was there. Goodness knows what the energy bill is in the summer though.
Flying back today, I was quite surprised to see snow on the Iranian mountains, some distance south of the top of the Gulf. Also lots of it further north, level with Iraq, and right across Turkey to the Black Sea.
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You know it makes sense.
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kuwait_ian, I guess the S. Africans may have been working holiday / backpacker types. Couldn't tell their age because they were all togged up, but I think they were relatively young.
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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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| laundryman wrote: |
Flying back today, I was quite surprised to see snow on the Iranian mountains, some distance south of the top of the Gulf. Also lots of it further north, level with Iraq, and right across Turkey to the Black Sea. |
Yes it's surprising how close the real snow comes to the Gulf States. If you are very lucky with the route and visibility you can see Mt. Ararat where Turkey meets Iran, Iraq & Armenia. A perfect volcanic cone and supposedly the resting place of Noah's Arc.
http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/1015/gara.htm
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Poster: A snowHead
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Discovery TV has a "Kings of Construction" program about Ski-Dubia, Sunday 2 April at 7pm. The Discovery web site would not give me any details of this programme but Sky TV has some minimal information here. (The TV listsing page on the Discovery web site said "Sorry, no TV programme data is available on this web site for the selected date. Please visit this web page again later" when I tried, searching for Dubai gave no results!)
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FAQ
Looks a hell of a lot better than any of the Xscapes. The scenery looks a lot more mountain like too with the trees and mountain huts. Why can't they build something like that here in England cos lets face it the ski village project in Sheffield will never happen and the ones they have built are poor. Even with all the money in Dubai, i'm sure there're people rich enough over here with a big enough enthusiasm to do something. 