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Hemel Ski Slope

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hm, yes, OK - I didn't know the building history. I've not experienced the broken lifts. Health and safety is sometimes too strict, preventing things they used to allow, and sometimes too lax. I assume their money problems are the cause of many of the things you cite - including the lack of supervising staff which tends to close the jumps most of the time. I think my main criticism (combined with that last) is that they build jumps for their specialist jumpers, not for the general public who might like a try - as was the case to start with.


Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sat 10-05-08 10:43; edited 1 time in total
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I don't think they have any ongoing money problems? Isn't wasn't a profitable business why would they want to build more?
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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?
I really will be shocked if snowoasis ever gets off the ground. the slope is only a hook to get the go a head to build other things! As with most of the uk snow slopes, the slope is the least important aspect. MK (and all the xcape sites) are shopping malls, Chill is a shopping mall. Tamworth, and now Hemel are dedicated ski slopes.

Noticed Hemel have launched the full web site today www.thesnowcentre.com

Andy Lockerbie, the man behind chill has now vacated the building I also understand!
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beanie1 wrote:
I don't think they have any ongoing money problems? Isn't wasn't a profitable business why would they want to build more?

I don't think they have money problems now either. It was just the initial build of MK that went pear shaped.
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elbrus,
Quote:
Andy Lockerbie, the man behind chill has now vacated the building I also understand!

That's a surprise. Why? Shocked
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Spyderman, your constant slagging off of MK and now Chill Factore/Snowoasis is starting to sound like you are rubbishing the competition. I would reel it in a bit if you want to be seen as impartial on snowHead 's

Once Hemel is operational i am sure you guys will benefit from the lessons learned at the other centres and that McAlpine after having built MK braehead and Chille will do a great job and you will end up with a fine ski centre.

Why not just get on with promoting Hemel and stop slagging off the others. Once Hemel is one line and offering a superb service i dont think you will need to throw mud around to get customers so why carry on now. I personally dont agree that having retail and a snow dome are mutually exclusive. I went to castleford enjoyed having a quality ski session, my daughter had a go on the climbing wall and we had a reasonable lunch. Not every punter is going to be a hard core skier and it will be interesting to see if Hemel ever resorts to offering tobogganing during the school holidays to bring in some revenue... wink

Who is next in the firing line? Wycombe Summit? They will be the main competitor to Hemel and already have snow experience with Tamworth. They will have a good catchment area for middle class skiers like Hemel and just may give you guys a run for your money. Seems to me there is money to be made in snowdomes and planning applications are springing up all the time. The more domes the better as far as I am concerned. Hopefully the competition will raise the quality at all the centres and we will all be winners and have some choice as to the type of experience we are after.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
skimottaret, sorry, but where did I slag off Chill or Snoasis? Puzzled
I posted building pictures and answered snowball, re MK, giving my reasons and personal experiences. Hemel always did offer Tobogganing, but never closed the main slope to do it wink
I will only post Hemel information on this thread from now on. My dislike of MK has been done to death. I've skied at Tamworth and it was pretty good apart from the fog at the bottom.
I haven't been to other domes so can't comment on them.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Spyderman Sorry I lumped your and Elbrus's comments together , "slagging" was perhaps too harsh with regards to snoasis and chille, sorry bout that I stand corrected...

but saying "Snoasis is a different story. It's in the middle of nowhere. " isnt really postive is it, it works for east anglia and will have a train station. under an hour from liverpool street so accessable to londoners in the east and us Essex mob... bring it on i say...

from Elbrus (who I assume is somebody in the know about BASI/Snowsports, and, seems to have links to Hemel)....

"I really will be shocked if snowoasis ever gets off the ground..."
"Andy Lockerbie, the man behind chill has now vacated the building I also understand!... "

Is a bit of a whispering campaign creeping in. I dont think you guys need to bash the competition they do a good enough job on their own Toofy Grin
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skimottaret, Nothing negative ment by the chill comment and Andrew Lockerbie, more a positive one meaning "watch this space" and its a shame how these big organisation dont value expertise.

On snoaisis, I really will be shocked if it ever opens. Thats just a comment on a personal point of view. How did you read that as "slagging"?

Bit defensive old boy. Take a chill pill.
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elbrus, apologised once for the "slagging" above and will offer a second one to you. Chill pill taken, hangover gone, and enjoying a nice day wink
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skimottaret, we are all just mad keen skiers who love snowsports and get very exited at the thought of a strip of snow in our back yards. Few more slopes around will only mean everyone has to raise the game. In the long run thats great for all of us.
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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.
skimottaret, Happy pills now taken all round. Very Happy A dome in Luton would be good, I know just the right hill. Toofy Grin
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Spyderman, If they knocked down the Vauxhall plant and installed a snow slope you could drive up to the airport, giving you that feeling you were off on snowheads bash, entering the slope at the top, just by the short stay car parking, ski down and then catch the resort bus back to the top of the slope. Smile
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
AFAIK MK is currently doing reasonably well financially. Chill has had lots of problems across the board since opening, sadly and inexplicably seemingly repeating many of the mistakes made by other slopes in their early days. My guess will be that Hemel won't make these mistakes - too many experienced men involved - and will be healthy competition for MK, which imho is still second to no other indoor slope in the UK.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
slikedges,
Quote:

My guess will be that Hemel won't make these mistakes - too many experienced men involved


have they built an indoor slope before, or just experience of the ski industry?
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
From my experience at Hemel, the people involved are passionate about skiing & boarding. Whereas Xscape is run as part of a corporate business, and their approach & lack of customer care is apalling.

I'm sure that Hemel will not make the same mistakes.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
beanie1 wrote:
slikedges,
Quote:

My guess will be that Hemel won't make these mistakes - too many experienced men involved


have they built an indoor slope before, or just experience of the ski industry?

It's the same McAlpine management team that just built Chill, so there shouldn't be any problems with the builders. On the Hemel side the management have been running a profitable ski slope since the late 70's.
An awful lot of research and visits to other indoor snow slopes were made prior to the final plans being finalised, in order to avoid mistakes and get the best possible design.
Let's hope it all pays off.
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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?
Spyderman, You are quite right Spydie, we spent loads of time skiing and visiting the other snow facilities in the UK. As you know, one of the main directors has ran a ski slope through thick and thin over the last 30 years. The other 3 directors have a range of skills from big coporate business to shop floor ski teaching!

The whole ethic behind this project is very different from the existing snow slopes in the UK, We intend to be about the customer experience and their enjoyment of snowsports! Our centre will be pitched as a "centre of excellence" for first time learners, to people looking to develop a new life path in teaching snowsports, the whole range!


Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Mon 19-05-08 19:35; edited 1 time in total
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gilleski, welcome to snowHeads. Good to have one of the Hemel ski school directors with us Smile
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
gilleski, Welcome to snowHeads snowHead drove past Hemel yesterday, looks like good progress is being made. Very Happy
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gilleski, Welcome to snowHead 'heads, any update on opening dates for the slope?
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
gilleski, welcome. I've never been to any sort of UK facility, but Hemel will be my nearest by about 40 miles, so I'm really looking forward to trying it out. I can already foresee a snowHead gathering! Special discounts for snowHeads, do you think, since you are now officially one? Very Happy
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
vetski, It's an easy drive for you from where you live, less than a hour. Very Happy
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Linds, slope will be open to public in April 2009. We will have a soft shake down a few weeks prior to opening. So far the build is all to plan!

vetski, Sure we will work out something that suits everyone. Would be a great venue for a regular SH meet. The official slope of SH in the UK?
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Spyderman, Hemel's well 'up North'. Seriously it's just South of the midlands isn't it Toofy Grin
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Spyderman, that's why I'm excited! Shouldn't take me more than 45 mins, less if excitement causes me to forget to take my foot off the accelerator. I lived in MK many years ago as a child, before a lot of the development had been done. Scarred for life, can't go back.

gilleski, our snowHead friends who live some way north of Hemel might object to that description - but admin's down here, and he's the man to see! Will you have telemarking there?
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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.
boredsurfin wrote:
Spyderman, Hemel's well 'up North'. Seriously it's just South of the midlands isn't it Toofy Grin

You'll need a special visa to come from Hampshire though. wink
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Spyderman, Anything North of the M4 should need a visa Twisted Evil
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
boredsurfin, Anything south of the M4 should be an island...
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
vetski, yep, Paradise Very Happy
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
boredsurfin, Paradise Lost, more like. wink
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Spyderman, Touche Laughing
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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?
hemel plans to have dendix under the lift instead of wood like they do at mk
the snow condition will be better because it will be put onto the ground
i bet ur thinking silly boy atm, if this is the case then you have forgotten that mk has a shopping maul underneath the slope, therefor a restriction to the amount of snow that can be on the base
i think the slope will be shorter than it was but it will be wider, alot wider but i know that dosnt make up for the loss in length

i must say that i am 1 of the few people who really miss the old slope and for the moment, the new 1 has alot to live up to
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sideshow bobbers wrote:
the snow condition will be better because it will be put onto the ground


Puzzled
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Perhaps he means that it is being built on a natural hill.
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My take on that is that the snow will not be affected by a heat source from below, as in building an elevated slope above shops like MK or freespace like Chill. Whether the freezing elements are insulated from the ground I'm not sure, or do they turn the ground into Permafrost?
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Welcome to the madhouse, gilleski Toofy Grin

gilleski wrote:

The whole ethic behind this project is very different from the existing snow slopes in the UK, We intend to be about the customer experience and their enjoyment of snowsports! Our centre will be pitched as a "centre of excellence" for first time learners, to people looking to develop a new life path in teaching snowsports, the whole range!


FWIW I feel that you need to consider some well marketed provision for those who are just out of their beginner phase but don't yet feel very confident skiing on their own - the struggling "nervous novice" category who without real drive to succeed may sadly give up. I think those in the driving seat often assume everyone will learn easily and quickly, like most youngsters do, but this isn't always true for adults, especially older women. There are packages for beginners, which I took, but on being passed as "recreational" I still felt rather at sea on the main slope without guidance.

What such provision is there at existing centres?

    Xscape do one-hour level 5 & 6 lessons, but tell you to go and get practice after level 4 first so you're confident enough to tackle them. If you can ski on specific mornings midweek and arrive by 9am, you can take advantage of their Freshtrax session which has a staff instructor available for casual advice, but this isn't the same as someone focusing on developing your confidence/skills with you.

    Tamworth do better as they offer two whole day courses, but for some reason these are excluded from the member pricing discount. I didn't manage to get on one of these though as it's quite a long way away, and there have not been courses which matched my available dates.

    Chillfactore don't do anything that I can see on the website.


Sadly Hemel is far too far SOUTH for it to be very useful to me Wink. Mind you were there to be something attractive in terms of a one-day (or even two-day) "ski with confidence" course, at a price I could afford, I'd travel that far & stay over in the Travelodge.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
sideshow bobbers wrote:
hemel plans to have dendix under the lift instead of wood like they do at mk

I thought it was dendix under the snow on the drag tracks at MK. Puzzled I'm sure I've seen it there before.
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FenlandSkier, It is either Snowflex or Permasnow, not Dendix.
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Quote:

hemel plans to have dendix under the lift instead of wood like they do at mk


CFe has snow. Much better on the skis!
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