 Poster: A snowHead
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Just been speaking to Warren Smith and I was asking him about ski slopes in the southeast, as I will be spending an increasing amount of time down there for the next three years. He was telling me that his hometown slope at Hemel is undergoing a big redevelopment which is due to be completed in 2009, and that a mate of his, Pete Silver Gillespie was involved, along with Snow and Rock. I also understand that there are going to be a number of BASI training courses run from there. I know that there are a few  s who ski at Hemel and would be interested if anyone knows more about this?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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BGA, The existing plastic slope closes at the end of March 2008, for a 15 month build. The new main slope will be approx 140m x 32m, plus very large teaching area. Snow & Rock will have a shop on site, which will be larger than their existing one.
Things were delayed for a year because of council permission, due to the look of the building, but the new design of the snow dome will have a Grass roof, so as to blend into the hillside.
BASI are to set up a training centres of excellence, one will be Hemel for the south and the other Chill Factore in Manchester to cover the north.
Pete Silver-Gillespie as a Hemel based BASI Trainer, has already and will have a very strong involvement in the new facility.
I am pretty much up to speed on all matters concerning the Hemel slope, so please feel free to ask any specific questions.
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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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BGA, Is it going to be 'snow' rather than plastic?
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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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Hurtle, snow. Warren was very upbeat about it, I think because he's worked with the people involved and also because he's from Hemel and that's where he got his start in the snowsports industry. Clearly Spyderman is the man in the know for more info.
boredsurfin, south of Watford Gap = darn sarf to me. Flat beer and jellied eels. Luckily for you southern types, enlightened northerners like myself occasionally come down to undertake missionary work
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boredsurfin, Still quite a way for real southerners, innit? MK is not close and Hemel isn't that far short of it. The worst thing is having to cross the River in the rush hour, if one's to have any chance of getting there at a reasonable hour. I used to have to drive to MK for work fairly regularly, and it was a 'mare.
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Spyderman, recent reports are that HEMEL will not be open beyond 31st December? Got this directly from Ali Smith (MK) and confirmed by PSG?
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Spyderman, Latest rumours suggest an earlier close at the end of the year but no definite news yet as far as I know. Ground tests appear to have been going on over the past couple of weeks.
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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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Spyderman, cheeky man! 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Hurtle, True 
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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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Spyderman, the latest intelligence suggests that the slope (existing) has be purchased by one of the UKs biggest leisure companies. They have structured a management team including the former owner, two people from the leisure business sector and a leading ski teacher. The centre of excellence concept is well under negotiation with BASI. My "insider" suggests you will not be skiing there much after 31st December 2007!
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I was jus speaking to Terry Bartlett who said that the company building the Hemel slope (Costain?) are also constructing the Manchester slope and are due to finish there at the end of the year. Although the plan was to start work at Hemel after the winter it has now been decided to move the entire construction team from Manchester down to Hemel rather than let it break up only to be reassembled a few months later.
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You know it makes sense.
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rob@rar, I think there is some truth here. The company building Chill FactorE are Sir Robert McAlpine. They have aslo built MK and Breahead. Looks like they have the foot print for these centres. Chill opens November, re group and get down the M6 to Hemel. As mentioned byNick W, soil samples are already being extracted at the Hemel site.
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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 thought that construction had finished at Manchester and that they were just building up the snow depth.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| elbrus wrote: |
| Spyderman, has be purchased by one of the UKs biggest leisure companies. |
it wouldnt be Xscape would it?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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skimottaret, I heard talk originally of the folks behind Centre Parcs, but that was some time ago.
I will find out for sure tomorrow night. 
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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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elbrus, It sounds like build times might have changed, the original end of march closure, was based on the essential groundworks being done during the summer months, which kind of makes sense, plus dec/march is the slopes busiest time of year they might as well take advantage of the income. As it was a 15 month build they would only lose one high income period. If the build period has come down to say 12 months, then it would make sense and close asap in order to take advantage of the 2008/9 season.
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It would make sense to use the same project management team as those who have just built Chill, although the building design is very different to any other snowdome in the country, as Hemel is built onto a hill rather than flat ground.
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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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Spyderman, The Amneville-les-Thermes one is built on a hillside, I think the Dutch ones are too. One of the Dutch ones is built on the site of a dry slope.
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rjs, I haven't been to the ones in Holland, although they look fantastic and are seriously good value, well worth a trip I think.
As I said though Hemel is the only one in this country to be built on a hill. It might have been a good idea to approach the Dutch builders as they would have been more experienced.
cfc5mu0, I've taught at Hemel since 1991. The existing owners will be trying to keep the same feel to the slope when it changes, certainly a lot of the staff will be retained.
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Spyderman, The problem I see in the future regarding maintaining the "family business" feel is that there will be dramatic changes in the business structure. It will go from a small business (under a mill turnover)? To a massive business costing 20 mill to build. Will the former owner retain much of a say do you think?
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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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Spyderman, Not sure if you are aware but the hill you are talking about is land fill. Most of the towns rubbish went in there for years, I'm sure I remember when they built the athletics track and Jarman Park that there were concerns about methane. I really hope the grounds stable enough, the idea of being able to gain skiing qualifications on my doorstep, six miles away, is brilliant.
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elbrus, AFAIAA SnoZone did offer to buy the whole thing and just turn it into another one of their domes. The present owner did not want that nor any of the staff. It really depends on how much the people putting up the money want to be involved in the day to day running of the slope. I suppose the difference is it's an established business with the same owner/operator for about 30 years, it makes money at the moment, it sure is going to make a shed load more when it goes to snow. If it was my money that I was investing, would I want to upset a system that worked and had people running it that knew the industry inside out. I would certainly think twice.
Things will no doubt change, but I hope it doesn't go the route of snoZone, where it's profit over and above customer satisfaction.
Hemel with the strong BASI links through Pete Silver-Gillespie and Andrew Lockerbie, the proposed centre of teaching and training excellence and it's focus on teaching rather than just recreational skiing, should set it apart from snoZone enough to make the operation a great success.
Plus it's location is perfect.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Headplant wrote: |
| Spyderman, Not sure if you are aware but the hill you are talking about is land fill. Most of the towns rubbish went in there for years, I'm sure I remember when they built the athletics track and Jarman Park that there were concerns about methane. I really hope the grounds stable enough, the idea of being able to gain skiing qualifications on my doorstep, six miles away, is brilliant. |
I certainly am aware. I think a lot of the spoils from when the M1 was widened from 2 lanes to 3 lanes also ended up there too. There was a small landslide on the site about 10 years ago which wiped out one of the trainer slopes. The advantage of building on the hill is that the building doesn't have to be that heavy as it doesn't have to support the weight of the snow slope.
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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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Builders seem to think they can complete the building inside of 12 months so dependent on final tests, start date may come forward to new year, so as to catch 2009 season. 
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rjs,
McAlpines are due to finish on site at Chill Factor e at the start of November. You are right in that the slope itself is (very nearly) complete, as they will soon start chilling it (has to be done slowly), and after that they'll start making snow. There is still quite a lot of internal work to complete warmside, but it is moving very quickly - every time I'm there which is once or twice a week on average, there've been huge changes. Yesterday they were putting in paving in the street, and the pomas are in (lift structures been in a while)! Photo montages of mountains on side and back walls of the slopes which look amazing. A few of the shops and restaurants have already started their fit outs too.
There's a group on Facebook where photos have been posted if you're interested - although they're a few weeks out of date.
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You know it makes sense.
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Spyderman, Reading the stuff about the recent Dutch slope visit I ask myself why are we not building mega slopes in the UK? The cost must be very restricting (Chill 30 + mill and Hemel 20 + mill). Are the European centres built as cheaper constructions (overall facilities).
Chill looks impressive but is not a mega length. Hemel will be slightly shorter than MK (but much wider with no pillars). They just have to offer a world class facility in terms of snow quality, ski school etc.
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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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elbrus, First thing I was amazed about with the slope in Holland is that they found a hill 520m long, I thought Holland was flat.
I think a lot of the cost is to do with land availability and price, together with the reluctance of councils to award planning permission for such enormous buildings, which by their nature need to be reasonably close to large population centres in order to attract enough visitors to offset the huge costs. I don't see the Suffolk mega slope getting built for that reason, nobody lives there and the links are poor.
Hemel are relying on the snow quality, reasonable entry costs & their ski school to offer good value and a good experience for the paying customers, something in my last 4 visits to MK has been sadly extremely lacking.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I will know for sure within 10 days the firm closing date for the slope and approx opening date for the new snow 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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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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Spyderman, add me too!
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rob@rar, The parking is free too.
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| Spyderman wrote: |
| rob@rar, The parking is free too. |
Excellent - what more could I ask for! It's considerably closer too.
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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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rob@rar, rumour has it that a new XScape is going up at Lakeside in Essex. not sure where you are located but that coudl be an option..
ps how are the quads 
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FAQ
: Hemel's well oop North are BASI having it movd to the beautiful South? 
