Best snow dome - MK or Hemel ?

A snowHead

My oldest girl who has skied since she was a child, and even done a season, has a partner who hasn't skied at all. He is quite an active guy and she really wants him to ski so we thought of getting him in a dome for a day to see what he thinks. Obviously she doesn't want to go to the expense of going on a ski holiday to find out he hates it.

So what dome is best for this ? We live in Woking so any other domes are starting to get a bit far away for a day out. Any other sugestions as to what sort of day we have ? I don't know what sort of facilities these places have - is it by the hour ? Do they have "discover skiing" type events ?

A snowHead

Ah, that old problem! dsoutar, as you prob know there are two main type of skier. One that likes the rush of sliding and being able to control an extreme sensation the other that loves cruising and taking in the mountain atmosphere (plus many cross overs inbetween). If he falls in to the later he may have lessons at a dome be able to do it but not really see what many get out of it (whats the point in constantly fighting agains gravity?!?), as a dome doesn't really give the mountain buzz!
On that principle I'd go for the cheapest option (maybe a taster lesson or a 2 hour lesson) then get him out on a mountain! Hemel is much prefered on here because of the snow quality and cleaner environment however the length of MK (which he wouldn't use in a two hour lesson anyway) wins for me. If you have the cash then by all means go for a learn in a day course but know people who loved and hated being inside a dome all day (the ones who hated did come round to it when we got them to the mountain), you can always call it a day shortly after lunch!

To answer the the thread title, they are as good as each other which ever one is cheaper will be better value for money.

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dsoutar, as manicpb says HH is generally preferred over MK for the snow quality (and, for me, the more relaxed atmosphere). However MK is cheaper (although incidental costs for parking, locker hire etc add up). I started skiing as an adult and did a 'ski in a day' course at MK. I didn't learn to ski in a day but I did learn a lot and get the basics. If your daughter's partner is fit and active I'd recommend doing one of these (they aren't worth doing if you aren't fit as it's a long day). It's unlikely (but by no means impossible) that a beginner will be on the main slope for long on the first day so the length of the slope isn't really a factor here.

Milton Keynes
http://www.snozoneuk.com/v/milton-keynes/lessons/skiing-lessons

Hemel Hempstead
http://www.thesnowcentre.com/lessons-courses

[edited for typos]

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this thread might be worth a read too
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=59353

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I've skiied both and had lessons at MK before I went skiing for the first time. I think they are much of a muchness to be honest. HH annoys me because you rarely get to ski the entire slope because they keep on fencing off bits of it for use for other things. This matters less at MK beacuse they have two slopes.

As manicpb said, go with the best value option

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I would choose HH every time as the HH slope is run by snowsports people with a snowsports buisness. The MK one is an 'Xscape' attraction designed and run only to keep the shops bars and resturants full of stag and hen parties.

Snow is better at HH, Customer service is better (IMHO).

kosciosco, Not sure what you mean by that two slopes comment as HH has a nursery slope area just like MK.

I dont think I have bumped my head recently, but I may be mistaken Very Happy

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I've skied both, but had 2 x 3hr beginner lessons at MK.

I prefer Hemel to ski at now, better snow, bigger area to ski (to counter kosciosco, I've only been to Hemel when they've had the whole slope open, but have been funnelled down to a tiny chute at the end of the slope at MK), fewer queues at the lift.

I recommend a taster/beginner session just so that when your daughter and OH go on holiday (which they will because he'll love it!) he knows the score with boots, skis, sticks and a drag lift - everything will be that little less daunting. Obviously he'll also be able to ski a bit too, which helps.

At the end of the first 3hr lesson we were using the big slope at MK, and we didn't use the nursery slope once during the second 3hr session.

After all it is free

dsoutar, Dont know where you are based but having skied at Chill Factore Manchester, XScape Yorkshire and HH recently my views are that the order of slope/ snow quality is as follows, maybe worth a longer journey to NWest?:-

1. CFe
2. HH
3. XScape

I know there's a great following on here for HH, and yes for customer service HH is #1 but CFe is a much better slope IMO, longer and wider and less taken up by ramps. Also lift x 2 faster.

MK has columns down the middle of the main slope, which I don't like, but it is a bit longer (180 m compared to 160m) and perhaps a shade steeper (I'm not sure of this). But the snow, and eating place overlooking the slope is better at Hemel. I always go there now, partly because it is closer. If someone I knew wanted lessons I know some of the teachers at Hemel and they are good so I'd go for them.
Both have days when there is freestyle furniture, jumps etc on the slope. Hemel it is Friday and one jump will usually be up already on Thursday. Otherwise I've never found obstructions on the Hemel slope. Once, long ago, Milton Keynes had half the slope (ie one side of the columns) turned into a half pipe for a few weeks. Not sure if they have repeated that.
If you go to Milton Keynes make sure you remember to pay for your parking. If you include that (which is free at Hemel) I don't think the price difference is significant.
The early morning during the week or late in the evening is the emptiest. If you can avoid the weekend then do. Lessons need to be booked well in advance at this time of year.

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Markymark29, Only been to CFe the once and I thought the slope was great. HH, it's almost impossible to get a clear slope any more, there's either a large jump, furniture, race lane, rut line in place to cut down the usable width.

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Spyderman, I agree HH last Weds evening large jump on right, so only 1/2 slope to go at. Then lift broke down, nice an quiet but pretty short and unexciting IMO, CFe is much more varied and less hamster-wheel-ish in feel..............theres only so many times you can go up and down at HH on 1/2 the slope, left 1/2 hour early bored despite paying £38 for 2 hours!! wink

snow reports

All this talk about 'features' and length of the main slope is academic when we're talking about a complete beginner. All of the snowdomes either have a separate learners area. dsoutar, as you're talking about a pretty hefty journey out to a dome an 'in a day' course might be a better option than a one hour taster session. HH don't seem to be offering these at the moment, but I might not have been looking hard enough.

Markymark29, I concur - Tamworth would probably tie with MK but for completely different reasons.

You know it makes sense.

Seeing as it's swayed away from just those two, Tamworth is by far my favorite. Locals are genuinely friendly, staff are top notch, ok snow is poor but the slope has a bend and is not straight down but has a lip to play off. All pointless as your after lessons and not recreation!

One more point, are you sure your daughters partner wants to ski...it's all about boarding!! Twisted Evil

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

For me the whole thing of being on a mountain range is what hooks me and many others to skiing. Its an all encompassing experience and practice slopes, dry or dome, have never interested me personally. I'm not sure if I had done a dome or dry that that would have convinced me to take up skiing?

If he doesn't like the experience of a dome does that really mean he won't enjoy a full on ski holiday on a beautiful mountain with mates, all the laughs that go with it, apres etc etc. If he doesn't enjoy a dome maybe it'll be even harder to convince him to spend a few quid on a proper ski holiday?

A snowHead

BF had a 3 hour snowboarding lesson at MK on Saturday and raved about it. HH seem to only have stupid times (late) for certain lessons which was inconvenient for us as he was driving from South London to get there.

A snowHead

I "learned to ski in a day" at Chill Factor.

I would definitely recommend this route for someone who is fit and active. At the end of the day I was at the stage where the skis are starting to come together at the end of the turns (plough parallel) and had been on the drag lift. This was enough to bump me up 2 groups when out in the mountains and had a much better first week because of it, getting to full linked parallel turns down red runs by the end of the week.

Without that basis it would have been a week of drudgery in the beginners group, on the nursery slope for at least a day and maybe cruising some blues at the end of the week if I'd been bumped up a class. For an active person with a whole ski resort within touching distance that would be very frustrating and could lead to not liking the holiday, especially if a very capable other half was of to all corners and colours of run.

I wouldn't recommend the "intro to ski" type session having seen what happens. You basically have time to learn to click into some bindings, side step up the slope and slide down a few times. For someone active an fit this could put them off the sport as it is basically a lot of waiting around for people who aren't even able to do that without panicking or falling over.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Having been to Tamworth a few times I was taken to MK because the snow was supposed to be better. Indeed it seemed more like snow, but also was incredibly SLOW. I preferred the more icy stuff at Tamworth. Maybe it was just the day I was there.

However I did 'learn to ski' in a day at Tamworth years ago, couldn't recommend this more as a pre holiday strategy. I imagine learning at MK or the others is great too. As per Flet@h, learn to ski in a day at a dome, 1 day skiing on your backside on the resort and then 5 days enjoying the mountain!

I can throw myself down most slopes now and rapidly get bored at Tamworth and even more rapidly at my 1 session at MK. So if I went now it would only be for a lesson.

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Hemel uses a week plan to cater for user desires! Monday to Wednesday you will find the slope furniture free, although a roller on skiers left. Tuesday we add a line of ruts / bumps. I was skiing in there for the last three days and it's been great for carving and long turns. Tuesday evenings has also been quiet and furniture free.

Thursday we cater for rookie freestylers and have a small park out. Also tends to be student night. Friday is full on freestyle soif that's your thing it's the day to come!

Weekends we do have some visiting freestyle camps so some furniture out.

Nursery slope at this time of year is free and open for learners.

Hope this helps!

PSG

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

excellent - a live thread that hopefully will be able to answer my conundrum. I'm looking to book a lesson for three kids, 7&9 - but undecided which level for HH - 5 or 6? One child has done esf 2 etoile, the other 2 done esf 1 etoile, and at the end of week in sking in alps - all were confident and skiing happily down blue & reds (2 etoile did a black). How disastrous is it if I put them in the higher level 6 - as that is the date that suits best (it's a birthday treat, so really want to out them in together). Anyone got any idea / experience?

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

skimottaret, Good on monday this week when I was out there (same time as inside out)' if you want a clear slope, day off work and get down monday to Wednesday. Weekends will be busy from now until March.

PSG

After all it is free

Can anyone familiar with the Wednesday afternoon sessions for adults at Hemel suggest if there's a minimum level you need to have? The website suggests it is suitable for Level 1, which would be great because it looks a good value way of strapping on a pair of boots and getting a little feeling for sliding again for a not-quite-total-beginner (rather than a tasting session of "This is a ski boot. These things are called bindings. Now we will spend 15 minutes on the snow before the end of the session"), but I'm aware that sometimes these things vary a bit in practice.

I would personally go to MK for beginner lessons. Main reason is that at MK, the learner slope has a travelator to get you up the slope. At HH if I’m not mistaken the learner slope uses tow ropes? I find a travelator much easier to use than tow ropes though others may disagree.

Once your daughters partner does enough lessons and is competent enough to ski on the main slope on his own, then you can give HH a try and see which you like best.

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jimmybog, excellent point. That Hemel tow rope is horrible!

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You know it makes sense.

Spyderman, I had quite a comical collision with anarchsaltire on it. Got quite messy.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

fatbob, I have never been at Hemel when that has happened (but I tend to only go on freestyle nights now).

But as a learner you have got to start somewhere and personally I would rather start using a magic carpet than a tow rope.

A snowHead

Rope Tows are fine if the terrain is dead flat, purely to avoid the need to walk. Once any slope of slope is involved without some sort of meat hook, a rope is a disaster.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Took my girlfriend to the MK slope first weekend in October and booked her onto the 3 hour beginner taster session. I took a main slope pass for myself just to mess around and pass the 3 hours whilst she was doing her lessons... Also able to watch her a bit closer than being sat in the coffee room which doesn't have a good view of the nursery area of the slope.

From what I saw, the lessons are slow going compared to what I had in the mountains... I had my first lessons on the mountain and by the end of my first afternoon I was beginning to get the hang of completing a single, non-linked parallel turn (our instructor didn't teach us the snow plough method). In the snow dome, by the end of the 3 hour session, my girlfriend was snow ploughing down the slope and starting to learn about putting weight onto one ski or the other to initiate a plough turn.

For what it is, it was good enough value at £90 for a 3 hour session and gave a bit of a taster to skiing. She booked to come with me on an early season week in 5 weeks time so she enjoyed it enough to book a holiday!

The instructor certainly wasn't anywhere near as good as the one I had in the mountains, but he also didn't seem to be the worst I've seen.

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junglist_matty, I think you'll find that you are the exception rather than the rule, irrespective of where your lessons take place. I wouldn't expect anyone to be able to do a parallel turn within 3 hours of learning to ski. Where your GF is after 3 hours is about right. I teach indoors and in the mountains, the system of learning is the same.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Tomorrow at The Snow Centre we have no external freestyle camps. This will mean that there SHOULD be very little, if any freestyle features out leaving a clear slope ( which will be good for me as I am taking a BASI refresher )!

I have discussed this with the team today and we will look at what we can do to meet everyone's expectations ( not easy as users all want something different). Some camps have been booked in for the future, so if you want a clear slope it's worth calling before hand to check (if you want to avoid freestyle features )

PSG

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gilleski, sweet thanks for listening. same for sunday?

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

gilleski, appreciate that. Sometimes it's not possible to call beforehand (at Inside Out we plan our programme at least six months ahead). It would be good to have a guideline that freestyle furniture might be restricted to certain Saturdays, eg the 1st Saturday of each month, then we could make a point of avoiding those days if we wanted a clear slope. It can be a bit frustrating when a large proportion of the slope is fenced off for a couple of freestyle features when only a small number of people are using it, perhaps a dozen people on a freestyle course.

After all it is free

Half way through the BASI refresher at Hemel and the slopes are great today! No features out and the same will be for tomorrow. Snow feels really grippy, great for a few long turns!

PSG

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Avoid the 'Xscapes' in Nove/Dec, they are always full of kids sledging which takes up silly amounts of the lower slope. Not been to HH but Chili Factor is not as bad for this.

Help!!

Best snow dome - MK or Hemel ?

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