 Poster: A snowHead
|
Hi,
Just wondering if anyone who's a regular at the snow center knows how busy it is on a Sunday morning?
The reason I ask is I'm working in the region over the weekend and have a Sunday morning free so would like to get a few turns in on some real snow as oppose to the dry slopes we have here in Wales 
TIA for any info!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
It is not busy for the first hour or so (8am-9am) then it gets busy and snow gets bumpy quite quick but still just ok for the next hour or so.
Definitely it is worth starting exactly at 8am, you can have the first few runs for yourself on nice groomed piste  . It looks much different later on.
At least this is my experience from two Sundays I did in recent weeks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Agree with Tom W quiet at start of the day, gets busy from 10am with 11am seeming to be the busiest in my experience. Suspect it all depends on if there are any groups training as well.
To be honest didn't find the busy times overly busy and whilst the snow quality did deteriorate during the day it felt good for training on as not too dissimilar to what you can experience at different times of the day in the alps.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Varies dependent on number of users. I don't go there a lot on Sun ams but have been several times at that time, usu for an 8am start. It used to be very quiet at that time but recently they've been doing the unltd skiing monthly passes and that's been very successful, so when I've been fairly recently it's been fairly crowded. Not crowded like mid-season Sat mid-morning queue 15 minutes for 15 second run crowded but definitely wait around at the top so's to find a little space on the way down crowded.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Thanks guys, looks like I will have to forgo the beer on Saturday night and make it an early start Sunday 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
I've been there a couple of Sundays in the past month and it's been getting very busy from 930am onwards. Particularly annoying is when there's a snowboard freestyle course thing going on, as they tend to not use the full length of the slope and have quite a high round-trip rate/frequency of lift use - plus it reduces the width. It is even more particularly annoying because they just rush in through the lesson lane on the 'experienced lift user' lift which means you get 3 queues of people for the one lift. Waiting 5-10mins at the bottom becomes the norm at these times.
I'd really really like to see a couple of things at Hemel that I think would help when it's busy:
- a single line queue for the lift instead of two poorly managed scrums.
- more frequent lift pass checking, if not an automated system. I think my pass has been checked 3 times in 12 visits.
- speedier resolution of lift-halt incidents. Sometimes even though the debris has evacuated itself from the area, it takes ages for someone to come and restart the lift
I think Chillfactore in Manchester does this stuff pretty well in comparison!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Agree with driz regarding the lift queues at Hemel. They also need to make it a lot clearer that the lift on the left is the 'Express' lift and is not suitable for inexperienced skiers/boarders and especially small kids. There were quite a few incidents on Saturday and Sunday last weekend where people couldn't grab the pole or fell at the start of the lift and there was no one there to help or even stop the lift, resulting in absolute carnarge and a very long lift queue!! They also hardly ever check people's lift passes, which is surely in the company's best interests? I would have thought an automatic pass checker, like they have in ski resorts would pay for itself pretty quickly! 
Still, it's great having the Snow Centre so close by to London and it's a lot better than SnoZone at Milton Keynes! Hopefully they will offer the unlimited passes for November too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| coxy84 wrote: |
| Agree with driz regarding the lift queues at Hemel. They also need to make it a lot clearer that the lift on the left is the 'Express' lift and is not suitable for inexperienced skiers/boarders and especially small kids. There were quite a few incidents on Saturday and Sunday last weekend where people couldn't grab the pole or fell at the start of the lift |
Agree.
As a first time visitor on Sunday last, the Express lift management was non-existent. I regularly watched people often missing 7-8 poles and then falling over. One example, a youngster who missed 10. In spite of his mother also being in the queue listening to people getting a little less than sympathetic. She did eventually shout out to him to leave the queue in the end - not the hint of an apology.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| coxy84 wrote: |
They also hardly ever check people's lift passes, which is surely in the company's best interests? I would have thought an automatic pass checker, like they have in ski resorts would pay for itself pretty quickly!
. |
Absolutely no. they had one of these at Chill Factore and it never worked and just exacerpated the clusterfock of a queue situation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
How much Is a 2 hour ski pass for a Sunday morning by the way?
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
tomb, £37.80
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chasseur, ouch that's a lot more expensive than a 2 hour session here in Wales... Thanks for the info though
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
