Afternoon:
10°c
The powder's great ... in Hemel
Jonathan Prynn28 Apr 2009
When it comes to glamour Hemel Hempstead is never going to worry Courchevel, Zermatt or Verbier. But it certainly is closer.
Just three quarters of an hour - less than most airport transfers - and little more than 20 miles from central London, the finishing touches are being put to the first "real snow" indoor ski run in the South-East .
The developers behind the £23million Snow Centre boast that it has "the best snow this side of the Alps" and will lure tens of thousands of Londoners.
A big claim, but it will undoubtedly be the most reliable white stuff within easy reach of the capital when it opens on 6 May, becoming the sixth indoor ski "resort" in Britain. Previously the nearest all-year round snow was at the Sno!zone in Milton Keynes,
I was the first journalist to ski the full 160metre length of the main run - there is also a 100metre nursery slope.
Up to 150 skiers at any time will weave down Hertfordshire's premier piste. A button tow takes skiers to the top of a cavernous, chilly shed with all the charm of a vast supermarket freezer store.
Huge hoardings displaying panoramic views of the Austrian Alps down the side of the runs are a good attempt to bring a hint of the mountains, but do not convince. The snow is created overnight, a fine white mist of Chiltern tap water and compressed air that is blown out at between minus 4.5 and minus 6 degrees centigrade. The snow is flattened each day by a piste basher imported from Austria.
The result is compressed powder such as you would expect to find early on a cold morning in the Alps before the sun has softened it. For my taste that's too compact to be perfect. It lacks that wonderfully crunchy "give" that makes skiing on genuine pisted powder such a delight.
However, it is not a bad effort and the developers of the Snow Centre claim that it is the closest to the real thing yet seen in Britain. There is no ice and, unless something goes very badly wrong with the cooling system, never any slush.
The incline is 15 degrees at the top - not exactly the famously vertiginous Hahnenkamm run in Kitzbühel - but enough to get up a decent head of steam. There is sufficient length for about 10 decent turns and a genuine sense of "let's do it all over again" exhilaration at the end.
The experience does not come cheap. Adult prices start from £18 an hour for an off-peak lift pass (£22 peak) to £75 an hour for a one-to-one lesson. For children a lift pass starts from £16.
With food served at an ersatz "Tyrolean" café called The Edge, an evening or weekend visit for a family of four is likely to come to at least £120 for an hour's skiing. That's plenty, but as I found to my cost this year, no more than a fondue lunch for four in Meribel at the current crippling exchange rate.
Reader views (4)
How does this compare in size to the Milton Keynes SnoZone?
- John G, Lewisham, 28/04/2009 13:14
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"the developers of the Snow Centre claim that it is the closest to the real thing yet seen in Britain."
Well, that is apart from the actual "real thing" found in the Cairngorms, Glenshee, Glencoe etc.
- Escobar-Alop-Lop, Camden County, 28/04/2009 12:07
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Its noless green than taking a plane or long car trip to the Alps or USA!
It provides a facility to get people in to sport, not a bad thing.
I think its great and has provided 250 jobs which are very welcome.
Terry
- Terry, Hemel, 28/04/2009 11:48
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I don't suppose that the fact that this is about as 'un-green' as you can possible get will make a jot of difference to the people who will use it. No doubt hypocrisy will reign among those who claim to WANT to be green while they drive their families there in their 4x4s for a spot of skiing in a place that costs a fortune to keep cold.
- George, London, 28/04/2009 10:41
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