Ski Dubai

Nobody will visit Dubai for the purpose of skiing. However, if you happen to find yourself in this more and more popular tourist mecca, you might wish making a few runs between shopping and visiting tourist attractions.

If you don't have your ski equipment, don't worry; it is included in the ski pass price. For about EUR 25 you get the complete ski equipment (ski suit, ski boots, skis, poles).

All the ski suits for rent are completely the same, so you have a feeling as if you're skiing in a kind of uniform, especially because almost nobody has their own equipment. However, if you want to use your own equipment, you'll get a discount. EUR 25 is a minimal price for two-hour skiing, and each additional hour is EUR 5. However, you have to decide on your time of skiing right away, because once your ski time expires, you cannot extend your pass on the slope.

The ski dome is a part of currently largest shopping mall in the world - "The Mall of the Emirates". If your company doesn't ski, they won't be bored, that is sure. They can even from time to time check on how are you doing, because the lower part of the ski dome, which is leveled with the shopping center, is constructed using glass walls.

 If you like the story so far and decided to visit the dome, here are a couple of hints on how to reach it. After you've entered The Mall of the Emirates, follow the "SKI Dubai" waymarks. When you obtain your hands-free ski pass, you go into the lobby and queue for your ski suit. After putting it on, you queue for ski boots (very soft ones!). Unfortunately, they have only one model. There are lockers where you can leave your personal things. Be careful not to forget the number of your locker; they are locked with a chip card and if you forget the number, you might have problems in finding your things afterwards.

The only thing missing in this stage are the skis; one more, you stand in line and wait for your pair. Again, you cannot chose; all the skis are the same – Rossignol custom model designed for "Ski Dubai". The skis have no labels except for the "Skidubai" inscription combined with an ornament in Arabic style. It is a beginner model, so if you're an advanced skier, you might get a bit bored. And this is not all; gloves are not included in the ski equipment (!), but you can buy them in the dome.

As you enter the ski area and reach the four-seater lift, your time starts to run, and each time you mount the ski lift you can see how much of it you have left. The four-seater lift is very slow. About half way up, on its first dismounting station, from where the descent is milder, it takes a sharp left turn and steeply descends to the top. There is also a cafe in a mountain style at the first dismounting station of the four-seater lift.

As you reach the top of the slope, you can chose between the left run, which is longer, wider and milder, and te right one, which is shorter, steeper and narrower. They meet below the cafe. At the foot of the slope there is an enclosed area for beginners who are making their first ski steps on a mild slope equipped with a magic carpet. You can also arrange ski lessons directly at the dome.

The quality of snow is rather low. It is granulated, and the run is rather hard packed and icy. Apart from the cooling system in charge of keeping the low temperature in the dome, the run is also cooled from below. There are no snow guns, but the artificial snow is sprayed from overhead sprayers.

Each day, 30 tones of artificial snow is produced, which, according to the dome's management, contains no chemicals. The average temperature in the dome is -2 °C, which feels rather cold since the suit you get isn't warm enough. Besides, most people come in T-shirts and shorts since the temperatures outside are some 40 degrees higher.

The slope is 85 m high and 80 m wide. The longest run is 400 m long, with the vertical drop of 65 m. There is a snowboard area with a small snow park and a freestyle zone. Also, snowboarders have at their disposal the largest world's enclosed snow park extended over an area of 3000 square meters. The slope's uphill capacity is 1500 skiers per hour. If you are neither skier nor snowboarder, you can enjoy snow caverns, tobogganing runs, or simply, the winter setting.

Find more info here.