Chill Factor
e is the UK's longest indoor ski slope; a £31 million real snow centre located in the
Trafford Park
Trafford Park is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, opposite Salford Quays on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, southwest of Manchester city centre and north of Stretford. Until the l ...
area of
Trafford
Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Ur ...
,
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...
, England. Designed b
FaulknerBrowns Architects the centre opened in November 2007, at which time it was the widest in the world, at long and wide at its widest point.
In 2010, the former sales and marketing director of
Alton Towers Morwenna Angove joined Chill Factor
e as
CEO.
In 2011, the
Guinness World Record for the longest chain of skiers to travel without breaking, was recorded at Chill Factor
e.
In May 2011, Chill Factor
e hosted the UK's first
Snowbombing
Snowbombing is a ski resort festival, held annually in the spring at the Austrian ski resort of Mayrhofen.
History
The event has been run since 2000 when it was first held at the French resort of Risoul as an après-ski nightclub promotional ex ...
event.
In 2018, Chill Factor
e rebranded as BEYOND, a new retail, experiential and leisure mix, which will bring additional restaurants and businesses to complement resident brands.
In March 2020, Chill Factor
e announced that its owners Extreme Cool Limited and U&I PLC had sold the company to Snow Centres Ltd who operate The Snow Centre in
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500.
Developed after the Second World War as a new ...
. They also announced that the CEO Angove would be replaced by Ian Brown as managing director. Snow Centre took over at the end of March and spent £500,000 on renovations.
Slope facilities
The main slope is served by two
drag lift
A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-co ...
s suspended from the ceiling, thus widening the available piste area and allowing for easier maintenance of the slope. This differs from the other centres in the UK where the lift supports are on the piste. In addition to the main slope, the centre features a beginner slope, a
luge track, and dedicated snow play and
tubing areas. Other activities include airboarding, snowscoot and
sledging.
Alpine Street
The centre includes a number of shops and restaurants in a themed '
Alpine Village' area. On the upper level of the village is The Sports Bar, and The Lodge restaurant with slope side viewing balconies and conference/event facilities with a capacity of up to 250 people.
References
External links
*
FaulknerBrowns Architects
Ski areas and resorts in England
Buildings and structures in Trafford
Indoor ski resorts
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