![Indoor ski slope at American Dream in Meadowlands](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Indoor_ski_slope_at_American_Dream_in_Meadowlands.jpg)
Indoor skiing is done in a climate-controlled environment with
artificially produced snow. This enables
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...
and
snowboarding
Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...
to take place regardless of outdoor temperatures. Facilities for both
alpine skiing
Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...
and
nordic skiing
Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the Ski binding, binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe ...
are available.
History
Since the early 20th century, there have been four major stages in the evolution of indoor snow centres.
Firstly, centres that had no refrigeration and used an artificial mixture of materials to create a surface substance something like snow, the first of these opened in Austria and Germany in the 1920s. The first recorded indoor “snow” slope was created at Berlin’s
Automobilhalle in April 1927 gaining worldwide attention. According to contemporary reports a wooden slope was created about 720 feet long and sixty feet wide.
The "snow" substitute used was invented and later patented by a British diplomat, L. C. Ayscough, and involved a mixture of powdered mica, soda crystals and sawdust spread on a brush matting surface. The Berlin government were concerned about health risks from the mixture and commissioned the then head of its Municipal Health Bureau,
Dr. Wilhelm von Drigalkski, to check it was safe for public use. He confirmed that it was and an order for 200 tons of the material to be delivered by train was placed.
The slope was initially popular and a company was founded to build more slopes in Dresden, Munich, and Frankfurt. It is not known if these were ever created.
A second indoor centre using "Ayscough snow", planned to be a more permanent facility, opened in Austria in November 1927. Known as ''Schneepalast'' (German: Snow Palace), it was opened in the
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n capital
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
in the abandoned
Vienna Northwest Railway Station established by the
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
*Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
*Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including the ...
ski jumper
Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fina ...
Dagfinn Carlsen. The track in the ski area was built on a wooden ramp. A ski jump made it possible to jump up to . Skiers had to walk up the artificial mountain, because there was no ski lift. However, sledges could be pulled up with an electrically-operated system. The artificial snow had been made by the English experimenter
James Ayscough
James Ayscough (born 1720, died 1759) was an English optician and designer and maker of scientific instruments. He was apprenticed to an optician named James Mann from 1743 to 1747. James Ayscough became known for his microscopes. His shop wa ...
from soda.
After the initial excitement enthusiasm for "Ayscough snow" rapidly waned however as users decided it was not particularly slippery and the initial whiteness rapidly discoloured. The Vienna facility closed in May 1928.
The second attempt at indoor snow centres came three decades later with the first centre that used real snow or crushed ice which was transported inside to a slope covered by a roof and open to urban skiers during cold months of the year in the city of
Sayama
is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 149,826 in 69,859 households and a population density of 3100 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
Sayama is located in south-centr ...
, Japan.
This centre opened in 1959 and continues to operate, although now with on-site snowmaking rather than bringing in snow by lorry.
Thirdly came the first generation of refrigerated indoor centres which used either a chemical mixture to simulate snow or scraped ice. The first three of these opened in 1988, each claiming to be the first in the world. These were
Mt Thebarton in Adelaide, Australia, Casablanca in Belgium, and Ski in Tsudanuma in Japan.
The fourth and current stage of indoor snow centre development came when centres which used ‘real snow’, made by snow-making machines, with no chemical additives, began to appear. These are now the norm for most of the 140 centres that have been built since the first, which was The Snowdome at Tamworth in the UK which opened in May 1994.
Present Day
Since the first indoor snow centre was built in Berlin in 1926, 149 indoor snow centres have been, most of them since 1990. 113 are currently operational in 35 countries on 6 continents.
Most offer skiing and snowboarding but some, primarily in sub-tropical areas in southeast Asia that do not normally see natural snowfall, exist as snow experience centres offering activities like sledging, snowman building and snowball fights.
The number of centres being built continues to grow and 2019 saw more indoor snow centres open worldwide than any other year. Analysis of the last three decades of indoor snow centre construction saw 2010-19 had the most indoor snow centres built (60), up from 43 between 2000 and 2009 and 34 built in the 1990s.
Asia (especially China) saw the most-new indoor snow centres built since 2010, as it did in the 1990s (back then most were built in Japan). Between those two decades Europe built the most facilities in the first decade of this century. The past decade saw the first indoor snow centres open in Africa (Egypt), North America (USA) and South America (Brazil).
Three of the five-biggest indoor snow centres in the world, including two with 50,000sqm+ (500,000+ square feet) indoor snow space, opened in a 12 month period from March 2019 to March 2020.
Many of the indoor snow centres built in recent years are in China which has 34 centres, almost five times more than the next closest country (The Netherlands, with seven). China’s SUNAC group has become the world’s largest operator of indoor snow centres, operating seven centres, including the world’s three largest. Two more are under construction, most of these opened in 2019-20.
List of Alpine ski halls by country
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
*
Mt Thebarton Snow and Ice,
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
. Operated 1987 - 2005. Built in a state without any ski resorts, it was probably the world's first indoor ski slope on artificial snow.
* Swiss Pavilion at
World Expo 88
World Expo 88, also known as Expo 88, was a specialised Expo held in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia, during a six-month period between Saturday, 30 April 1988 and Sunday, 30 October 1988, inclusive. The theme of the Expo wa ...
, Brisbane. Two lifts operated for six months. Included a ski slope on artificial snow serviced by a handle tow and a double chairlift operating on a rectangular route.
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
* Aspen,
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
* Ice Mountain,
Comines
* Snow Valley,
Peer
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
* Harbin Wanda Indoor Ski and Winter Sports Resort located in
Harbin
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
,
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...
, world's largest indoor ski resort with of indoor snow.
* Yinqixing indoor skiing, Shanghai
* Sunac Snow Park,
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
* Sunac Snow Park,
Wuxi
Wuxi (, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu province, eastern China, by car to the northwest of downtown Shanghai, between Changzhou and Suzhou. In 2017 it had a population of 3,542,319, with 6,553,000 living in the entire prefecture-level city ar ...
* Sunac Snow Park,
Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
* Sunac Snow Park,
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...
* Sunac Snow Park,
Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
* SnowWorld Amnéville,
SnowHall Amnéville, France
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
* alpinCenter Bottrop in the SnowFunPark in Wittenburg with a slope and a 31 percent grade.
* SnowDome Bispingen, Bispingen.
* Alpenpark Neuss (SnowWorld), 300m slope.
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
* Trans Snow World in
Bekasi
Bekasi (, su, ) is a city in West Java, Indonesia, located on the eastern border of Jakarta.the city of planet Bekasi is his nickname.It serves as a commuter city within the Jakarta metropolitan area. According to the 2020 Census by Statistics ...
, first of a series of snow parks that are opening across Indonesia, which includes also a ski slope and ski lifts. It is possible to ski and learn skiing by Ski Club Indonesia, first Ski operator and association in Indonesia
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
* Sayama ski resort,
Tokorozawa
is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 344,194 in 163,675 households and a population density of 4800 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
Tokorozawa is located in the ce ...
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
*
Snow Arena
The Snow Arena is an indoor ski slope in Druskininkai, Lithuania. It was opened on August 26, 2011.
It is one of the biggest indoor skiing slopes in the world, with the slope length of , width and height of between and at the beginner slope. ...
,
Druskininkai
Druskininkai (; pl, Druskieniki; be, Друскенiкi; yi, דרוזגעניק, translit=Druzgenik) is a spa town on the Nemunas River in southern Lithuania, close to the borders of Belarus and Poland. The city of Druskininkai has a population ...
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
* SnowWorld,
Landgraaf
Landgraaf (; li, Lankgraaf ) is a municipality in southeastern Limburg, Netherlands, forming part of the Parkstad Limburg agglomeration. ''Snow World'' is the largest indoor ski piste in Europe.
Population centres
*Nieuwenhagen
*Schaesberg
*Ub ...
with a total of of snow. In 2003, the first indoor snowboard
FIS
FIS or fis may refer to:
Science and technology
* '' Fis'', an ''E. Coli'' gene
* Fis phenomenon, a phenomenon in linguistics
* F♯ (musical note)
* Flight information service, an air traffic control service
* Frame Information Structure, a Se ...
WorldCup contest was held here.
* SnowWorld,
Zoetermeer
Zoetermeer () is a city in the Western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. A small village until the late 1960s, it had 6,392 inhabitants in 1950. By 2013 this had grown to 123,328 ...
* SnowWorld,
Rucphen
Rucphen () is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands between Roosendaal and Etten-Leur, south of the railway, but without a train-station.
Population centres
Topography
''Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Rucphen, Ju ...
* SnowWorld,
Terneuzen
Terneuzen () is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands, in the province of Zeeland, in the middle of Zeelandic Flanders. With almost 55,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous municipality of Zeeland.
History
First mentione ...
* De Uithof,
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
* SnowWorld,
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
* Montana Snowcenter,
Westerhoven
Westerhoven is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Bergeijk, about 15 km southwest of Eindhoven.
History
Westerhoven lies in a valley between the rivers Keersop and Beekloop which flow just ...
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
*
Snowplanet
Snowplanet is an indoor snow recreation centre in Silverdale on the Hibiscus Coast in New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Isl ...
,
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
* SNØ,
Lørenskog
is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. A suburb of Oslo, it is part of the Oslo urban area and the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Romerike. The administrati ...
with a total of . Has a alpine ski track and a cross-country skiing track suspended from the roof. One-of-a-kind combination of these winter sports. Opened January 2020. https://snooslo.no
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
* Snejcom, Moscow. http://www.snej.com
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
* SnowZone, in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, has of snow areas, including a slope (over 25% grade), a slope, chairlifts, and other winter sports facilities.
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
*
Ski Dubai
Ski Dubai is an indoor ski resort with 22,500 square meters of indoor ski area. The park maintains a temperature of -1 degree to 2 degrees Celsius throughout the year. It is a part of the Mall of the Emirates, one of the largest shopping malls i ...
, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai.
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
*
Ski Egypt
A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...
,
Mall of Egypt
Mall of Egypt is the first shopping destination of its kind in Egypt. The mall is owned and managed by the Majid Al Futtaim Group
Majid Al Futtaim ( ar, ماجد الفطيم) is an Emirati holding company based in Dubai. As of 2015, it o ...
,
6th of October. It has the only indoor ski slope in Africa with the main slope being long.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
* Chill Factore, outside
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, with a main slope.
* Snowzone Castleford, near
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
with a main slope.
*
Xscape Milton Keynes, in
Central Milton Keynes
Central Milton Keynes is the central business district of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and a #Civil parish, civil parish in its own right, with a town council#England and Wales, town council.
The district is approximately long by w ...
with a main slope.
* Snowdome at
Tamworth, near
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
with a slope and two smaller beginner areas long.
*Snow Centre at
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 ne ...
*Snow Factor at
Braehead Soar
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
*
Big SNOW American Dream
Big Snow American Dream is an indoor skiing and snowboarding park within the American Dream shopping and entertainment complex, at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, that opened on December 5, 2019.
Big Snow American ...
,
American Dream Meadowlands
American Dream is a retail and entertainment complex in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The first and second of four opening stages occurred on October 25, 2019, and on December 5, 2019. The remainin ...
, (
Meadowlands Sports Complex
The Meadowlands Sports Complex is a sports complex located in East Rutherford, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The facility is owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA).
The complex currently consi ...
), East Rutherford, New Jersey (Opened on 5 December 2019)
Nordic ski tunnels (Cross-country skiing )
References
External links
Indoor Snow News{{Skiing
Cross-country skiing
*
Ski areas and resorts
Artificial ski resorts