Indoor SKi Slopes and How they Could Operate More Efficiently

If you love skiing or wish to learn snow sports then, for the majority of the year, an indoor slope is your best option in the UK and your only choice if you can’t afford to travel to a mountain resort.  There is no doubt that time on the snow is great fun and it is possible to learn the skills you need but these facilities are not without their issues.

Where To Go

There are six indoor slopes in the UK – The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead, SnoZone at Xscape, Milton Keynes, The Snow Dome in Tamworth, SnoZone at Xscape, Castleford, Chill Factore in Manchester and Snow Factor in Braehead, Glasgow.  All of the facilities attract their fair share of criticism which largely centres on the same sort of problems. So you have to wonder if the issues are unavoidable. As a regular visitor to one of the slopes I believe that whilst Utopia is probably not achievable, some improvements are certainly possible.

A Question of Congestion

It is the small number of facilities which is at the heart of the problem. With only six centres open for business, demand is high and space is at a premium. These places get incredibly busy at peak times which results in visitors spending a great deal of time queuing for the lifts and very little time actually skiing. As a visit doesn’t come cheap, this situation is a major frustration.  The solution would obviously be to restrict numbers but these places are costly to run and I suspect that doing this would not be financially viable.

It isn’t only the queues that are annoying. It can also be an incredibly frustrating experience when you do finally make it onto the snow. These slopes are pretty small and so it doesn’t take many skiers and boarders to cause congestion. A crowded piste is particularly problematic when you have people of such mixed abilities using it. Competent skiers can’t get up to speed and beginners are intimidated by people flying past them.  Just take a look at this footage to see how busy it can get.

Then there is the quality of the snow to contend with.

As the day draws on the heavy traffic on the piste ploughs it up and that lovely flat run soon turns into a mogul field punctuated by areas of sheet ice. By the end of the day it looks like the Himalayas. It is impossible to ski proficiently on such a surface and frankly quite hazardous. Presumably the fact that the slope is not levelled at any point during the day is down to money. Either running the equipment is financially prohibitive or the centres can’t afford to stop selling lift passes for even half an hour.

Sharing the Space

As if these issues weren’t already enough to drive you insane there is yet another cause of congestion to deal with. During public sessions the slope will also frequently be used for lessons and the majority of these are for novices or complete beginners. Your progress down the slope will be impeded by a snake of skiers or boarders who are often concentrating on their own efforts so hard that they are oblivious to anyone else.  Lessons are expensive and so I am betting that the centres need to sell as many as possible to keep things profitable. That being the case then the lessons aren’t going to go away no matter how many complaints are filed.

As if that is not enough you will often find that sections of the piste have been netted off for a variety of reasons or that a good portion of the space has been taken over by ramps or slalom courses for race training thus funnelling everyone into an even smaller space.

Breakdowns

The congestion problems are not helped by frequent breakdowns of the lifts and incessant stoppages because people have fallen off of them. Given that all of the centres advertise that only those who can use the lift are permitted access to the slope, this situation seems a little curious.  It is also the case that you must be able to perform linked turns, to control your speed and to stop before using the slope without an instructor but that rule seems to be largely ignored as well.  There are rarely any attendants at the bottom of the lifts to help people use them and to stop queue jumpers.

Getting There

The other principle bones of contention surround the difficulty of actually accessing the facilities. Parking can be a nightmare and then when you enter the reception area, you are likely to be faced with a lengthy wait to check in. Most of the centres offer an automated system to print your own lift passes but these seem to be plagued with malfunctions. Queues to collect clothing and equipment can be very lengthy too and it is entirely possible that you will lose all enthusiasm for skiing before you have even made it to the snow!

Solutions

So, given the fact that most of the issues are due to demand and that the centres need those visitors to be financially viable, what can be done to improve matters? Actually quite a lot in my opinion. For what it is worth here are my suggestions for creating a smoother operation:

1. Ensure that the automated check-in systems are functioning at all times and that the printers have paper in them! This will reduce the queues at reception. Preferably create a facility for passes to be printed at home so that skiers can head straight for the changing rooms when they arrive.
2. Devote extra staff to the clothing and equipment hire first thing in the morning on busy days as this when the queues are at their worst.
3. Strictly enforce the rules regarding the necessary skills to use the slope. First timers and those who cannot use the lift properly cause significant delays and should not be there.
4. Always position at least one attendant at the bottom of each lift. They can help beginners and young children to use the system, stop queue jumpers and deal immediately with any stoppages that occur.
5. Maintain the lifts more effectively and tests them before the centres open each day.
6. Rather than offer open sessions for most of the week why not divide up the time with dedicated sessions for lessons? You could do this by only having lessons on certain days and open sessions on the other days or even dividing each day into periods for lessons, periods for experienced skiers and open sessions.
7. Level the piste at least once during the day so that afternoon and evening visitors can enjoy decent conditions. You might be able to encourage more people to visit at the quieter times if they knew that conditions would be good. This service might have financial implications but these would surely be balanced by greater visitor numbers looking to enjoy the improved conditions.
8. Make more effort to encourage people to visit at quieter times and perhaps lower the off-peak prices a bit more. I have skied at The Snow Centre when it has been so busy that I could only access the slope five times in an hour but I have also been there when there were just six other people present. It cannot be beyond the wit of man to spread the numbers out a bit more evenly.
9. A good webcam would be a great investment. Some centres have no webcam and others something which is clearly an antique. If potential visitors could look online to see when it is quiet on the slope then more people just might turn up!

The fundamental problem with all of the centres is that they are trying to be all things to all people and all at the same time! Perhaps if they could just separate the various activities they offer and conduct them at different times then many of the issues would simply go away. The way things are now nobody gets a great deal and that cannot be right.