Who needs snow?!

Hi all, a little different this time: just a few fun facts I'd like to share with you!


Fun Fact I - For the ones not too familiar with the snowsports industry: you don't actually need snow to ski or board.

Also: the melting snowman is back!
(Because I have a camera phone again and 

can photograph drawings..)

Fun Fact II - Dry slopes, made up of dendex mats, are an alternative to snowsports on actual snow. Dendex is plastic and metal formed into brushes, which mimic the characteristics of snow. It makes it possible to practice in summer and in regions that don't have the right climate or are too flat. Also: snowboarding AND sea view AND environmentally much friendlier than artificial snow in indoor halls.

This is the Hillend Dry Slope in Edinburgh, where we spent

a great competition weekend with freezing weather but 

a great view. What do you think, viable

alternative to snow? 
Is this THE alternative for snowsports future when the Alps are no longer white? 

Fun Fact III - It's not all positive... due to higher friction and stiffness of the material, skiing or snowboarding is much more difficult on these slopes.

Fun Fact III - Falling is also much more painful than on snow - this I have researched extensively.

Fun Fact IV- Edinburgh was freezing this weekend, and we saw the first snow of the season. Wet, sticky, didn't last for more than a minute - but it was snow!

Just have a look at the sky please.. Proper Scottish Weather

Fun Fact V - The UCLU Snowsports Society did an awesome job at the British University Dry Slope Competition in Scotland this weekend, the largest dry slope event in the world (!). We had fun, we did our best, and we didn't win anything, but that's OK. I'm happy, proud and tired, and definitely looking forward to real snow. But until then, I'm glad dry slopes exist so we can train every week, even in snowless London.