I’m so over being boiling hot. 42 degrees is way out of my comfort zone (and it’s only June). If only I could be cold for a few hours, even freezing. With a steaming cup of chocolate to warm me up.
And, wouldn’t you know, yesterday my wishes came true – at Ski Dubai, an indoor ski resort at the Mall of the Emirates.
Despite having spent several sub-zero winters in the midwest of America, I’m not mad keen on winter sports. But show me a ski slope covered in real snow inside a mall? I’m all excited. Naturally.
No one has ski gear in Dubai so the ticket for the snow park includes ski pants, a jacket and boots. Getting dressed up in all this garb seemed a little over-the-top, given the outside temperature, and the fact gloves weren’t included didn’t phase me one bit – surely it’s going to be positively balmy in there, compared to Minneapolis in February?
It’s minus two degrees. It feels wonderful. It’s chilly, refreshing….we’re actually cold!
Really cold. DH goes back out to track down some gloves.
Skiers can choose from five runs of varying difficulty – we could even sign the boys up for ski school. For now, we stayed in the snow park and enjoyed the tobogganing, bobsled ride, tubing and snow cavern.
I read somewhere that it takes 3,500 barrels of oil a day to keep Ski Dubai cold. What’s more, because they’ve thought of everything, you can sip a cup of hot chocolate beneath a heat lamp on the deck of the mountainside Avalanche Café. Energy efficiency in action, clearly! (although the website points out that with state-of-the-art insulation and an efficient cooling plant, Ski Dubai is essentially a giant cooling box and actually very energy efficient. Who would have thought?).
Plus, they recycle the snow! You could almost forget you were in the Middle East – until you see locals in their traditional long gowns wrapped up in extra-long winter parkas, or whizzing down the slope with their white tunics billowing like sails behind them.
After lots of fun, we quit while we were ahead (BB feels the cold in the freezer section of the supermarket these days). It was time to take off our snow garb, grab a bite to eat in the TGI Friday’s overlooking the slopes and go back out into the sweltering heat. I’ve a feeling we’ll be back to Ski Dubai before the summer’s out.
Ski school: You can start on the nursery slope and work your way up to the black run
That looks like so much fun! We finally got some summer here, it was a record 102 degrees yesterday, but we enjoyed the novelty of it. Anytime you want to see more snow, just come on back to Minnesota in January:)
Enjoy the summer over there Tina! Hope you’re all really well. It’s so hot here now, we’re cooped up indoors – and lots of bugs going round because everyone’s inside, just like Minnesota in winter! We really do hope to be back for a visit soon – we miss Minneapolis such a lot! My best to everyone….