Dubai

A vacation in Dubai used to mean desert safaris, sunbathing, beaches and malls. Now one can take a skiing vacation there, even when the temperature is 45 degrees Celsius! As a place that is always on the lookout for new thrills, Dubai has added an alpine resort to its list. Ski Dubai is the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East and the third largest indoor slope in the world.

As a part of the biggest mall outside America, Ski Dubai juts out of the Mall of the Emirates like a giant metallic elbow, thirty stories high. Inside the temperature is glacial, as snowmaking machines provide 6,000 tons of snow. Ski lessons are on in full swing and Scandinavian instructors have formed a ski club. The Christmas card setting offers skiing, snowboarding and tobogganing, or just playing in the snow.

Skiing and snowboarding equipment and warm clothing are included in the entry price but you can use your own stuff and get a discount for your own equipment and your own clothing. The 22,500 square meter space has faux mountains, real igloos and a five-slope arena. The center has runs for different skill levels, even black runs. There are snow patrols, and chairlifts are present just like any other ski resort.

Ski Dubai offers the world’s first indoor black run, stretching for 400 meters with a fall of over 60 meters, probably more of a red or blue route for any experienced skier. The quarter-pipe snowboard area and tame twin toboggan run delight the novice. The kids’ facilities are located in a 3,000 square meter ice cave, probably the largest indoor snow park in the world. Here kids can indulge in bobsleds, custom-built hills for tobogganing, and a snowball shooting range, as well as dedicated spaces for the construction of snowmen.