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#1
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Dry Slopes
Hey,
I'm missing boarding so much. I didn't think it would get this bad, heh. But winter seems like so far away here in Ontario. I saw a show on TV about dry slopes in the UK... I wonder why that hasn't taken off in North America? I would have thought that with our short winter seasons that this would be an awesome way to make money year round. Any thoughts? Has anyone boarded on these "carpets"? I'm having a hard time imagining what it would be like, but the people on the show seemed to think it was just like snow. Iain |
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#2
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On Wed, 18 May 2005 11:05:13 GMT, "Iain Hendry"
allegedly wrote: Has anyone boarded on these "carpets"? I'm having a hard time imagining what it would be like, but the people on the show seemed to think it was just like snow. Then they are crazy, or they've never ridden on snow. Whilst the basics are the same of course, it feels very different. It's not something I found myself enjoying. Then there's the hazard of getting your fingers or something caught in the cross hatch pattern and breaking bits. This stuff is called dendix. Oh and it destroys boards as well. I used a hired job. There's other stuff called snowflex which is more of a small soft bristle composition with some foam underneath (like carpet underlay apparently), but I've not used that so don't know how it compares. It's supposed to be better than dendix. Third option is for the indoor slopes. Giant refridgerators that make their own snow at low temps and keep the whole thing cold. Pretty much the same as real snow although it does tend to produce patches of ice. Expensive though. - Dave. -- The only powder to get high on, falls from the sky. http://www.vpas.org/ - Snowboarding the worlds pow pow - Securing your e-mail The Snowboard FAQ lives here - http://rssFAQ.org/ |
#3
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Iain Hendry wrote:
I'm missing boarding so much. I didn't think it would get this bad, heh. But winter seems like so far away here in Ontario. A-Basin in Colorado is still open. Other places in CO still have snow but you'll have to hike up. Heavenly will reopen: All lift operations are currently closed for the 2004/2005 winter season. However, the Gondola will reopen for skiing and riding over Memorial Day weekend (conditions permitting), so don't put those boards away yet! All 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 season passes will be valid Friday, May 27 through Monday, May 30, 2005. Mammoth has a 12'-14' base and some lifts are running. 31" of new snow so far in May. Whistler has summer camps. Iceland is still open for business and pleasure. http://www.worldsnowboardguide.com/resorts/Iceland/ Dean |
#4
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Iain Hendry wrote:
seasons that this would be an awesome way to make money year round. Any thoughts? Has anyone boarded on these "carpets"? I have. With the nearest real mountains a day driving away (which is a long distance in this part of the world ) it is nice to be able to try snowboarding anyway. (I'm from the Netherlands, I board in France) I'm having a hard time imagining what it would be like, but the people on the show seemed to think it was just like snow. In my opinion, it isn't. I have tried 'dry slopes' that are actually inverted brushes. The one thing I really notice is that a 'real' slope has all kinds of little bumps. A dry slope is an exact slope. No ridge to be found to help get your board on. And gloves are needed! Scary damage to your fingers might happen otherwise. The 'glide' is different from snow. Your board reacts different. They say if you learn to board on a dry slope, it will be easier on the snow. The rental boards at a dry slope are specially prepared. The dry slope I went to advises against bringing your own board because of wear (helps their rental business too). And the one thing about dry slopes and indoor slopes: they are short! What is a medium-length slope here would by length be the little meadow near town in a ski-village. Koos van den Hout -- Koos van den Hout, PGP keyid RSA/1024 0xCA845CB5 via keyservers or DSS/1024 0xF0D7C263 -?) Fax +31-30-2817051 Visit the site about books with reviews /\\ http://idefix.net/~koos/ http://www.virtualbookcase.com/ _\_V |
#5
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I've got zero interests in dry slopes. They're popular in England
because they've got nothing for snow. I've got a 300 vertical foot pimple of a "mountain" within 30 minutes of me that kicks the ass of any dry slope and I don't bother with it hardly at all. Lots of kids go there though and spend their days hitting the jumps. But for the kind of riding I like, it's at least an 8 hour ride in the car to the nearest real hill (Banff). Neil |
#6
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For indoor slopes
$53.76 for 3hrs discounted first thing but I've been on there for 5hrs without being questioned $38.40 per hour peak $30.72 per hour off peak check out www.xscape.co.uk Yes it is short and very expensive but its good for learning new skills and for learning to snowboard (me). I'm hoping on going to Austria next year. |
#7
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"Switters" wrote:
There's other stuff called snowflex which is more of a small soft bristle composition with some foam underneath (like carpet underlay apparently), but I've not used that so don't know how it compares. It's supposed to be better than dendix. Yeah! Snowflex, that's the name on the show that I was trying to remember. I couldn't ever imagining using that other crosshatch stuff - the thought of falling on that and jamming your fingers the wrong way is awful. Iain |
#8
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"Neil Gendzwill" wrote:
I've got zero interests in dry slopes. They're popular in England because they've got nothing for snow. I've got a 300 vertical foot pimple of a "mountain" within 30 minutes of me that kicks the ass of any dry slope and I don't bother with it hardly at all. Lots of kids go there though and spend their days hitting the jumps. But for the kind of riding I like, it's at least an 8 hour ride in the car to the nearest real hill (Banff). Well, I was more thinking, a dry slope has got to be better than no snowboarding at all, right? My home "mountain" has a 250 ft. vertical. I would very much welcome your dry slope over here in Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario). Iain |
#9
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Iain Hendry wrote:
My home "mountain" has a 250 ft. vertical. I would very much welcome your dry slope over here in Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario). Sorry, you misunderstood me - no dry slope here in Saskatoon, just a similarily pathetic "mountain". My point is, it's still better than a dry slope and as I've little interest in it, I've no interest in a dry slope. If you follow me. Kinda sorta. Neil |
#10
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Iain Hendry wrote:
"Neil Gendzwill" wrote: I've got zero interests in dry slopes. They're popular in England because they've got nothing for snow. I've got a 300 vertical foot pimple of a "mountain" within 30 minutes of me that kicks the ass of any dry slope and I don't bother with it hardly at all. Lots of kids go there though and spend their days hitting the jumps. But for the kind of riding I like, it's at least an 8 hour ride in the car to the nearest real hill (Banff). Well, I was more thinking, a dry slope has got to be better than no snowboarding at all, right? My home "mountain" has a 250 ft. vertical. I would very much welcome your dry slope over here in Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario). Iain Dry slopes are truly pathetic. Even the biggest ones take seconds to get from top to bottom on. Then there is the business of them being nothing at all like snow. For summer kicks I would say wakeboarding would be a much better proposition and probably more like snowboarding than snowboarding a dry slope. Si |
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