Artificial ski slopes

A dry ski slope or artificial ski slope is a ski slope that mimics the attributes of snow using materials that are stable at room temperature, to enable people to ski, snowboard or snow tube in places where natural, snow-covered slopes are inconvenient or unavailable.

Although commonly known as "dry ski slopes", many slopes are lubricated using a mist or jet system to increase speed and prevent damage to equipment from friction heat build-up. As a general rule, they are found predominantly in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands as other European countries tend to have ready access to real snow fields, as does North America in the winter.

A variety of materials can be found on dry ski slopes.

Early efforts to mimic snow involved laying extruded plastic tiles with upward spikes in an attempt to provide grip. These were unpopular as they provided little grip and turning capability and the experience was similar to skiing across ice.

However, in present day, many ski slopes (both indoor and outdoor) continue to use plastic, injection moulded tiles. Quality has improved and many dry ski slopes in the Netherlands use these tiles for training and championships.

The next stage in dry ski slope development came with the brush industry. The most common material is dendix, a by-product of brush manufacturing which is similar to a short-haired brush with the bristles sticking upwards. Dendix is manufactured in Chepstow, however it can be found on slopes throughout the world. It is arranged in a hexagonal pattern of approximately 1-inch (25 mm) strips of bristles in a 4 in (100 mm) hexagon. Although it was a significant advancement from previous surfaces, concern over damage to slope users (it provides little or no impact protection to a slope user when falling) and ski or snowboard damage due to friction meant litigation for slopes using it was a constant threat. Nowadays water is often sprayed onto the surface of the dendix to lubricate it and increase speed; however, higher insurance premiums cause many slope operators to look for safer alternatives.

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Wikipedia