Chill Factor Manchester Now Open

Arriving at Chillfactor for the first time leaves you with a tingling sense of excitement. The huge angular building juts out like alpine rocks into the evening sky line of Trafford. The logo brightly inviting to anyone passing by on the M60.

On entering the building you walk onto the block paved 'alpine village' which boasts a Boost juice bar, a Snow and Rock, Nando's and a Scoop! ice-cream shop; very British and had a sort of – shopping centre meets sports centre – feel to it. Heading to he back of the walkway you can't miss the climbing wall, crammed up against the front of a restaurant, hope you don't mind having an audience when you climb! From here you can queue to hire your ski/board equipment. You can view the Chillfactor slopes from here. They have a small teaching slope with a travalator and then two larger slopes with drags. There is also a slope for doughnut riding or tubing, which is also home to the toboggan run or luge and the Santa's grotto (£9 per session).

Upstairs there is a bar with doors onto the viewing balcony where you can enjoy your drinks whilst looking out onto the slopes. There is another bar-restaurant with an open fire for guests to enjoy. The view of the climbing wall is more impressive from here and you can also view more of the slopes and the 'alpine village'.

The slopes are very cold, of course, and the snow is good quality (for real fake snow). With the maximum capacity of 260 people never being exceeded you do not need to queue for the lifts. There is a set of moguls on which to practice your technique and some jumps which were fenced off unfortunately.

At £22 for an hour and a half, it's a very handy resource for getting some practice in before your holiday. If you think may be a regular visitor there, buy the membership (£100) and receive 30% off all your sessions. Ski/board equipment hire is £5 per session, and if you don't own any ski clothes yet you can hire them for £5 per session. Lessons come in all shapes and sizes; group, private, all day, holiday courses, junior, kids club, free style coaching, for more information click on Chillfactore prices. Snow play, tubing, and the luge are also available for parties.

Visiting Chillfactore on the opening night was a relatively calm affair. There were no promotional staff or information stands; the Chillfactore in Manchester speaks for itself.

Chillfactore will be the base for The British Adaptive Ski Team, for more information please contact Disability Snowsport UK.

Visit the Chillfactore pages in our forums to check out what's hot and who's there.