Chill Factor-e Ski Slope Manchester

Related article: Chillfactor NOW OPEN!

It is definitely wise to practise your sport before embarking on a holiday where every day is packed with, what could be, exhausting and painful first foot steps on the mountains. If you’ve never skied/boarded before, or haven't accrued that much 'on snow' experience then getting your muscles ready for action has never been easier. There are now several high quality 'real snow' indoor slopes in the UK to perfect that technique, so that you spend more time up the mountain enjoying yourself, and less time at the bottom practising!

 

If you live in the North-West, you’re in for a real treat! Said to be the biggest indoor ski slope in the country, Chill Factor Manchester is bringing snow, and heaps of it, to Manchester.
The £31m investment is due to open Friday 16th November 2007, and has been long awaited by the folk of Northern England since work began in August 2006. 3000 tonnes of steel have gone into making the 4.3 hectare chill factor-e site close to the Trafford Centre, Manchester.
Chill Factor's snow, with a nightly refreshed depth of 5mm, covers a whopping 9'600 square metres! Made from compressed air and water and blasted into a chilled atmosphere, the 16 tonnes of 'real artificial' snowflakes will fall daily onto the 3 slopes; the main run being 180m long x 40m wide, and the other two 40m long x 20m wide.

Two runs will use a button tow and the teaching slope with use a travalator, the button tow, however, will not get in the way of the main slope because as it is magnificently architected by FaulknerBrowns it has been designed to suspend from the ceiling. The capacity is 260 people at any one time.

The width at the bottom is 100m allowing much room for the alpine feel restaurants and bars and their panoramic windows, and these are amongst another 14 outlets on the 'alpine street'. Whilst you warm up in the bar send the kids off to the playzone where they can adventure in the ice castles and igloos, a 60m toboggan run and indoor skate park! And if after all that you still have some adrenalin left unfulfilled you can try a lesson on the indoor climbing wall.

 

Chill Factor will be open most days from 10am to 11pm with an early morning on Wednesdays and a 9am start on the weekends. Some of the names on the alpine high street will be a Mexican grill bar, Gloria Jeans Coffee, Boost Juice Bar, Snow and Rock, Billabong, and Subvert Boarstore.

 

The team behind it are not new to the industry: The former MD of Center Parcs, Peter Moore, is Chairman and David Sterland, the project’s originator and MD, was one of the experts behind the Xscape. The Operations Director is Andrew Lockerbie, one of Europe’s top ski instructors, and Chairman of the British Association of Ski Instructors BASI, so rest assured that the tuition at Chill Factor will be second to none.

 

"It (Chillfactor-e) will appeal to a broad range of users including experienced sporting enthusiasts, beginners wanting to learn in a safe environment, modern shoppers, families and school parties as well as people looking for a stylish alternative to their regular social scene." David Sterland, MD.

 

Check out our report on the Chillfactor grand opening coming soon!

 

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