Snow Domes. Year-Round Indoor Skiing and Snowboarding Worldwide

Indoor skiing and snowboarding facilities and venues, so called snow domes, are gaining increasing popularity throughout the whole world with about two or three new snow domes opening up every year. Snow domes are winter-oriented theme parks offering winter sport possibilities such as skiing, snowboarding, toboganning and ice-skating (or even ice-climbing) under a roof and therefore independently from the weather outside.

Based upon modern cooling techniques and artificial snow making technologies, snow domes offer constant snow conditions by indoor temperatures in the range between -5 to 4 degree Celsius. Artificial snow making techniques combine water and dry, cold air (which is cooled down by modern refrigerating technologies) under high air pressure to produce snow. In principle there are no additional chemical or biological ingredients needed though the use of such ingredients may allow for greater flexibility in snow making.

The first snow dome with indoor skiing facilities was opened in Japan near Tokyo in the 1980s. Today, Europe is leading concerning the numbers of snow domes. In Europe skiing and snowboarding are popular sports even in regions far away from the Alps, the principal winter sports region in Europe. Consequently, most European snow domes are located in or near the large urban centers in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium or in England.

Some European snow domes are partners of 'real' alpine ski resorts with regards to marketing and advertising. Other snow domes are to be found in Asia (especially in Japan), New Zealand and one even in Africa (near Cape Town).

The recent construction and opening of a huge snow dome in Dubai (Gulf region) in the middle of a hot desert gained worldwide media attention since skiing in Dubai seems absolutely weird. The Dubai snow dome (Ski Dubai) uses the most modern technologies and combines skiing and snowboard with a wide range of other sports activities as well as shopping facilities. The success of the snow Dome in Dubai speaks for itself. Skiing in Dubai on a hot desert day attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world. Thus, the Dubai snow dome contributes significantly to the touristic development of this small desert state.

Today, more than 30 snow domes are in operation worldwide with a significant number of various projects in the planning or construction stage.

Though snow domes require huge buildings the skiing possibilities in terms of length and vertical of slope are rather limited compared to traditional outdoor ski resorts. Most snow domes offer one or two lifts (mostly chair lifts) and associated groomed ski and snowboard runs. Typically the length of a downhill run varies between less than 200 meters and more than 600 meters with the snow dome in Bottrop (Rhur-Rhine Valley, Germany) claiming to boast the world's longest indoor ski slope with a total length of 640m. Additionally, most snow domes offer facilities for free skiing such as fun parks and halfpipes with specially shaped installations for the growing number of free skiers and snowboarders.

Apart from downhill skiing and snowboarding, modern snow domes offer additional sports possibilities and are increasingly marketed as theme parks with all-inclusive recreation possibilities. Restaurants, bars, shopping malls, skating rinks, toboggan slopes, swimming pools, wellness areas, fitness gyms and facilities for indoor rock climbing usually accompany the ski slopes catering to many wants and needs of families. A good part of snow domes offer additional shopping malls. Some snow domes are even equipped with artificial copies of traditional Alpine tourism resorts like Zermatt or other famous Alpine villages. The aim is to offer a family-oriented all-inclusive travel-like experience.

Snow domes require large amounts of energy for the production of man-made snow and for the necessary cooling of the indoor environment. Thus the operating costs are relatively high and vulnerable to the ups and downs of energy costs. Recently, quite a few snow domes have been in constant pressure economically and some were even closed after just a few year of operation. Additionally, snow domes require large areas of land but at the same time good access to transport facilities. Therefore most snow domes are located in suburban regions near high-way nodes.