There are now more than 120 indoor snow centres in over 30 countries on six continents around the world.

Unlike conventional outdoor ski areas these centres can be open 12-16 hours a day and see skiers and snowboarders using the sane small area over and over, so one of the issues they all race is rapid wear to the snow surface.

The solution for many is to put a dry ski slope surface below the snow so skiers and boarders keep sliding even if a patch of snow is temporarily warn away. It’s the same principle as some outdoor ski resorts use at high-traffic areas like ski lift arrival and departure stations.

The world’s oldest still-operating indoor snow centre, Japan’s Sayama, has a dry ski slope below its entire snow surface, but for others it’s a more limited area.

At Manchester’s Chill Factore indoor centre the recent solution has been to install 100 sqm of dry ski mats from JF Dryski below their high-use drag lift area to ensure smooth movement of skiers and boarders here.