Argentina, Buenos Aires

Right in the heart of Buenos Aires Neveplast installed a temporary learning slope designed for children and adults to learn to ski or snowboard. It had a length of 30 metres and a width of 10 metres. It was set up on the occasion of “Generación Deportiva Buones Aires 2018” event, sponsored by the City and the Argentine Olympic Committee with the aim to promote winter sports and to discover potential future talents, in view of the “Youth Olympic Games” that were held in Argentina in 2018. 

Belgium, Aspen

Belgium’s long-established Aspen dry ski slope was demolished and replaced with one of Europe’s newest indoor snow centres in 2017.

Belgium, Genk, Kattevennen

Operating a 70 metre slope in the town of Genk there are reports of the slope being open as recently as 2013 and of proposals to open a new slope on the now disused site.

Belgium, Zondal

One of the world’s original dry ski slopes dating from the mid 1960s and a purpose-built concrete structure. The council closed the facility in late 2017 despite protests by over 5,000. The slope was demolished in 2018. The ski club continues to operate using a nearby indoor snow centre.

Denmark, Søhøjlandet Ski Centre

Formerely one of Europe’s largest and widest artificial slopes, including a variety of terrain, with mogul fields. There was a separate beginners slope and ‘axe throwing’ is listed amongst the non-ski activities. Installed a Doppelmayr drag lift in 1995. Claimed to be Scandinavia’s only year round winter sports centre at the time. Part of a large sports and conference centre. Reported closed in 2017.

England, London, Alexandra Palace

Alexandra Palace, situated on one of the highest hills in central London, had a dry ski slope known to be operational at least in to the 1980s. A 1987 directory lists a 100 x 25m main slope and a 50 x 15m nursery slope. Open September to March and using Snowmat and Sorbomat surfaces. The park’s hillside is still used for sledging and skiing by locals on rare occasions of natural snow cover. There was also a dry slope indoors (below) that was known to operate at trade shows in the early 1960s.

England, Aylesbury

This former dry ski slope now forms a garden of remembrance for a new crematorium that opened on the site in 2019. In 1993v the centre is believed to have been known as ‘Watermead Slopes’ Image of the then derelict slope taken in 2006 © Copyright Rob Farrow

England, London, Beckton Alps

A once popular ski slope built on a spoil heap on the outskirts of London. Illustrious visitors from the 1980s included Princess Diana and Franz Klammer. In the late 1980s it was run by/named Mountaintop Ltd and promoted as “London’s Ski village.” There were plans to build a snowdome and work began and the centre renamed London SnowWorld but the company concerned went bust. The slope closed in 2001. In nits heyday the centre had a 200m Dendix slope and a 125m mogul slope as well as a nursery slope with three Briton handle tow lifts. There was also a small gym and sauna. Some 50 ski instructors worked at the centre at peak times.

England, Newhaven, Borrowski

Reported to be a small, indoor slope, with a not particularly slippery carpet surface, that was not a conveyor type. A 1987 listing gives the slope as Dendix at that point, 30m long and open daily 9am to 10pm from March to September. Ski tow and nursery slope too.

England, Brighton Adult Education Centre

Little is known of this centre which is believed to have ceased operating before 2000. It may have been a slope listed in 1987 as a “30x6m slope with a 14m run out area made of Dendix” at a Stanley Deason Leisure Centre. Floodlit slope, video analysis.

England, Oxfordshire, RAF Brize Norton

A former dry slope within a military base. According to this report from its opening, in had a plastic surface with a stainless steel base from a ‘new company in Scotland’ (unknown). The slope was used for military training and by members of the public.

England, London, Bromley Ski Centre

A popular south London ski slope with 120 metre main run that worked hard for the community and had a disability snowsports division. operated for more than 40 years but closed in late 2016 to make way for a housing development.

England, Bulmersche College of Higher Education

There’s no information on the dry ski slope here, only that it did exist at least into the 1980s and possibly early 1990s. The collage opened in 1964 and was absorbed by the University of Reading in 1989.

England, Berks, Reading, Carters Ski Slope

Operated by an outdoor sports company that’s party of a family business dating back to the 1830s. The slope was a Dendix type measuring 20 x 6 metres. The retail division of the company is still operating as a shop in Reading and online.

England, North Yorkshire, Catterick Indoor Ski Centre

The former second largest indoor dry ski slope in the UK was located at Catterick Barracks in North Yorkshire and boasted a 20 metre vertical and three runs for different abilities. these included a 50 x 19m main slope and a 15 x 12m nursery slope which in the 1980s had a Skimat surface. It has been taken out of service sometime before a fire destroyed the building where it was located in February 2003.

England, London, Crystal Palace Ski Slope

A short Dendix slope was known to have been installed and in used by 1965, with press preview recorded on 22nd October that year. The slope was reported to still be there in the mid 1990s although one former user talks of a slope of plastic bobbles not as good as brush so the surface may have changed. A report to London’s Council in 1976 referred to the future of the ski slope run at the time by the Norwood Society. In 1987 the slope was reported to be made of Dendix and 32x18m in area.

England, Teeside, Middlesbrough, Eston Hills

Eston Hills opened in March 1992 with a 125 metre main slope, nursery run and ambitions to become Europe’s largest dry ski centre. It was damaged by an arson attack in 1996 however and ceased operating. There is as report about the centre here.

England, Sussex, Euroski

Part of a business established in 1973 that sold wintersports equipment in autumn and winter and roller skis in summer, and is still trading, this was a popular indoor Dendix slope.

England, Essex, Harlow Ski & Snowboard Centre

This once popular centre with three runs, three lifts and 50 metres of vertical was part closed when heavy rain caused a landslide which took out the top of the slope but kit was then all sold off for a housing development. The slope is believed to have opened in the early 1970s and was still beimng lauded as one of the new town’s attractions in 1980, but is reported to have been removed by 2003.

England, North Yorkshire, Harrogate Ski Slope

Believed to have been located on the Great Yorkshire Showground and operated by Yorkshire Skiing Limited, Harrogate was where the famous British ski racing Bell brothers learned their skills. Known to have existed in the 1970s, there was planning permission for new buildings in 1985 but it was reported closed before 2006. AS 1987 report says there was a 180m Dendix main slope and two 20m nursery slopes.

England, Middlesex, Uxbridge Hillingdon Ski & Snowboard Centre

Formerly one of the UK’s leading dry ski slope centres with runs for different abilities adding up to around 400 metres of ski runs served by three lifts in its heyday. The company that managed the ski slope ceased trading in December 2000 and was wound up in February 2001. Slopes included a 135 metre main run and a 30m nursery slope, both Dendix.

England, Merseyside, Kirby

This 150 foot (50 metre) slope was built in 1973 but never opened. The site was found to have multiple problems including facing in to the sun and more seriously, ground subsidence issues. The issues were so serious that some of the public officials involved on the project were ultimately jailed for corruption. Image Credit Liverpool Echo who published several reports.

England, Lancaster and Morecombe College of Further Education

A slope which (at the last report) still exists, but is no longer usable. To quote a College staff member, “I am afraid we no longer have an operational slope. In fact, it is so overgrown it looks like a Bronze Age burial mound!” According to Ski Magazine’s 1987 Annual the slope was/is an 80m long, 10m wide Dendix run.

England, Leicestershire, Leicester Outdoor Pursuits Centre

The Outdoor Pursuits Club grew out of a 19^th century rowing club. In the spring of 1982 the club  was taken over by Leicester City Council. Improvements in facilities followed including the ski slope added a year later. Over the next few years the OPC grew to be a Centre of Excellence, attracting people from all over the country to train and be assessed for National Governing Body Awards. Unfortunately with the onset of compulsory competitive tendering and budgetary constraints the dry ski slope had to be pulled down in November 1992 and the club was threatened with closure a year later but thanks to some dedicated members continues to this day.

England, Morpeth Ski Slope

Located on land owned by King Edward VI School, Morpeth Ski Slope is known to have been in existence in 1982 as their are images in the National Archive of it from that time. The slope was reported to be derelict in 2005 when a plan to build a tiered garden on it began to take shape. A 1987 listing gives slope dimensions as 50 x 13m and surface material Dendix.

England, Greater Manchester, Oldham

Oldham’s dry ski slope was built within the grounds of Counthill School in the 1970s. The school opened in 1951 and was closed in 2012. The buildings have since been demolished and the site used for housing. The image of the derelict slope was taken around 2013. A 1987 listing gives the slope details as 75m x 14m, Dendix with floodlighting and a Briton lift.

England, Nottingham, Richard Herrod Ski Centre (formerly Carlton Forum)

A dry ski slope in the Gedling/Carlton/Mapperley area of Nottingham, originally known as Carlton Forum. The slope had a 20 metre vertical and this was where the creator of this website learned to ski in 1978. It appears to have been extended at some point to 80 metres in length, with the upper half raised above the ground by scaffolding. It was reported to be popular in the 1970s and 1980s but by the 1990s was losing money badly and eventually closed in 1999 rather than investing in much needed upgrades.

England, Nottinghamshire, Cossall, Ski 2000

An unusual ski slope that operated in to the late 1990s which thousands of plastic balls on the slope aiming at creating a different artificial ski surface. The balls are reported to have gathered in to large drifts. Ironically, given its name, the site was up for redevelopment in 2000.

England, County Durham, Willington, Spectrum Ski Slope

The Spectrum ski slope was part of the Spectrum Leisure Centre which was developed in the 1970s as a development of the century-old local Miners Welfare.  It had a 70 metre slope and many other leisure facilities. Thanks to community efforts the centre still exists but sadly the slope, which was officially opened by ski racing legend Franz Klammer in the early 1980s, closed in the late 1990s.

England, Tyne & Wear, Whickham Thorns Ski Centre

A dry ski slope that is believed to still be in place but out of action since at least 2016. Ownership of the centre switched from the local council top the local scouts at that point but the latter are yet to re-open the 40 metre slope.

England, Whitley Bay

This short, steep slope was built in the early 1960s.

England, Woolwich Ski Slope

One of London’s leading dry ski centres, the slope was located off Repository Road in London SE18. A 1987 report lists the surface type as delta and states there was a 115m x 15m main slope and a 35 x 45m nursery slope.

England, Wycombe Summit

Opened in 1984 as one of the closest centres to London and with one of Europe’s longest slopes at 300 metres. Ran in to debt early 2000s, hit by a fire and then chosen as site for indoors snow centre, which never happened. in 2016 a plan was announced for a housing development on the site but as of 2019 it remained derelict.

England, Somerset, Yeovil Ski Centre

Improvements to the slopes were made in 2003 as per picture but the centre closed “suddenly” in 2007. Base buildings were demolished in 2017 after reportedly becoming a base for drug users.

France, Arcachon, Créppins

A 250 metre long ski slope was created in 1938 on the south west French coast at Arcachon on the shores of the Bay of Biscay.  Known as Créppins, the slope was  covered with pine needles (locally called grépin) which offered what were described as, “very good gliding conditions.” It was used especially for training in slalom, downhill and even ski jumping as a concrete springboard had been built.  By 1947 the slope was famous in France and hosted the final competition of the calendar year of the French Ski Federation, bringing together skiers from all over France. In 1963 a cable lift was installed. However the slope closed in 1970 following an accident. A “Friends of the Ski Trail on Pine Needles at Arcachon” association was founded in 2006 and has campaigned to recreate and reopen the slope but so far without success.

France, Dieppe, Côte aux Hérons

One of the world’s first slopes with a plastic ‘comb’ surface opened in early 1967, at the time the longest in the world.  In common with other early French dry slopes it was built near the coast, this time near Dieppe, backed by the owner of the local casinos. The opening ceremony was attended by the greatest French skiers of the day including Jean-Claude Killy as well as the Minister of Sports and the President of the French Ski Federation at the time. The slope material used is reported to have been seen by local man Jacques Sée in Turin the previous November 1966.  The slope, descending the cliff of the Côte aux Hérons in front of the hotel du Golf was 175 metres long and varied between 30 and 80 metres wide. Lots of skiers suffer injuries and burns from the slope surface and it was “quickly abandoned” although 50 years later it is reported to still be there, now buried under gorse and scrub.

France, La Baule, Escoublac/Le Schuss

Another ski slope made of pine needles on sand opened in July 1959 in the forest of Escoublac, west of Nantes on the French Atlantic Coast 20 years after the first and some distance to the north. There was an 80 metre ski run supported by a ski lift and floodlighting for night skiing and boarding. A ski club was created and in 1966 the business was sold to the owners of the world famous French resort, Courchevel who re-named the centre “Le Schuss.”  In 1975 the ski hut was destroyed by fire and the centre was not re-opened after that.

The Netherlands, Duinrell Ski Valley

A former dry ski slope at a holiday p[ark which also had snow making equipment so the snow could be made when temperatures were low enough.

The Netherlands, Landgraaf

In 1979, the longest and first dry slope was built on the southern slope of the Wilhelminaberg. The slope was instigated by former top Austrian skier Sigi Moser. The site was later converted to one of the world’s biggest indoor snow centres, SnowWorld.

New Zealand, Queenstown, PowderPak Parks

Covering 600sqm and featuring a 25m slope with two 4m jumps and a 7m jump reported to have cost $500,000 NZ to set up and as marketed as, “the world’s largest indoor dry slope terrain park” this facility closed less than two months after it opened in 2017.

Northern Ireland, Belfast, Lisburn, Ulster Ski Club

A rare Irish dry slope that is believed to have closed in 1997 and the land it was on sold off. Records of the Ulster Ski Club between 1963 and 2007 have been archived and are held by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). The 36 x 12m Dendix slope was located on Belfast Road.

Scotland, Aviemore Centre

The Aviemore centre was a purpose-built resort development 10 miles below the Cairngorm ski centre, built in the 1960s and largely demolished in the late 1990s. It had one of a number of short Dendix slopes in the area. The slope was 40m x 16m in size and had various names over the years. It was known as the Drambuie slope in the late 1980s.

Scotland, Aberdeenshire, Ballater, Craigendarroch

The 75 metre long slope at Ballater was one of the many leisure facilities available at the originally Stakis now Hilton Hotel (many of the rest of which are still open). Originally built in the mid-1980s and run by Stakis the hotel was taken over by Hilton in the late 1990s. The ski slope is believed to have survived to the early years of this century.

Scotland, Glenrothes, Fife Institute of Physical and Recreational Education

Opened in 1970 by Princess Anne the Institute has been a major centre for sporting activity and learning in the area for half a century. There was a small 35 metre ski slope. The Institute had a £25m, redevelopment from 2011-13 when a new sports hall was created. In 2017, separately, plans for a new Glenrothes dry slope were mooted.

Scotland, Perth & Kinross, Kinloch Rannock Ski Slope

Dry slope operated by an Outdoor Activities centre. The slope was reported to have been 70 metres long with a drag lift and flood lighting. Believed to have operated in to the early 2000s. The centre where it operated was earmarked for closure in 2019.

Scotland, Highland, Carrbridge, Lochanhully Woodland Club

A 50 metre Dendix slope that operated at Scotland’s original ski village in to the ‘noughties.’ Here is a video from the slope taken in 1991.

Scotland, East Lothian, Meadowmill

Built on land formerly used for coal mining, before the mine closed in 1962, this was a 50 metre long dry slope which may have operated in to the early years of this century as it is listed on a BBC web page list compiled in the late 1990s or early 2000s.

Singapore, Urban Ski

An indoor conveyor slope which operated between 2015 and 2017.

Spain, Barcelona, Montjuic

Known for operating a ski lift to a summer tourist destination, Spain’s Montjuic did operate a dry ski slope in the latter years of the last century. More recently in November 2009 a ramp was built for a temporary slope for a demo using all weather snowmaking machines.

Spain, Valladolid, Meseta Ski Centre

A world-class ski centre with year-round terrain park which opened in 2006 using Snowflex. The slope is believed to have operated for nearly a decade.

Colorado, Denver, Kidslope

Opened in November 1990, KidSlope was the only year-round, artificial ski area designed to introduce children and their families to the sport of skiing. Over 50,000 children learned-to-ski at KidSlope and annual skier visits were approximately 20,000 at the peak of its popularity with over 10,000 Denver Public School (DPS) students ski at KidSlope each year.  KidSlope was part of Denver Public School’s physical education curriculum.

USA, Georgia, Vinings Ridge

Situated near a natural spring, Vinings was once a popular weekend spot for Atlanta’s high society looking to escape the heat. For a brief period in the 1970s, the area gave visitors an additional reason to visit: a 780-foot (235 metre) long dry ski slope. The hill was covered with white synthetic turf and plastic pellets.  Vinings Ridge Ski Area also featured a three-story lodge with a shop and rooftop restaurant.

USA, Massachusetts , Boston Hills

A conventional Eastern Massachusetts snow ski area that existed from the early 1960s to early 1990s offering skiing to the population of suburban Boston. In the early 1980’s the centre installed an imported Dendix mat with bristles which some users say was lubricated with a silicone gel.

USA, Tennessee, Ober Gatlinburg

Established in 1962 and one of the most southerly ski areas in North America, Ober Gatlinburg relies on snowmaking for winter cover and also operated a carpet surface type dry slope for a period last century.

Wales, Colwyn Bay, Erlias Park Sports Centre

Believed to be one of the first users of Welsh made Dendix when it opened in 1962 (Dendix had gone in to production a year earlier). This slope is believed to have operated in to the 1970s.

Wales, Capel Curig, Plas-y-Brenin National Outdoor Centre

One of many ski slopes that was not closed without a fight. Young skiers staged a sit-in at the centre in 2012 when it was threatened with closure, but to no avail. The centre’s management said £600,000 was needed top upgrade it and that the money wasn’t available. Others disputed the money required but no solution was found.

Wales, Gwent, Deeside Ski Slope

Little is known of this slope but it is believed to have been located at the Flintshire College of Technology and to have been operational in the 1970s. Skiers had a view of the (now demolished) Connahs Quay power station and cooling towers.

Wales, Llanllonwell, Gwent Grass ski Centre

Although grass-skiing is technically possible on almost any slope, in reality you need to acquire the grass skis, ideally have some training in how to use them, and the permission of the slope owner. This was all provided around the 1980s-1990s at Gwent Grass Ski Centre.

Wales, Gwynedd, Rhiw Goch Ski and Mountain Bike Centre

Dry ski slope operated from 1988 to 2004 with the owner saying soaring liability insurance costs and declining visitor numbers made it no longer viable. The overall centre closed in 2009. The ski area consisted of a long wide main run with two nursery slopes all laid with Dendix matting and are fully floodlit. The main run and first nursery area are serviced with two tows, the main run had a Briton Mist System to irrigate the slope.

Wales, Swansea Ski Slope

Opened in 1989, making it one of the UK’s later slopes, but closed around 2007, Swansea was one of Wales’ leading dry slopes. It had a slope of about 125m in length.