Dry ski slope
ski slope that mimics the attributes of snow using materials that are stable at room temperature
A dry ski slope or artificial ski slope is a ski slope that mimics the attributes of snow using materials that are stable at room temperature, to enable people to ski, snowboard or snow tube in places where natural, snow-covered slopes are inconvenient or unavailable.
Although commonly known as "dry ski slopes", many slopes are lubricated using a mist or jet system to increase speed and prevent damage to equipment from friction heat build-up.
Materials
Early materials
A variety of materials can be found on dry ski slopes.
Early efforts to mimic snow involved laying extruded plastic tiles with upward spikes in an attempt to provide grip. These were unpopular as they provided little grip and turning capability and the experience was similar to skiing across ice.
However, in present day, many ski slopes (both indoor and outdoor) continue to use plastic, injection moulded tiles. Quality has improved and many dry ski slopes in the Netherlands use these tiles for training and championships.
Brush materials
The next stage in dry ski slope development came with the brush industry. The most common material is Dendix which is a by-product of brush manufacturing and is similar to a short-haired brush with the bristles sticking upwards. Dendix is manufactured in Chepstow, however it can be found on slopes throughout the world.
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This entry incorporates text from “Dry ski slope” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.