A Piste Of The Alps: Manchester’s Chill Factore

Skiers and snowboarders, beginners and experts alike, slide down the mountainous slope, spraying waves of white powder as they twist and turn � smooth, elegant, and free. Thrill-seekers with a need for speed rush down the luge: a long, winding ice slide � slippery, slick and extreme. Families, friends, little kids, big kids, all take to huge rubber rings that slip and spin down the slopes, while the littlest children merely mess about in the wondrous white � smiling, happy and having fun. In the foreground, exhausted snow-lovers meander through a line of shops and cafes, all finished with authentic wood and stone, while in the background, an alpine scene is just perfect enough to seem artificial. There’s certainly no doubt about it: Manchester’s a beautiful place this time of year!

No, this description of a near-perfect skiing environment hasn’t slipped and slid out of control and ended up in the North West of England, it is rather describing the end destination of a journey that has taken four long years, and which came to an end in November, 2007, when Manchester’s warmly (or rather coldly) anticipated Chill Factore indoor ski slope was finally opened to the public.

Every inch of the experience � from the 25,000 square-metres covered in 1,600 tonnes of man-made snow, to the roaring fire of the restaurant � every inch is dedicated to preserving the alpine aesthetic, making Chill Factore certainly look the part, while the main slope, at 180 metres and the longest in the UK (and also the widest indoor slope in the world!) completes the alpine feel of the place.

As this suggests, the theme behind the construction process for Chill Factore was �perfection’ � recreating the perfect image of an alpine setting within the walls of Manchester’s biggest fridge! It’s no wonder that the final price tag was a rather steep 31 million � a financial climb that now complete seems � in true ski-style � to have been well worth the effort!

Epitomising this necessity for perfection is the backdrop to the whole experience, a massive roller banner depicting an alpine scene that, thanks to large format printing, is almost too perfect to be artificial! The installation of the 3,500 square-metre graphic took 6 abseilers, 200 feet of rope, 2 cherry pickers and twelve weeks of hard work, with separate sheets of the banner being relayed two or three times to ensure complete visual perfection.

And with the British people taking around 1.3 million ski holidays a year, there’s never been a more perfect time for a perfect slice of alpine culture. So whether you’re an expert skier looking to test your skills without paying the airfares or taking the time off work, or whether you’re a beginner looking to get a bit of practice in before you hit the real slopes, Manchester’s Chill Factore is the only place to ski!