As ski resorts around the world grapple with the effects of climate change, dry slope skiing may be the green answer to the sport's future.
Slipping into a wood-heated hot tub at CopenHot, an outdoor Nordic spa in Copenhagen's hip, industrial Refshaleøen neighbourhood, I gazed across the Øresund strait towards one of the city's most striking landmarks, CopenHill. The swoop-shaped building houses a zero-emissions waste-to-energy plant topped with an urban park – a man-made mountain in an otherwise flat city. Although it was August and a sunny 22C, I was surprised to see skiers careening down the sloped greenspace atop the facility.
Designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, CopenHill features hiking trails, a rock-climbing wall and a rooftop cafe. But the landmark's most interesting attraction is 400m-long ski piste created through a synthetic surface called Neveplast that mimics hard-packed snow by using concentric conical stems to provide grip. Since opening in 2019, some 10,000 residents and tourists eager to learn how to dry slope ski or board descend on this former incineration plant every year – including thrill-seekers like Ellen Dansgaard, who perform ski and snowboarding tricks during Friday Night Freestyle rail jams for skiers and snowboarders.
"I moved to Copenhagen for my studies in 2021 because it's the only place in Denmark where I could ski [year-round], and the rail jams really bring the community together," says Dansgaard, who skis at CopenHill three times a week and competes in freestyle events across the country. "If you've skied on hard-packed snow, that's what dry slope feels like. The best part is you can ski all year and practice your skills."
As a lifelong downhill skier, I was intrigued. Growing up in Montreal, Canada, I remember ski seasons starting in early November, but as ski resorts around the world grapple with the impacts of climate change and less snow, many mountains open later and close earlier each year.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, snowpack season (the number of days with snow on the ground) has decreased by more than 15 days since 1955, and a recent study predicts that by 2050, as average ski seasons get shorter, the demand to produce artificial snow will increase between 55% and 97%.
After watching skiers and boarders racing down CopenHill, I learned that a ski resort near my home in Quebec, Tremblant, recently invested $1.4m in a dry slope run as a warm-weather alternative. And so I wondered: could artificial surfaces help preserve or extend the ski season?
Maybe, says ski writer Patrick Thorne, who publishes a monthly newsletter, DrySlopeNews.com. According to Thorne, the earliest artificial ski surfaces date back to the 1950s when Jacques Brunel, a Canadian-born ski jumper and instructor living in Beacon, New York, dreamed of making snow in August. Brunel crushed plastic and laid it over a mat made of nylon parachutes, allowing skiers in bathing suits and shorts to ski in the summer. After Brunel's invention garnered national attention in 1956, he went on to patent his "Artificial Skiing Mat".
Dry slopes became hugely popular – especially in the UK – in the 1970s, and while many closed in the 1990s and early 2000s after falling out of favour or succumbing to mismanagement, Thorne has noticed a recent resurgence, perhaps because of climate change. Today, there are more than 1,000 dry slopes in 50 countries.
"In China, hundreds have been built in the middle of cities, and they're really pushing it as an activity for everyone," Thorne says, noting that many resorts in areas with little to no snow offer year-round dry slope skiing. Other facilities use dry slopes when snow cover is inconsistent – something the manufacturers of the materials are encouraging resorts in low-altitude ski areas to adapt.
"I got an email from a guy who runs a ski resort in the Czech Republic asking to be connected to manufacturers – he said they can't guarantee snow anymore, so he wants to put in a dry slope," says Thorne, who lives in Inverness, Scotland, and has skied on about 50 dry slopes.
Ski writer Rob Stewart says dry slopes might be the answer to future-proofing ski resorts – especially ones in lower altitudes.
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