The innovative, green future of skiing

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 incineration plant is now 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 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.

"Artificial ski slopes make a lot of sense. If the dry slope's there and it snows on top, you're never going to know [the synthetic surface] is there. But if the snow doesn't arrive, you've got a surface you can still ski on," says Stewart. "Artificial snowmaking has become ubiquitous at most ski resorts across Europe and North America. It obviously makes a big difference, but there is a question mark over how challenging the snowfall is going to be over the coming years. Are lower slopes going to start struggling more and more? Most people will probably say yes."

For now, some resorts want to test the waters first. Tremblant is a four-season resort, and according to its marketing director, Jean-François Gour, the plan was to launch the dry slope as a summer activity and then see how interested people are before developing steeper runs.

Established dry slopes tend to have strong community support. For instance, in October, residents of Polmont in central Scotland rescued their 50-year-old facility, Polmonthill Ski Slope, from closure by taking over ownership. Ski instructor and racer Bailey Ross learned to ski there, spends four days a week on the slopes and is thrilled it's been resurrected.

"It means a lot to me and the community – it's a massive part of their lives – and a great place for people to try skiing," says Ross, adding that learning on a dry slope can make you a better skier on snow. "Skiing on a dry slope is harder because when you make movements on snow, it can move about underneath you. Dry slopes are either hard or grass-like, so every movement under your feet is completely different, but once you feel comfortable on your skiis, it's amazing. And every time you jump onto it, it's a new feeling: on warm days, the slope runs a bit slower and stickier. When it's cold and wet, the mat feels more firm underneath you, and it goes fast."

Manchester-based Catherine Beresford has been skiing at Runcorn Ski Centre in Cheshire, England, for 38 years, and on snow across Europe. She notes that because dry slopes don't grip as well as snow, you can't dig your edges the same way, so your movements are more subtle.

"The dry slope is less forgiving, but that's a positive in my book, because if you learn to ski on snow, you can make mistakes quite easily," she explains. "But when you learn on dry slope, technically you've got to be a much better skier. When you take those technical skills onto a mountain, you have a lot broader knowledge of skiing."

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The only dry slope in the United States is Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre in Lynchburg, Virginia. Celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, the facility once catered mostly to high-level athletes training in the off-season, but today it's open to the general public.

"We're seeing more families and first-time ski and snowboard people now," says the Centre's director Derek Woods. "In Virginia, we don't have the best conditions or the longest winter season, and in the past couple of years, Wintergreen, the local ski resort, has struggled to get snow production, but we're here year-round."

Idalette de Bruin and her partner Richard Sinclair run SNO, a London ski travel business, and say they have noticed changes in how often their customers book ski holidays. With many citing the cost-of-living crunch, regular customers now book only one ski holiday per winter, filling in the gaps with more days of dry-slope skiing back home. Their clients have reported a 150% increase in the number of visits to dry slopes – mostly to practice before a ski vacation, entertain children in school holidays and to socialise with other skiers.

De Bruin, who often takes her teenage sons dry slope skiing, also notes that this option requires less planning and special clothing.

"Because you're not exposed on a mountain, you can get away with normal clothes, a jacket and gloves. I love that you can go just for an hour or two, depending on what suits you," she says. "If you want to get your ski legs before going on a big vacation, a couple of hours each weekend in the month before means you'll hit the slopes with more confidence."

And after seeing how much fun those CopenHill skiers were having, I'm eager to try out Tremblant's dry slopes when they open in the spring – or whenever the snow melts this year.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that CopenHill is a zero-emission facility. This has been updated.

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