You couldnt make it up
 

http://gulfnews.com/business/tourism...sort-1.1179933

Ras Al Khaimah plans winter ski resort

After an artificial indoor ski slope at the Mall of the Emirates, the UAE might soon have a ski resort in a natural environment — and on a mountain peak that occasionally witnesses snowfall.

The Ras Al Khaimah government is developing a ski resort on its mountains bordering Oman’s Musandam peninsula where visitors can ski in a natural and open environment, a top government official said.

A road network to reach the peak where Jebel Jais Resort would be built is 70 per cent complete. It snows occasionally on the mountain during winter — which may not be enough for operating an all-year-round ski facility, necessitating artificial means to generate ice.

“We are currently experimenting with the technology to produce a large quantity of ice during winter,” Salem Sultan Al Qassimi, Chairman of the Department of Civil Aviation of Ras Al Khaimah and Vice Chairman of RAK Air, told Gulf News. He is also involved in the government’s tourism development initiatives to realign the airline’s strategy for the growth of the industry in Ras Al Khaimah.
“Once it’s done successfully, we will have the region’s first winter ski resort in Ras Al Khaimah,” he said.

Re: You couldnt make it up
 

I saw that earlier and had to double check it wasn't written by the Pan Arabian Enquirer.

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Jesus wept they are mad :)

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"Whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first make mad."

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It'll never happen.

I have been intimately involved with the Jebal Al Jais mountain development for the last 6 years so I can speak with a certain amount of confidence. The plans for this have been on the table for years, however, I cannot even think of an area on the mountain which is of a suitable topography for a ski slope. Don't get me wrong the area up there is lovely and if the plans for a 'national park' with bike trials etc ever comes off it will be wicked. As for the snoe...... well, in reality it is a moderate to heavy frost that occurs on the summit once or twice a year. There were similar plans for Jebal Hafit in Al Ain but that came to nothing.

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I remember the Jebel Hafeet plans. There was supposed to be at least one covered slope down the mountain and a load of chalet residences that were being designed by Brad Pitt. A lod of money was thrown at the initial marketing and design, but as far as I know many people were never paid in full.

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....would be mega though.

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Could you not have a dry ski slope there? Seem to remember one in huddersfield years ago.

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Of course not. There's absolutely nothing ridiculously extravagant about a dry ski slope

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We looked at Jebel Hafeet many moons ago and saw the secret model in Tamouh's Reem Island sales centre.

I told my board that we should not get involved as it was so far fetched and eco-unfriendly. Think I was labelled a 'tree hugger' in that meeting.

Re: You couldnt make it up
 

As far as I remember they were meant to be open air slopes as well, not covered. My old company were involved in it for quite a while. When questioned how they expected the snow to remain in the heat they were convinced that the technology was available..... thinking back maybe I should have tried to sell him some sand....

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Or ice, talk about never ending demand....

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I'm sure they planned a covered one all the way around the mountain.

All quite mad though :)

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It had an indoor ski jump!!

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Wasn't one of the cancelled projects for a large indoor ski arena with multiple slopes and a 'winter village' complex, which would be surrounded by apartments on the exterior? It was supposed to be out in Dubailand somewhere, probably next to the proposed Mall of Arabia and the proposed Universal Studios theme park that never got built.

I remember the apartments being sold off plan and a British buyer may have even posted on here asking about what happened to his investment.

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I think that was the revolving mountain (not joking).

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Ah, my favorite megaproject that never was. The Dubai Sunny Mountain Snowdome. There was a thing once on TV of some old British couple who lost everything in this project. They only wanted to live in a mountain ski-resort in the desert... such innocence.

http://img389.imageshack.us/img389/5...a55ab5454a.jpg

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That's as preposterous as 32G gazonkas. Can anyone assist?

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Pre-boiling the sea for water, a Saudi prince seriously suggested towing an iceberg from the Arctic.

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True story from the Lake Placid (USA) Winter Olympics a few years ago.......

Worried that there might not be enough real snow for the ski events (downhill, slalom, etc), they created millions of tons of the artificial stuff and started pumping it onto the mountain.

It worked (admittedly it is a winter resort anyway) - to the extent that an official was quoted as saying the slopes were 'perfect' and he hoped there would be no real snow, which would be 'a real nuisance'........... :huh:

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Most ski resorts in the US and Europe have snow cannons which they whack on for weeks at the start of the season so they can get a decent base developed. They also use them late on in the season when bare patches start to appear. This is now 'the norm'. What is a bit more rare is cloud seeding which quite a few of the US resorts do. They eject silver iodide out of planes to act as condensation nuclei. Its a bit hit and miss tho. In the ski resort I worked at in Colorado, every time they tried it the wind changed and blew the clouds off course and it ended up snowing on the competition.