Probably the most bizarre experience I had in Dubai—and this is saying quite a bit, given the city’s general surrealism—was my second to last day, in which I both skied indoors and went to a water park in the same day; the two are actually only a short cab ride apart. By virtue of their common parent owner, i was able to visit both Ski Dubai—located inside the massive and largely-unthemed Mall of The Emirates—and Wild Wadi Water Park with a single, specially-priced combination ticket.
Indoor ski areas are not exactly new. The first such venue opened in Australia in the late 1980s (since closed), and the world’s largest is currently in The Netherlands. But what makes Ski Dubai so unique is not only its attention to detail with regards to thematic design, but the amplified awe provided by the snow’s extreme contrast with Dubai’s climate.
It is perfectly conceivable to be skiing in the summer months at a constant 23F while the actual temperature outside is approaching 130F—and it’s just these sorts of scenarios that make Dubai uniquely surreal. Not “fake” as some commentators have suggested, but a compelling collage of environments and amusements—recreational life in a giant contextual blender.
I spent two hours on the indoor slopes, which are divided into a few beginner and intermediate runs, and an “advanced” run that boasts slightly more speed and a steeper grade. There is a single quad chair lift that runs up the middle, and you can disembark midway (at the site of the themed Avalanche Café) for the beginner side of things, or continue up to the top for the intermediate (left side) or advanced (right side) runs.
Ski Dubai offers an extensive ski school program for both youth and adults (which makes sense, because how otherwise would a Dubai native learn in 100F+ heat?) And you can get a day pass (good from open to close) or a two-hour ticket. Both include all the equipment rental save gloves—which, I was told by locals, are not rented because of the Arab cultural taboo related to the left hand (unclean). The latter worked out perfect for me, since I am an experienced skier—at the end of my two hours I had definitely grown bored of the place. It would have been pure monotony to continue skiing the same two runs all day.
Again, what’s startling about the place is entering it from the outside climate. I spent my time on the slopes trying to remember that it was nearly 95F outside. But more interesting was the theming employed, both in the restaurants and on the slopes. The other indoor skiing venues I looked at online—in Japan and elsewhere—were just as unreal, but not as surreal.
Ski Dubai’s snow recreation area, for those who don’t wish to ski, was built with Disney-like attention to detail, including evergreen landscaping and aged timber wood.
The Avalanche Café (not sure about the name…it doesn’t conjure the most pleasant mountain memories) midway up the slopes looks just like a secluded chateau in the Alps, with the appropriate architectural flourishes and distressed stonework.
The thematic highlight of Ski Dubai, however, wasn’t in the snow but overlooking it—the St. Moritz Café. Done in the style of Swiss ski lodge, the restaurant features a Western (America / European) menu and the walls are covered with print ephemera and photographs from the golden age (1930s—1950s) of ski resorts all around the world. And in the center of it all, there is a large chimney with four fireplaces that face out towards the seating areas. Except they aren’t real fires—each hearth is a digital flatscreen running a seamless loop of burning fire. The effect is augmented with bits of logs and wood chips at the base of each screen, and a small space heater vent above each “fire” that gives off just enough warmth to fool the first-time guest.
I did a double-take, and then a triple-take. But before you cry foul, however, it's nice to note that these fireplaces are completely non-polluting, and probably consume less energy overall than their analog equivalent.