Chill Factor^e is the UK's longest indoor ski slope; a £31 million real snow centre located in the

Trafford Park Trafford Park is an area of the metropolitan borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, opposite Salford Quays on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, southwest of Manchester city centre and north of Stretford. Until the la ...

area of

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of in . It covers and includes the area of Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urmston, Partington and Sa ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, England. Designed b
FaulknerBrowns Architects
the centre opened in November 2007, at which time it was the widest in the world, at long and wide at its widest point. In 2010, the former sales and marketing director of

Alton Towers Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often shortened to Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton, Staffordshire, Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments, Merlin Entertainments Group a ...

Morwenna Angove joined Chill Factor^e as

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

. In 2011, the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for the longest chain of skiers to travel without breaking, was recorded at Chill Factor^e. In May 2011, Chill Factor^e hosted the UK's first

Snowbombing Snowbombing is a ski resort festival, held annually in the spring at the Austrian ski resort of Mayrhofen. History The event has been run since 2000 when it was first held at the French resort of Risoul as an après-ski nightclub promotional ex ...

event. In 2018, Chill Factor^e rebranded as BEYOND, a new retail, experiential and leisure mix, which will bring additional restaurants and businesses to complement resident brands. In March 2020, Chill Factor^e announced that its owners Extreme Cool Limited and U&I PLC had sold the company to Snow Centres Ltd who operate The Snow Centre in

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England. It is located north-west of London; nearby towns and cities include Watford, St Albans and Berkhamsted. The population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 cens ...

. They also announced that the CEO Angove would be replaced by Ian Brown as managing director. Snow Centre took over at the end of March and spent £500,000 on renovations.

Slope facilities

The main slope is served by two drag lifts suspended from the ceiling, thus widening the available piste area and allowing for easier maintenance of the slope. This differs from the other centres in the UK where the lift supports are on the piste. In addition to the main slope, the centre features a beginner slope, a

luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...

track, and dedicated snow play and tubing areas. Other activities include airboarding, snowscoot and sledging.

Alpine Street

The centre includes a number of shops and restaurants in a themed ' Alpine Village' area. On the upper level of the village is The Sports Bar, and The Lodge restaurant with slope side viewing balconies and conference/event facilities with a capacity of up to 250 people.

References

External links

*
FaulknerBrowns Architects
Ski areas and resorts in England Buildings and structures in Trafford Indoor ski resorts {{England-sports-venue-stub