Blog Post
Skitrax World • Dez. 04, 2023
Skiing is always possible - with or without snow
Dry Ski Slope in Oberaudorf opened on 2023, November 30
A successful start to the 2023/2024 ski season. Oberaudorf's Hocheck ski resort was the first ski resort in Bavaria to open the slopes in Kinderland. With the approx. 80m long and 10m wide mat ski slope from Skitrax World, the start of the season could be celebrated 100%. The approx. 10cm of natural snow that had fallen would not have been enough for the season opening.
Well organized by the "Top of the Mountain" ski school, the children from the local kindergarten were the first to open the ski season. They quickly put up little hats and built small jumps. The fresh snow on the plastic slope was quickly removed so that skiing could continue on the mats.
The children loved it. Despite the bad weather, some press representatives were present and reported on the opening of the "100% snow-safe ski slope". This plastic slope on Hocheck is open every weekend.
Here is a podcast report from the Charivari 95.5 and TOP.FM radio stations about the perfect start to the season (German Language):
You can park right next to the practice area. Directions to the parking lot - simply follow the signs to the "Übungsgelände" parking lot.
Of course, you can also travel to Oberaudorf CO²-neutral by train. From Oberaudorf train station, you can easily reach the valley station on foot in approx. 8 minutes. If you don't have skis, you can hire them locally from the ski hire shop.
In winter, you can ski here four times a week on one of the longest floodlit slopes in Germany.
Further information on the operating times can be found here:
www.hocheck.com
Skitrax World - Where snow is missing
UPDATE - Berichte von anderen Installationen
Plan B for the ski huts and ski slope operators. The largest restaurants in a ski area are usually located near the mountain railway at the valley station or on arrival at the mountain station. However, the most beautiful and coolest huts are usually located on the ski piste or hidden away a little. At the beginning of the ski season, an extra piste with fresh snow or artificial snow is created from the ski piste to the ski hut - which should then last for the whole season. This has now become a dream come true for many hut owners.
Shredding over the obstacles. A lot has changed in recent years. Globally, the demand for "skiing & snowboarding & tubing" is growing rapidly. Especially in countries where there is no snow or only in high mountain areas, the interest is very high. On small or large alpine ry slope slopes, no matter where in the world, alpine skiers, slopestylers, freestylers, skicrossers, freeskiers can do all year round what otherwise only works in the "snow" areas - carving, riding, sliding, jumping until the lights are turned off. The middle class in countries like China, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico and many more is growing fast and so is the desire for first skiing opportunities. The more "on-site skiing" is offered and refined on dry slope mats in these countries, and even cooperations are entered into, e.g. with winter sports areas in the Alps, the more winter sports enthusiasts come from these countries to the advertising winter sports areas later in the winter.
Über die Obstacles shredden. Es hat sich viel verändert in den letzten Jahren. Global wächst die Nachfrage nach „Skifahren & Snowboarden & Tubing“ rapide. Gerade in den Ländern, wo kein Schnee fällt oder nur in hohen Berglagen, ist das Interesse sehr groß. Auf kleinen oder großen Mattenskipisten, egal wo auf der Welt, können alpine Skifahrer, Slopestyler, Freestyler, Skicrosser, Freeskier das ganze Jahr machen, was sonst nur in den „Schnee“gebieten funktioniert - carven, riden, sliden, jumpen bis das Licht abgeschaltet wird.
Artificial Ski Slope in Oberaudorf open from December. The season is about to start on Bavaria's first alpine dry ski slope with Skitrax plastic mats in the Hocheck ski area in Oberaudorf. At just 500m above sea level (!), skiing will be possible at weekends from 02. December 2023. The practice slope is 75m long and 10m wide. A comfortable, eclectic conveyor belt takes skiers and boarders back to the start. The offer is for beginners and ski fans of all ages who want to get back on their skis for a few hours - regardless of the snow conditions.
The alternative is ready. Climate change is a fact and we have to learn to deal with it. Setting climate targets is the right thing to do, but the ways of achieving them vary in intensity. Only those who seek new ways will find innovative solutions. As recently as the 1980s, there was at least 5 meters of consolidated snow in winter in the ski resorts of the Central Alps at an altitude of about 1500 meters above sea level. In many hotels, the only way to get to the hotel was via the second floor. Now, in many ski resorts in the Central Alps, it will be too warm to make snow on the slopes in winter. And then? Yesterday‘s snow in the Alps for most of the 2022/2023 season won‘t come until mid-January 2023. Fewer snow-covered ski areas = less tourism = lower to no revenue; with ongoing costs.
Winter sports as an attractive year-round offer. Will there soon be alpine theme parks near major cities? It would be feasible in Zuerich, Hamburg, Vienna, Paris or Milan, but also in Singapore, Djakarta, Beijing, Los Angeles, Nairobi, Saigon and Santiago de Chile. When the snow is replaced by Skitrax sliding mats, nothing stands in the way of sliding, carving, gliding, lifting, drifting.
Skitrax World - UPDATE - Neuheiten - News
365 Tage Tubing Bahn - Winter- und Sommergäste sind begeistert. Viele Wintersportorten betreiben im separaten Bereich neben der Skipiste eine Snowtubing Bahn. Naturschnee und/oder künstliche Beschneiung schaffen schnell eine gute Grundlage für einige Bahnen nebeneinander oder sogar mit rasanten Kurven. Alles nur möglich mit Schnee. Schmilzt der Schnee weg - lässt sich auf dreckigen Schnee noch eine Weile fahren - bis die beliebte Anlage schlissen muss. Sollte es wieder schneien, geht der ganze Produktionsprozess wieder von vorne los - mit viel Aufwand an Schnee und Mitarbeitern. Diesen Aufwand leisten sich die meisten Wintersportorte nicht mehr. Schade, denn es geht auch einfacher und unabhängig vom Schnee.
365-day tubing track - winter and summer guests are thrilled. Many winter sports resorts operate a snow tubing track in a separate area next to the ski piste. Natural snow and/or artificial snow quickly create a good basis for several tracks side by side or even with rapid curves. Everything is only possible with snow. If the snow melts away - you can still ride on dirty snow for a while - until the popular facility has to close. If it snows again, the whole production process starts all over again - with a lot of effort in terms of snow and employees. Most winter sports resorts can no longer afford this effort. That's a shame, because there is an easier way, regardless of the snow.
Plan B für die Skihütten und Skipistenbetreiber. Die größten Restaurants in einem Skigebiet sind meist in der Nähe der Bergbahn an der Talstation oder bei der Ankunft auf der Bergstation. Die schönsten und fetzigsten Hütten liegen aber überwiegende an der Skipiste oder etwas Abseits der Skipiste. Zu Beginn der Ski Saison wird eine extra Piste mit Neuschnee oder Kunstschnee von der Skipiste zur Skihütte angelegt - die dann für die ganze Saison reichen soll. Mittlerweile ein Wunschtraum geworden.
Plan B for the ski huts and ski slope operators. The largest restaurants in a ski area are usually located near the mountain railway at the valley station or on arrival at the mountain station. However, the most beautiful and coolest huts are usually located on the ski piste or hidden away a little. At the beginning of the ski season, an extra piste with fresh snow or artificial snow is created from the ski piste to the ski hut - which should then last for the whole season. This has now become a dream come true for many hut owners.
Die Attraktion auf dem Weihnachtsmarkt in Lagos (Portugal). Mit 30m Länge und zwei Rutschbahnen, war diese Tubing Bahn in der Süd Portugiesischen Stadt Lagos das Highlight auf dem Weihnachtsmarkt. Nach den Ankunft wartete schon eine ca. 4m hohe Staffage auf die Lieferung. Schnell wurden die Tubtrax-M1 Modulen aus rostfreien Stahl vom LKW geladen. Darauf wurden die Tubtrax Gleitmatten befestigt und dann nacheinander auf den Holzbrettern der Staffage befestigt. Fertig - schon beginnt der Tubing Spass.
The attraction at the Christmas market in Lagos (Portugal). With a length of 30m and two slides, this tubing ride was the highlight of the Christmas market in the southern Portuguese city of Lagos. Upon arrival, a 4m high staffage was already waiting for the delivery. The stainless steel Tubtrax M1 modules were quickly loaded from the truck. The Tubtrax sliding mats were attached to them and then fixed one after the other to the wooden planks of the staffage. Done - the tubing fun begins. Naturally on our fast and robust Epic Tube in various sizes.
Wir bieten ganzjährige Attraktionen. „Dort wo Schnee fehlt“: Unter diesem Motto vertreibt Skitrax Attraktionen auf Basis von Kunststoffmatten. Die Ideen des Unternehmens eignen sich dabei für jede Jahreszeit.
Es wäre doch so einfach mit den Slopetrax Gleitmatten. Bei den olympischen Winterspielen 2026 wird Skibergsteigen erstmals ins olympische Programm aufgenommen. Grund genug, sich der immer beliebter werdenden Sportart zu nähern. Immer mehr Menschen gehen im Winter auf Skitour und genießen die Kombination aus forderndem Aufstieg und Abfahrten in unpräpariertem Gelände. Beim Skibergsteigen liegt der Fokus weniger auf der Geschwindigkeit als vielmehr auf dem Aufstieg und der Bewältigung des Geländes. Im Gegensatz zum alpinen Skifahren, bei dem es um rasante Abfahrten geht, ist das Skibergsteigen eine Disziplin, die den Aufstieg in unberührtem Gelände betont.
It would be so easy with the Slopetrax sliding mats. Ski mountaineering will be included in the Olympic programme for the first time at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Reason enough to take a closer look at this increasingly popular sport. More and more people are going ski touring in winter and enjoying the combination of challenging ascents and descents in unprepared terrain. In ski mountaineering, the focus is less on speed and more on the ascent and mastering the terrain. In contrast to alpine skiing, which is all about fast descents, ski mountaineering is a discipline that emphasises the ascent in untouched terrain.