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29 March 2024

Penguins' delight: Hit the slopes during snowfall in Dubai

Tennis superstar Caroline Wozniacki visited Ski Dubai in 2014. (www.majidalfuttaim.com)

Published
By Parag Deulgaonkar

Yes, it snows in Dubai for five days a week with the temperate falling to a chilling -5 and -6 degrees.
 
At Ski Dubai, located in the Mall of Emirates, nearly three tons (8 cubic meter of water) of fresh snow is made for five days a week.
 
“We generally start our snow making after 2 am. We have small snow guns on the ceilings though which the snow falls after we spray the water through them,” Ibrahim Al Zu’bi, Head of Sustainability, Majid Al Futtaim - Properties, told Emirates 24/7.
 
Average depth of snow across the 22,500 square meter facility ranges from 50 centimeters to 60 centimeters, with depth in certain areas being as much as 1.5 meters.

Tennis superstar Caroline Wozniacki visited Ski Dubai in 2014. (www.majidalfuttaim.com)

“We were making snow for seven days earlier, but now we have reduced it by two days… so we have cut back on our energy consumption. We still maintain the required levels and have a technical team that does the inspection every day on the snow level.”
 
Ski Dubai, which opened in November 2005, is currently working on a new façade.
 
“We are having a whole façade redone which is aimed to eliminate any leaks,” states Al Zu’bi.
 
Open for seven days a week for visitors, work is mostly undertaken during night time. The new façade is set to be completed by early next year.
 
Sustainability remains high on Majid Al Futtaim’s, the region’s top retail and leisure developer, agenda, as it spends millions of dirhams on achieving its sustainable objectives.
 
In its energy conversation drive, the company has replaced 300-odd lights in the indoor facility.
 
“We now have full LED lighting. The old lights were transmitting heat… we have eliminated that.  By replacing them with LED, we save on energy. Besides, it has made our snow ‘whiter’ as far as to look at since it was much more yellowish kind of colour before we changed the lighting.”
 
The total power capacity of Ski Dubai is 1.8 MW, with the maximum consumption being 1.4 MW during summer.
 
Although the facility has the technology to lower temperatures to lows of – 9 degree, it is not lowering it that that level so as to save on energy.
 
“If we can make snow in -5 and -6 degrees, thus we save on energy. In fact, we don’t notice any difference in the quality of the snow,” adds Al Zu’bi.
 
The company will be implementing all the energy saving ideas it has learned and evolved over the years in Ski Dubai in its Ski Egypt project.
 
Ski Dubai has one infrared camera that it uses, if required, for inspection, report, etc.
 
Though it has never faced a moment in the past 10 years where the snow has melted, all back-up plans are in place.
 
“We never had, all the time I have been here, a scenario where the snow has melted. It is possible if we have a shutdown in the system or leak in the glycol, but the amount of snow that we have (50 to 60 centimeters in most areas) it would take a long time for you to see the snow melting.
 
“We have back-up generators and any leak can be plugged straightway as our technical team is trained to do that. I don’t think we will ever get to scenario where our snow melted before our eyes,” he asserts.
 
Fact sheet
 

• 22,500 square meters covered with real snow all year round – (equivalent to 3 football pitches)

• Houses the world’s largest indoor snow park at 3000 square meters

• Temperature maintained at a comfortable -1º to -2º

• 85 meters high (approximately 25 storeys) and 80 meters wide

• 5 different slopes of varying difficulty and length, longest run of 400 meters

• Full capacity of 1500 guests

• Snowboard stunt park and 1/4 pipe snowboard area

• Snow Penguins at Ski Dubai including unique ‘Peng-Friend’ encounter