Ski Dubai. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Okay, I'll cut to the chase. If you ski on a regular basis you'll want to avoid Ski Dubai. Like many things in the Emirates, it is strictly a novelty. Oh! Oh! Snow in the desert!... Yeah, snow in the desert... Made by machines... Sprayed into a giant building with an incline you ski down. More meh than "Modern Marvel."

Now if you haven't been on the slopes before and you have some cash and time to burn in Dubai (who doesn't?) then this is the perfect place to go spend a few hours. If you don't have anything to wear? Don't worry, included in the cost of admission is a ski-suit and all your gear. You'll have to buy a hat and gloves though. Trust me, it's a giant freezer and you'll want them.

The run is basically a short green with a branch that is claimed to be a blue that diverts for a good 25 yards to a dip then converges with the original path. It's about 5-7 minutes up the lift and about a minute to a minute and a half coming down. There is also tubing and a play area for kids, but again... It's the type of place you want to go to once for a few hours if you're on vacation. My experience was paid for by the government of the Emirates so that's how I found myself here. So that's what the official trailmixxx.com advice is: Go... But only if someone else is paying and you don't have anything better to do. :)

Eldora Mountain Resort- #1 (Nederland, CO) 10/16/2012

I'll be doing quite a few posts on Eldora Ski Resort because I received a season pass on the cheap. Before this, I skied in West, VA (Snowshoe, which was actually pretty nice), North Carolina (App Ski Mountain) and Dubai (Ski Dubai indoor skiing). Those were not the most challenging of locations so it was ideal for learning. Eldora is where we are continuing along our learning curve. I plan on honing my skiing/boarding skills so next year I'm ready for some killer shredding next season at the big resorts on the western slope.

The photos for this post were taken on the first day of the season. Obviously, the snowfall isn't coming down in any great amount. I'm not sure if the snow season hasn't kicked in or what. The only available runs open for this first day were "International" and "Hornblower." I believe this was a 20" base.

So, when I first told people what I was doing for the day, I got a lot of "Eldora sucks" and this and that. To be honest though, I really did not care. Naomi and I got sick deals on our passes and we felt it was ideal for a couple of East Coasters just getting our ski boots wet, especially her.

Okay, so the actual review.... The staff was really friendly. No one treated us like assholes and everyone scanning our passes at the lifts were polite. The ski patrol was really nice... I mean, really, really nice. Naomi had a couple nasty yard sales (If you don't know what a "yard sale" is, click this 8-second video) and they were always there to help pick up poles, get her footing, or just ask if we were okay. Naomi is a beginner, so she probably shouldn't have been on these runs, but in her defense, she crept down the mountain at a safe speed and was not a danger to anyone else around.

The man-made snow and grooming isn't all that bad. I suppose if you're a pro and you've been tearing up slopes all across the Western US, then this wont be that special to you. However, if you're around Boulder or Northern Colorado this isn't that far a drive for you. I was told by a local that it is a perfect place to get up a little early on powder days and go tear it up between 9-noon.

Next trip will be strictly snowboarding.

Shoutout to reddit.com/r/skiing and r/snowboarding

About 5 miles away. Dirty ass Subaru.

Looks better in person, obviously.

Naomi coming down "International"

Who needs carving skis? Straight-edge HEADs and boots from circa 1990. 

Going up lift photo 1

Going up lift photo 2

View from top of Challenge/Cannonball lifts when you get off and look right