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Ski Dubai is an indoor ski resort with 22,500 square metres of indoor ski area. It is part of the Mall of the Emirates, one of the largest shopping malls in the world and located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Whether an embodiment of the ultimate commoditisation of a frozen space or an expression of national pride – Ski Dubai attracts scrutiny from both admirers and dissenters alike.
The resort features a 60-metre high indoor mountain with 5 slopes of varying steepness and difficulty, including a 400-metre-long run, the world’s first indoor black run, and a 90-metre-long quarter pipe for snowboarders.
Despite its location within one of the hottest regions in the world, the facility maintains a temperature of −1 °C during the day and −6 °C at night when the snow is produced.
Prior to the economic downturn that hit the region in 2008, plans were in an advanced state to develop a new, competitive ski centre as part of the ill-feted Dubailand development. However, by 2008, Dubailand which only 5 years earlier was pitched as the world’s most ambitious building project, was put on indefinite hold.