The winter skiing season may have ended but there are many who still love to have a go on the piste.
Belgium has too few indoorn (or outdoor) skiing venues but one such place is called Ice Mountain in the province of Hainault. It is where skiers can still indulge their passion, even out of season, without having to venture much of a distance.
Ice Mountain is good those who want to do a spot of practice to stay in trim or others who just want to learn the basics of the sport.
Even better news is that they currently have some great promo offers on to entice you on to the slopes.
For example you can do four hours on the piste,with equipment included, for just €35. If you fancy a go on the other big attraction here,sky diving,you can do the skiing plus a couple of flights for just €65.
As part of the promo, a couple of ski dive flights will cost just €30,not the usual €60.
The venue is now entering the low, or quieter,season for them (it closes on Monday and Tuesday fron May to September) so the offers are aimed at boosting trade until the peak season resumes in the autumn.
Another activity here is paintball which takes place outside and for which online reservation is needed.
For the skiing you must take warm clothes and gloves but equipment, such as skis, shoes and helmets can be hired on site.
The on site shop is now closed and the gear it sold is currently on sale at special prices.
Despite the huge popularity of the sport, there is a relative lack of such facilities in this country and Ice Mountain is thought to be one of less than a handful of such sites in the whole of Belgium. Ice Mountain is in situated in Flanders and close to the Belgian/French border but it is still only a comfortable an hour or so drive from Brussels.
The indoor facilities here are first class and its main slope is also available to those who just want to give it a go for the first time.If you haven’t actually skied before it is necessary to have a spot of basic training with one of the centre’s ski coaches before you are to be left on your own.
The centre can boast two slopes with genuinely real snow, much like you find in the mountains. Thanks to a process in which water is atomized and cooled very quickly, the quality of the fluffy stuff is fantastic and there is always a layer of 40 to 60 centimeters thick (much better than you now find in some ski resorts).
There is a ski lift on both sides of the main slope. The smaller, second slope, which is adjacent, is intended for beginners and children. It has both a roller mat (for lessons only) and a ski lift. The temperature in our complex is always minus six to 8 degrees.
If you want to train again before going to the mountains or have never been on the slopes before you can book a lesson here, either a group or private lesson, with a certified instructor.
People without skiing or snowboarding experience are not actually allowed on the slopes and,for their safety and others, must take at least two hours of lessons with one of the centre’s instructors, in order to be able to use and stop the ski lift. Booking is necessary.
The slopes are 210m and 85m in length, the highest being on a gradient of 40m from top to bottom.
Unlike some other ski centres, the snow here is real and it all takes place in a huge hall where the snow is maintained at a constant temperature. This is achieved via a series of motors located under the snow itself.
There’s also a couple of very pleasant restaurants, including one decked out with a typical Alpine-style décor that would not look out of place in the Alps. Some people even visit just to watch the skiers and have a spot to eat or drink.
The parking is free and the centre is relatively easy to access from Brussels. About half its tens of thousands of visitors come from across the border in France or the south of Belgium.
The centre is at Komen (Comines), a pleasant town halfway betweenn Ypres and Lille which is well worth a visit not least for the British Memorial to the Missing where the names of some 11,447 unburied soldiers from the Great War are enshrined.
