{"id":1200,"date":"2016-12-20T14:28:13","date_gmt":"2016-12-20T13:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saas-fee.ch\/blog\/?p=1200"},"modified":"2023-10-22T14:57:41","modified_gmt":"2023-10-22T12:57:41","slug":"magic-carpet-for-skiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saas-fee.ch\/blog\/2016\/12\/magic-carpet-for-skiers\/","title":{"rendered":"Magic carpet for skiers"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it gets cold outside and the sun shines down from a bright blue sky onto the mountains \u2013 which it does a lot here in the Valais \u2013 it\u2019s time to get the skis and snowboards out of the cellar and head off to the slopes<\/a>. Full of enthusiasm we set off on our skiing holidays or long weekend fully intending to spend every minute on the slopes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But then you never know what the weather is really going to be like. Sometimes, those are the very days that the weather turns out to be quite miserable, making the slopes<\/a> so windy, snowy, and foggy that nobody wants to go outside anymore. But from 22 December this year, you\u2019ll still be able to ski in Saas-Fee<\/a>: at the indoor skiing facility in the Hotel Metropol<\/a> in the middle of the village. You can\u2019t leave your tracks in fresh new snow there, but you can still perform those elegant curves.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.saas-fee.ch\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/2016-12-15-VIDEO-slowmotion.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>
\n\u201cThe indoor skiing facility is a great option, especially in bad weather,\u201d says Fabian Hess, who runs the facility. Together with his business partner, he wants to give guests in Saas-Fee<\/a> the opportunity to ski in every kind of weather. He is sure his facility makes the range of recreational activities<\/a> on offer in the village even more attractive.<\/p>\n

But wait! Don\u2019t just think, \u201cRight! I\u2019ll grab my skis, get to the Metropol<\/a> and off I go.\u201d It\u2019s not quite as easy as that, explains Fabian Hess as he shows me around. \u201cYou can\u2019t ski here with normal skis.\u201d You need shorter skis because of the restricted radius that is available to skiers on a ramp like this. The indoor skis are also especially prepared: \u201cWe have to break the edges otherwise the skis would ruin the carpet,\u201d says Hess as he swishes elegantly down the ramp. The carpet works like a treadmill for skiers. The inclination is a bit steeper and can be varied between 9 and 22 percent. Hess can also change the speed of the carpet. The maximum speed is 24 km\/h. Hess shows me how it\u2019s done, but he holds on to the safety bar at the bottom as he does so. \u201cI haven\u2019t actually spent much time on this carpet yet and if I\u2019m holding the remote control myself then it\u2019s too risky otherwise.\u201d If he did fall over, he might drop the remote control and then he wouldn\u2019t be able to stop the carpet anymore.  And we don\u2019t even want to think about what would happen then. \u201cThere\u2019s always an instructor there when the carpet is on who holds the remote and can stop the carpet if necessary.\u201d There haven\u2019t been any accidents so far.<\/p>\n

For safety reasons, a maximum of eight people are allowed on the carpet at once. \u201cBut they have to be quite advanced skiers,\u201d says Hess, adding that on average four people are on the carpet at the same time. \u201cYou can book for one hour and then you can go on the carpet six times for ten minutes.\u201d As ten minutes on the carpet is actually quite hard work, food and drinks are also available in the facility, which used to be a disco. So you can take a break and have a refreshing drink while you watch the other skiers go down the ramp. And they can watch themselves too. There\u2019s a big mirror at the bottom of the ramp, like in a dance studio. I want to find out why.<\/p>\n

Hess explains: \u201cWhen you are out on the slopes, you need to anticipate. You look ahead and adapt your speed and style of skiing to the slope. It\u2019s not like that on the carpet. Here, you have to react. But that only works if you can see yourself and the movements you are making.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are also plans to collaborate with the ski school so that beginners can practise their first curves on the carpet. Hess is convinced that this has several advantages: \u201cYou can use the mirror to analyse your movements directly instead of making a video and watching it afterwards.\u201d Complete beginners can hold onto the safety bar at the bottom of the ramp until they get used to their skis. I\u2019m impressed when Hess tells me that an absolute beginner who has never skied before can ski down a blue slope<\/a> after just ten lessons on the carpet.<\/p>\n

Hess is also planning to collaborate with the local sports shop<\/a>. \u201cWe can\u2019t try out any skis here, but people can try out ski boots<\/a>.\u201d It doesn\u2019t take long to find out whether the boots fit or not.<\/p>\n

The ramp could also be used for ski racing<\/a> training. The carpet is especially suitable for junior skiers wanting to hone their skills, even though Saas-Fee<\/a> has a summer ski area. Hess, a former International Ski Federation racer himself, says that the indoor<\/a> facility can also be used for therapeutic purposes: \u201cI know someone who had four knee operations and then used a carpet for his first attempts to get back on skis.\u201d The patient was secured with a rope in case his knee gave way. But is worked and \u201cwhen he went back on the slopes he knew he could really go for it and that his knee could take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ski carpet is only part of Hess\u2019s vision. He wants to create a crossfit centre, with a slackline in the garden in summer.<\/p>\n

The Mittschdri Skipoint is open from 22 December every day between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m<\/strong>. \u201cBut we\u2019ll be open for longer when the weather is bad,\u201d says Hess with a wink.<\/p>\n

For further information or queries about group discounts \/ rental, contact the team online at www.swissindoorskiing.ch<\/a>, or by telephone on +41 (0)27 958 58 58 or per e-mail at mittschdri@metropol-saas-fee.ch<\/a>  or on Instagram at #mittschdri<\/a><\/p>\n

Monika Kessler<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When it gets cold outside and the sun shines down from a bright blue sky onto the mountains \u2013 which it does a lot here in the Valais \u2013 it\u2019s time to get the skis and snowboards out of the cellar and head off to the slopes. Full of enthusiasm we set off on our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1196,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[286,288],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-deutsch","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saas-fee.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saas-fee.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saas-fee.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saas-fee.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saas-fee.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1200"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.saas-fee.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4465,"href":"https:\/\/www.saas-fee.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1200\/revisions\/4465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saas-fee.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saas-fee.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saas-fee.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saas-fee.ch\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}