Snowtrax invests to upgrade facilities at community centre

Snowtrax Alpine Activity Centre, near Hurn, has seen investment in its slopes and entertainment facilities, making it a centre for the community.

Major investment has been made into the centre’s Ringos, with a new lift installed to take children back up the slope with their rings, something that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the UK.

Adam Halstead, managing director at Snowtrax, said the business had seen a ‘strong demand’ for Ringos, both for walk-ins and for birthday parties.

“We saw that need and we created the two Ringo lanes,” Adam said.

“The other comment from customers was the fact of having to walk up, so we got this moving carpet, the travellator, installed.

“It was quite a big install, it’s a different type of lift, there wasn’t one that existed like that in the UK.

“We found a UK company to help us to install that, which was quite a feat in the end, but we got there.”

The company that installed the lift traditionally makes conveyor belts for warehouses, but Snowtrax worked with them to built the conveyor for people and their rings.

The centre has also bought out award-winning outdoor slope company Proslope, which produces matting for ‘dry’ ski slopes.

It has sold matting worldwide, including recent installs in Scotland and Ireland.

There are plans to resurface parts of the Snowtrax slope with new matting, which Adam said creates an ‘even better skiing experience’ than before.

“Essentially the matting has increased the number of people wanting to ski and snowboard,” he said.

“It’s a lot safer to ski on, when falls happen, they’re not injuring themselves as much, we’ve seen injury rates decrease quite significantly.

“Participation has increased, there’s a good demand there for people wanting to learn.”

Alongside investment in the slopes, the centre has refurbished the bar and restaurant in its Alpine Pub, as well as catering for all levels of skiers at the facility and in its ski and snowboard shop.

It is also looking to continue to build the community at the centre, through hosting events in the adventure park and holding live music on Saturday nights.

“It’s not only to create a community and a leisure facility that people can enjoy, it’s also providing jobs for the local community,” Adam said.

“I think, especially with all the facilities that we have, it’s a broad range of customers, from the young families, to teenagers, all the way up to people who might be retired with a bit more leisure time to come and ski and board during the day.

“That’s our big impact on the local community, to be able to provide that broad range of activities.”