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  5 of 5 05/12/2002 @ 04:38:29 |
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| 1 member has given this review a rating of 5 of 5 |
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| Price Per Hour |
| £5 (uni discount) |
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| Times Visited |
| 6-15 Times |
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| Review Detail |
Plymouth dry slope is part of the John Nike leasuresport group (includes, bracknell, chatham and bristol) and as a result is pretty similar to them. Its a standard dry slope afair, with dendex surfacing.
The actual ski centre building is actuallt half way up the main slope but this is quite usefull as it means its right in the middle of all the facilities so you dont have to walk very far. Its got a good bar/restaurant upstairs which serves good food and drinks. The entire upper floor has a nice viewing area that overlooks all the slopes.
Of these it has three, a main slope, an intermediate slope, and an begginners slope. As i started on the begginers one (having never boarded before) il mention that first. Its a standard begginers slope, very short, not very steep, and no lift. Nothing really special other than the bar area has a good view of it and as a result you can watch your mates/kids make fools of themselves/put you to shame in complete comfort.
the intermediate slope is pretty cool, its steeper and longer than the begginers slope without being as intimidating or as busy as the main slope. one good feature is that it has a lift, which both teaches learners basic lift technique and makes it easier than walking up the slope. However the lift is also one of the main problems with the slope. Its a simple rope lift, with nothing to hold onto other than the rope. once you get the hang of it its not quite as difficult but its still hard work to hold on. It also gets bogged down by more than four people and has trouble pulling them up, though this would vary depending on the weight of the person :)
The main slope is rather good, its long, pretty steep, and has two lifts, one at either side. one is of the older style dog lead, button lifts and the other, newer, one is of the telescoping pole types with a button on the end. One small problem is that the one lift runs right accross the enterance to to the slope from the ski centre, which is halfway up. to prevent people crossing the path of the lift, you are not allowed to enter the slope here (not really enforced but they could have a go at you about it) and require you to get down to the bottom of the slope to enter it. This is achieved by a zigzaging dendex path all the way down from the center to the bottom of the slope. This however is very narrow and is a bit worn out in places so you may find yourself having to walk down. The main slope itself is good, and you shouldnt have to queue for the lifts for any length of time. they have a small selection of jumps and a rail but these are not always in use (mainly used on monday nights)
The quality of instruction is pretty cool if you are in need of it and they are always happy to help you out. equipment hire can be a problem, boards are old and there arnt enough to go round when it really busy so get there early. Hire boots were rubbish but recently they got a new batch of hire boots which are very good (they are apparently getting new boards as well sometime soon).
they have a pretty good relatonship with the university and when we are up there with the uni, we get a nice discount, with a fiver getting you either 2 hours open practice or an hours lesson. although the slope is open to non uni students they have to pay full price. Im am not actually sure what that is though but i have heard it is pretty competative.
all in all a good slope for begginers though really advanced people may get board |
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| Strengths |
good facilities in the center
good instruction
slopes for all abilities
good hire boots
two lifts on the main slope |
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| Weaknesses |
poor hire snowboards
can be busy when lessons are going on (though they are mainly on the smaller slopes)
dendex
nothing really to do for experts, if the jumps arnt out |
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| Similar Slopes Visited |
| chatham ski center |
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