Snow Arena – what’s new?
For the past few months, the owners of the Druskininkai ski hall have closed the facility in order to carry out quite a major renovation. Although you might think that the Lithuanians cleverly used the lockdown period, the facts are, that the closing date of the SnowArena was set long ago.
Anyway, here’s what we can write about the changes, before we hit the hall on September 24:
Better hall isolation
So far, the temperature amplitude inside the hall has been quite large. During the day there was -3 degrees C, and in the evening – especially in hot summer – it was up to around +0.5 degrees. This made re-cooling the hall energy-intensive, which of course cost money. The quality of the snow, which underwent a transformation almost every day, also suffered. Now it is supposed to be frosty all the time.
Improved cooling system
According to those teams, who visited the hall after renovation, the quality of snow, thanks to better cooling, has significantly improved.
4 slalom lines instead of 5
More than half of the ski teams, that come to train in SnowArena, are Russians. There are not enough of the remaining athletes for a fifth line. The fence, separating the training area, has been slightly shifted, which will be appreciated by both recreational skiers and coaches – after all, it is nice to be able to use the „free skiing” part also for improving some carved turns with a larger radius.
Starting ramp for 4 teams!
So far, there were 2 teams on the „ramp”, which divided the lines into better and worse ones, and also created an unnecessary queue to the starting gate. It also created dangerous situations, because in order to get to the start, located under the ramp, one had to cross one of the slalom lines. Now the ramp is so extensive, that every line can start from it. There are to be 4 wickets for mounting the timing, so the lines are equal.
New snow
The production of new snow is a standard procedure, performed by Lithuanians every few months.
So much for the news. Snow Arena is still a well-organized training place, where we can expect:
- Precisely planned training timetable (reservations of 2-hour training blocks and specific lines),
- Constant, predictable training conditions (temperature, very hard snow, high humidity),
- Good conditions for teams (dedicated ski boxes for maintaining and storage of equipment, possibility of buying lunch packages for groups, etc.),
- Emphasys on racing skiing (good „slalom capacity” of the slope, limited free skiing zone),
- Rigorous approach to procedures (obligation to follow the schedule, fill pole holes after each training, have a drill stopper – financial penalties for non-compliance).
The closest Ski Spa slalom camp will be conducted 24-25 September 2022 and we… can also teach in English ?