Ski Show time in London
With last week's snowfall across the Alps, excitement about the forth-coming season is mounting. However we still have over a month before the first resorts fully open their lifts and pistes. If your craving for carving is becoming too much to bear, then you can always whet your appetite with one of the up-coming ski shows in London.
From Wednesday 22nd October, London's Olympia Arena will be hosting the 35th Metro Ski and Snowboard for 5 days. During the show, trade stands from the biggest ski and snowboard manufacturers and retailers will fill the Grand Hall with the very latest equipment. Entertainment will come in numerous forms; there's live music in the “Gigloo”, skating on the ice rink at the Trespass Ice Kingdom, fashion shows and ski and snowboard demos from some of Britain's top riders, who will be hitting the new spine in the centre of the arena.
The Ski Show is also home to the London Ride, the first stop in Warren Smith's Ride Tour which also has events in Verbier and Saas Fee.
The ski show is a great day out but this year it looks like the old favourite is going to be over-shadowed by a newer, cooler and younger rival; The LG London Freeze. This music and freestyle ski/snowboard festival is competing directly with the ski show as it runs at the same time, 23rd-26th, less than five miles away in Battersea, and to be honest it looks like a far more attractive day out.
A 17m real snow, table top kicker will be set up for the event, upon which some of the world's top freestyle skiers and snowboarders will be competing. The line-up is a real who's who of freestyle; two-time Olympic silver medallist Danny Kass, Finish wunderkinds Antti Autti and Risto Mattila, Brit heroes Dan Wakeham and Dom Harrington and a whole host of other incredible riders will be competing in the FIS Snowboard World Cup comp to be held on the kicker.
If you prefer skis to boards then you will not be disappointed. The ski line-up includes some of the most progressive and exciting skiers on the freestyle circuit. Tanner Hall, JF Houlie, Jon Olsson and Andreas Hatveit will all be in London and what these guys can't do on skis is currently impossible.
The music line up is equally impressive - The Enemy, Reverend and the Makers and The Automatic will be joining over thirty other bands and DJ's who will be playing over the four days. If that's not exciting enough, on Saturdays main stage, headliners are none other than Cypress Hill. Cypress Hill!! The Californian super-stoners will be playing in the 10,000 capacity tent in the centre of the show ground, promising to provide an awesome finale to a day of great bands and incredible skiing and snowboarding.
The Freeze also includes an après ski bar area and an exhibition stand and premiers of the new movies from the Forum team and Grenade team will be screened. All in all it looks like a great day out or a long weekend of partying and riding.
So the slopes might not be open yet (well they are in Tignes!!) but there is plenty in the capital to get the season started, whether you want a family day out or a party between the Ski Show and the Freeze ,you're catered for in October.
