When the opportunity came up to do a day of lessons at The Snow Centre, a dry slope in Hemel Hempstead, I was slightly sceptical that the lessons could be translated onto an actual ski slope ...

"I think everybody is surprised to start with when they look at it and it's not snow," said Christian Ingels, the director at Copenhill. "It's green dry-slope material. After one or two runs ...

"If you've skied on hard-packed snow, that's what dry slope feels like. The best part is you can ski all year and practice your skills." As a lifelong downhill skier, I was intrigued. Growing up ...

HAKONE, Kanagawa Prefecture--A sledding slope ... snow is open at the Hakone-en resort facility on the shores of Lake Ashinoko here to offer winter thrills even if the conditions are dry.