Snow Skiing in the Desert of Arabia (Mall of the Emirates)

Everybody knows that fantastic snow skiing can be found in places such as the Swiss Alps, Utah, and  the Colorado Rockies. Many of you though might be surprised to hear that great skiing can also be found in North Carolina, as well as a few other places in the Southern United States. But would you believe it if I told you that snow skiing could also be found in a Middle Eastern desert? It’s no Breckenridge, but if you ever find yourself in the United Arab Emirates, in the city of Dubai, look no further than the Mall of the Emirates for snowy fun on the slopes!

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Donning their winter garb and eager to hit the slopes, varied crowds of people form up inside the Mall of the Emirates’ Ski Dubai. Forget the Alps or the Rockies, everybody knows that the world’s best snow skiing in the world can only be found inside Middle-eastern shopping malls. Seriously though, this indoor snow skiing complex is really one-of-a-kind. I guess that’s all just par for the course though when you’re talking about all of the wonderous innovations found within the vertical city of Dubai.

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With the Dubai Mall being one notable exception, the Mall of the Emirates is truly a one-of-a-kind shopping and entertainment mecca. This mega-mall boasts the world’s largest indoor snow park, an amazing 3000 square meters of snowy playground right in the heart of Arabia. There are 5 slopes of various difficulty as well as chair lifts, toboggan  runs, and a snow cave for the kiddies. The resort is encased in glass so spectators can watch the action while eating and shopping in this city’s second largest mega-mall.

Scenic snow skiing scene while dining inside the Mall of the Emirates.

Speaking from experience, it will not take you very long to warm up after a day at the slopes. As soon as you walk out the doors of the mall you’ll have searing, scorching skies and an average temperature of about 113 degrees fahrenheit bearing down on you. I once cooked a dozen medium eggs, all still in the carton, simply by walking two blocks from the grocery store to my hotel room… okay, you got me! That story was just made up but I think you catch my meaning here. Dubai, and the entire United Arab Emirates for that matter, are known for their extreme temperatures. That shouldn’t come as any surprise though. Dubai is literally built upon a desert land located under a Middle-Eastern sun.

The Burj Khalifa, known to be the world’s tallest buiding and standing at 160 stories, is pictured in the background of this image.

The torrid desert heat is perfect weather for snow skiing at Ski Dubai. However, if skiing isn’t really your thing, there are many other venues for cooling off in this vertical city. Outside the lagoons and beaches, there are family-fun attractions such as the Wadi Wadi Waterpark, Atlantis Dubai, and Legoland Waterpark. However one decides to beat the heat, there is no better place to do that in than Dubai.

An exterior view of the Mall of the Emirates  which houses the indoor snow skiing complex.

The attached gray shell, pictured above, contains the entire indoor ski resort. During my lengthy stay in Dubai, I lived just down the block at the swanky Coral Boutique Villas.

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Big John chillin’ in Dubai, U.A.E.

Now there’s one good-looking dude pictured in the red shirt above! He seems like a really cool guy and I bet he’s got an awesome travel-adventure blog called Big John’s Adventures in Travel.  If you would really like to really get to know him, subscribe to his blog, post a comment, or revisit his site soon.

Happy travels,

Big John


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