Last September, a new ski resort opened.  This ski resort has chair lifts and snow patrols like any other ski resort.  It also has the familiar green, blue, red, and black ski runs.  But these ski runs are built inside a giant slanting metal tube more than 25 stories high. 

That is because they are a part of Ski Dubai, an indoor ski resort and snow park recently opened in the desert of the United Arab Emirates.  Unlike most ski resorts Ski Dubai will likely thrive during the summer, when temperatures in Dubai often rise well above 110° F.

The area covered by the resort boasts the equivalent of three football fields and towers over 25 stories high.  The atmosphere inside stays below freezing through the efforts of coolers both above and below the ski slopes, and snow precipitates by shooting pressurized water into the air.  In addition to the ski runs, Ski Dubai also has facilities for tobogganing, bobsledding, and snowboarding. 

The entrance price of $35 includes all clothing and equipment, and the facility provides knee-length padded coats for Arabs who wish to tour the facilities in their traditional robes.  However, skiing in the robes is forbidden.

Sources:

http://news.bbc.co.uk

http://www.aljazeera.net