Whether you’re heading to the snow for the first time and want to sneak in a lesson to impress on the slopes, or you’re looking to refine your skills without the road trip and long chairlift lines, Vertikal Indoor Snow Sports brings the ski fields to you.
While there’s a large community of snow sport enthusiasts in Australia, our snow season is short and unreliable. Vertikal fills this gap by offering a place to practise and to stay snow fit all year round at their never-ending season, conveniently located at Fyshwick’s Dairy Road.
Originally hailing from Austria, general manager Rupert Winkler fell in love with the Australian snowfields – and an Australian woman – before permanently moving here in 1999. Having taught and skied (and boarded) all over the world, he notes that while Australia may not have the best quality snow he has ever seen, it does have the most unique setting.
“There’s no other place where you ski amongst gum trees. The scenery in Australia is one of a kind, every time,” Rupert smiles.
There are three separate runs at Vertikal; each is 5 by 9 metres, made from white artificial lawn with a sprinkler system underneath to keep it wet and easy to glide on. The hydraulic system allows the instructors to alter the steepness and speed of the run while the three-person limit, all of similar skill level, drastically reduces the risk of injury.
“At the snow, it’s a big place with lots of people; you never know what could cross your path, so we take this all away.”
Instructors will guide you through the steps of learning how to strap in, stand, glide down the mountain, all the way to helping refine the skills of more experienced snow boarders and skiers. The one-way mirrors in front of the slope means you can receive instant feedback rather than the stop-start style you receive from instructors on a mountain. According to Rupert, a half-hour practice here is equal to a half-day on the real slopes.
Many of the instructors have also taught at the snowfields so are able to explain how the skills learned on the artificial slope translate to real life powder. Returning customers praise the practical application of the skills learned at the centre.
Rupert says customers visit all year round, largely because the skills and muscles used practising snow sports can’t be replicated at the gym or running.
“You wear the same equipment, your muscles are used to it, so when you go to the snow, your body is used to ski boots. But if you just go to the gym and you’re super fit, but you go to the snow for the first time and put on ski boots, it hurts because our feet are not made for plastic shells.”
Vertikal will also train you to avoid things like trees or small children by placing soft plastic cones on the run for you to practise your swerving skills in the hopes of preventing awkward and painful encounters when you hit the real slopes.
While the instructors do a great job of preparing you for what it’s like to hit the ski fields, there are a couple of differences that are important to note. There will be no mid-run trip to a mountain bar, you can’t drink and ride at Vertikal, and the only thing you can’t practise is how to get off the chairlift at the top of the mountain.
In the answer to the age-old question of what snow sport is superior, Rupert’s preference is skiing as he grew up doing it and knows that he is better at it.
Hit the field at Vertikal Indoor Snow Sport at Dairy Road, Fyshwick; vertikalsnowsports.com
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