Sheffield Ski Village suffers yet another fire
Those hoping to enjoy the slopes of the Sheffield Ski Village before their ski getaways in France this winter have been dashed, after the facility suffered its fifth fire in just three years.
Happening earlier this week, pictures of the slopes engulfed in roaring flames quickly spread across social media and led to series of light-hearted comments from users, many suggesting that the village is cursed.
The Ski Village, once home to the UK’s premier dry ski slope, has been officially closed since 2012 after an accidental fire destroyed the main building and heavily damaged the slope. Following the closure, a further three fires have ruined the slope even further. As these fires were deemed to be deliberate, there have been calls from local residents to remove all flammable material to reduce the risk of fires in the future.
Professional skiers and snowboarders did make a return to the village just a couple of months ago, creating a powerful video of them navigating the now treacherous terrain. To see the video, we’ve included it here in our previous article.
Once thought to be the largest artificial ski resort anywhere in Europe, the village comprised of a nursery slope, a recreational slope and a freestyle park laden with kickers, rails and a quarter pipe amongst other apparatus. It served as the training ground for some of the UK’s premier skiing talents, including James Woods and Katie Summerhayes, who both represented Team GB in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Snowboarders and fellow Olympians Zoe Gillings and Jamie Nicholls have also used the facility to train in the past.
While the Sheffield Ski Village is likely to be out of action for the near future, there are countless facilities up and down the country to help you learn the ropes before your ski chalet trip to Meribel later this year.
Check out our guide to places in the UK where you can practice snow sports for details of your nearest training facility.
Image Credit: Andy Wright (Flickr.com)