Indoor skiing

I went skiing last weekend in Hong Kong - seriously. The city's one and only indoor ski centre, Slope Infinity, opened a year ago on Electric Road, a stone's throw from Victoria Park. As we're right in the middle of the ski season, the place was booked out for a week in advance with people getting in practice before hitting the slopes in Japan, Korea and Switzerland.

There is no snow at Slope Infinity. Instead there are two revolving ski decks - giant slanted treadmills with commercial-grade carpets running over turbine-driven rollers. The larger deck can accommodate up to three students at a time and has a fixed 14-degree gradient. The second deck is smaller, but more versatile. Its pitch is variable and can be cranked up to offer a 19-degree slope on which you can reach speeds of up to 25km an hour, simulating the conditions of an advanced black ski slope.

The controlled environment of an indoor training session means beginners pick up the basic skills much faster than if they were on a real mountain faced with the distractions of icy conditions and other skiers. The revolving carpet means the trainee is able to stay in one place, with the instructor by his side. If the skier falls, the instructor hits a remote control that stops the deck immediately.

Skiing indoors on a training deck is not as exhilarating as flying down a mountain with the wind in your hair - but that's not the point. The deck isn't meant to replace a mountain; it's meant to help you prepare for it. If you are an absolute beginner and are heading off on a skiing holiday, a few sessions on the decks will give you the basic skills you need to keep you off your bottom when you hit the slopes.

Practice is the key to getting anything right. Slope Infinity trainers say people need about six sessions on the decks to become familiar with the basic techniques and turns. Snowboarding is supposed to me more difficult in the beginning, but is easier to master once you have go the basics.