Two records broken: Greatest distance skied blind or blindfolded in an indoor ski centre in one hour; and greatest distance skied in an indoor ski centre in 8 hours.
The activity is part of Ski Dubai’s bigger drive to raise awareness for visually impaired and disabled athletes, as it continues to upgrade its facilities and activity offerings to cater for all.
Dubai: Ski Dubai is now the proud holder of two new Guinness World Records titles.
The successful record attempts were part of the resort’s ongoing efforts to raising awareness for visually impaired and disabled athletes and designed to provide a platform for local UAE and disabled skiers to showcase their talent on the slopes, Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, announced.
The event took place on Sunday October 8, when 12 visually-impaired skiers first broke the "Greatest distance skied blind or blindfolded in one hour in an indoor snow centre" title, followed by a group of over 100 who broke the "Greatest distance skied in an indoor ski centre in eight hours" title — both of which were officiated by the team from Guinness World Records
Visually impaired
The first Guinness World Records title attempt included 12 participants, 10 of which were blindfolded and two were visually impaired.
Yves Kilchor and Jonas Pauchard, the two visually impaired skiers from Switzerland, were guided by Andreas Aellen and Gustavo Montero down the slope, skiing 25.1 km.
Over 100 participants then took on the challenge of breaking the record for the greatest distance ever skied in an indoor ski resort in under eight hours, covering over 302.3 km.
The participants included Ski Dubai’s own Sponsored Athletes team, as well as students from seven local schools in Dubai: Nord Anglia School, Shouafat, GWA School, GEMS Wellington Primary School, Jumeirah College, North London College, and Saffa School Community.
Commenting on the achievement, Mohammad El Etri, General Manager of Ski Dubai said: “We are very proud to have successfully completed two Guinness World Records attempts, as part of our efforts to raise awareness for visually impaired and disabled athletes.
At Ski Dubai, we want create great moments for everyone, every day and being able to provide state-of-the-art facilities and activities for everyone is essential. With this in mind, and in line with Dubai’s initiative to becoming a disabled-friendly city by 2020, we have ensured that our ski resort caters for all visitors with disabilities.
"Our visitor’s needs are our priority and we will continue to put these at the forefront of all our offerings.”
This activity is another milestone in Ski Dubai’s on-going efforts to raise awareness for disabled athletes and ensuring that the ski resort can be enjoyed by all.
Over the past eight years Ski Dubai’s annual Ice Warrior Challenge, has raised over Dh400,000 for Dubai-based charities and this year donating a portion of its proceed to Noor Dubai to help raise awareness for the visually impaired and those physically challenged across the Emirates.
In addition to its charitable contributions, Ski Dubai continues to invest heavily in its facilities to make them more disabled-friendly.
Earlier this year, Ski Dubai completed its new passenger lift, which provides disabled guests with easy access to the slopes.
The lift is fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards and features specific controls for guests using wheelchairs, as well as control buttons with brail detail, allowing anyone with a visual impairment to operate the lift.
Ski Dubai’s ongoing investments in upgrading its facilities guarantees that the ski resort is inclusive and welcoming to all guests, as well as in line with all international standards.
The world-class facilities welcome about one million guests per year, which is widely regarded as the international benchmark for any major ski resort, making it an ideal venue for hosting globally renowned snowsport events.
