Sno-much fun under one roof! (Snozone, Milton Keynes)

Member Name: melvinium

Product:	Snozone, Milton Keynes
Date:	28/05/09 (95 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great fun

Disadvantages: Bruised bottoms!

At the beginning of May, I turned 30, I know it is hard to believe as I look so young, but 'tis true. I had already been to several 30th birthday parties over the last couple of years as most of my friends are the same age as me, so had been to an 80s night, cocktail party and various others, and I wanted to do something a bit different.

My first idea was to hire a cottage somewhere and have a big BBQ, some booze and a couple of nights exploring a new destination, however I had numerous different budgets to cater for particular in the time of the recession, so no-one could confirm what they could afford, therefore it was difficult to find something that would suit everyone when I didn't know how many people were going to come.

At a loss one day in February, my husband suggested to me the Sno!Zone in Milton Keynes. He said we could find a nice hotel nearby and arrange some snow activites. I wasn't overly bothered by the Snow activities, but thought that it could be fun, so started to look into.

As there was to be a fairly large group of us, I arranged through the group bookings department at Sno!zone. I was dealt with by a very helpful man called Daryl (totally recommend him if you need to speak to someone there). He asked what we all wanted to do (no-one had a clue) and gave us various options and price lists.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, after a couple of months of organization trying to figure out what my friends wanted to do and when we wanted to do it, we had 3 sessions booked.

A 1 hour beginners snowboarding lesson for 7 of us ( we decided that Snowboarding was cooler than skiing so opted for that) a 2 hour recreational session for 2 people (who were already capable snowboarders and reached a certain criteria that Snozone ask you to reach before you are allowed on the recreational slope on your own) and a tobogganing session for 8 of us.

First up was the snowboarding lesson, you wouldn't believe how terrified we all were when we saw the slope, and the people wizzing down it doing jumps and such like.

We had a fab instructor called Jules, who was really motivated and friendly (and she told me she guessed I was around 25 - so she is good at flattery!) who taught us how to attach our boots to our boards, and how to take them off.

We then headed out to the lesson slope. This section is cordoned off so that beginners and novices can learn in relative peace without getting in the way of the experts!

We went straight up to the top of this slope, and practiced putting on our boards, before standing facing the top of the slope and sliding down backwards to the middle of the slope. After a number of times doing this we learnt to go backwards and to the side, stop, and then go backwards and to the other side of the slope. It was actually pretty difficult, and my bum was freezing from me spending so much time on it rather than standing up. It was brilliant fun though, and the hour wizzed by and before we knew it, our time was up.

We had one final race down the slope where we took our boards off and sat on them in between the bindings and slid down the hill like a sledge, this was great fun although I nearly ended up on the recreational slope as my board was slightly facing to the left - oops!

I really recommend that if you go snowboarding or skiing you wear something which is totally waterproof and also slightly padded. I wore combats and some waterproofs and although I was warm enough, my bottom was a tad cold, and bruised by the time we finished.

The two recreational boarders were still going and we were all impressed with how easy they made it look. We sat and watched them in the viewing area with a refreshing drink.

Soon it was time for the tobogganing. We were somewhat embarrassed when we turned up and there were around 15 children and then us adults. We grabbed a toboggan which was basically a tiny piece of plastic shaped to fit on your bum, with 2 handles. We soon learnt that the knack was to lean as far backwards as we could to build up speed, and it was great fun zooming down the hill racing each other, the only problem was the climb back up to the top of the slope.

There is a section cordoned off for tobogganing, and we were only half as high as we had been for the boarding, but this time instead of getting on a conveyor belt style lift, we had to climb up the hill. The first few times were tiring, but great fun, after around 10 times though, we were getting a bit fed up and tired out. The children had long since given up so we practically had the whole slope to ourselves, but soon we were defeated by the slog up the slope so we went in too. The total tobogganing session was 45 minutes, but we only lasted 30.

The price.
We paid £27 each for the 1 hour beginners lesson and in my opinion it was worth it as the equipment hire (board, boots and helmet) was included in this price. However, the first lesson you spend 10 minutes or so getting to grips with your boards before you even head out onto the slopes, so you only really get to go down the slope for 30 minutes or so excluding the time it takes to get back up on the lift.
Tobogganing was £14 for 45 minutes, but I think 30 minutes would have been a long enough session.

2 hours of recreational snowboarding was £31.
Since the initial session, 4 of us have been back for a second lesson, and 2 for a further 3rd and 4th lesson and we are already discussing a snow holiday this year or beginning of next.
I would really recommend this experience to anyone who is physically capable.

Thanks for reading.

Summary: If you have ever contemplated it for a minute give it a go, it is great fun!