More than a million Dutch people travel to the Alps every winter to ski. The rest of the year, the most enthusiasts frequent the slopes of one of the seven indoor centers.
It’s -6 degrees, the snow is crunching underfoot and children in ski lessons are hurtling down the slope, helmets and masks on their heads, heading towards the butt lift. And yet, some of them have never seen a mountain. They put their skis on a snowy slope in a shed located near a highway in Zoetermeer, in the west of the Netherlands, whose highest point rises to… only 322 meters.
Outside, it’s over 20°C in May and The Hague beach is nearby, but the Dutch are so passionate about winter sports that they happily leave behind their flip-flops and shorts to hit the snow.
And the surprise return to competition of the former world number one in alpine skiing, the Austrian Marcel Hirscher, this time in the colors of the Netherlands, his mother’s country, will only enthuse this team a little more. small nation keen on skiing.
7 centers in the country
The Netherlands is better known for its skating but no country has as many indoor ski complexes per capita: 7 centers for 18 million inhabitants, notes Herbert Cool, spokesperson for the Dutch Ski Federation ( NSkiV).
Plus 15 artificial ski slopes, made of materials that imitate the properties of snow, and 60 treadmills to perfect your technique. “Winter sports are very popular here, 1.1 million Dutch people go to the Alps every winter for winter sports”he explains. “It’s part of the Dutch culture to go to the snow at least one week a year, it’s friendly and we don’t mind traveling a little to have fun”.
The ski federation, which initially thought it was a joke, is delighted to welcome Marcel Hirscher, holder of multiple world and Olympic medals, to its colors. “We not only get someone with an excellent track record, but who is also a Source of inspiration», rejoices Mr. Cool, 39 years old, former biathlete.
“In the mountains, there are more slopes”
“Marcel Hirscher? I do not know”. Piotr, a Pole who has lived in the Netherlands for 15 years, arrives at the foot of the buttock puller with his son Jan. They follow the descents of the single red slope, 300 m long, with a slope of 20% – “the steepest indoor slope in Europe” according to the complex, which also has two blue and one green. “It’s good here, but in the mountains there are more slopes”confides Jan, 12 years old.
“After two hours on the same track we start to get a little bored, but the advantage is that we live 20 minutes from here”, says his father, a 45-year-old scientist. The most passionate is undoubtedly Patricia Cregten-Escobar, a 43-year-old Colombian married to a Dutchman and who learned to ski in Zoetermeer. “I love skiing and for the past 6 months, I have come almost every dayshe says. I am well equipped, I have heated gloves.”
Outside, the sun beats down on the parking lot, where skiers are packing their coats, hats and mittens into their cars. Patricia admits that the situation is somewhat “weird”at a time when skiing is under debate due to global warming. “SnowWorld works very hard on sustainability, trying to make all activities CO2 neutral”especially with solar panels, says Herbert Cool. “But the fact is there’s a giant refrigerator here and it’s 20 degrees outside.”he concedes.
