Go faster with extreme winter sports
Do you enjoy snowsports but want something a little different to skiing and snowboarding? If so, how does extreme sledging grab you? Centres such as Chill Factore in Manchester are serving up a range of exciting, extreme snowsports – all without you having to break out the passport and travel overseas.
Snowscooting, for example, fuses BMXing and snowboarding to create a high-octane thrill ride, while extreme sledging will see you ride specially designed sledges that enable you to bob and weave down a 180m course. And if you’re feeling really adventurous, try airboarding, where you slide headfirst on an inflatable down a steep, snow-covered slope.
“A 45-minute airboarding session gives the thrilling experience of bodyboarding on real snow,” says Chill Factore’s Emma Cusick. “We’ve cranked up the speed and added over 100 metres of slope to race on, so you can enjoy the most exhilarating time yet!”
Curious to see how many calories you burn on the indoor slopes? Want to see the effect that all of this extreme sledging has on your heart rate? Monitor the whole shebang with the Polar A360. A waterproof, easy-towear fitness tracker and heart-rate monitor, it’ll keep tabs on your activity throughout your extreme-wintersports day.
It even has a personalised training-guidance feature, Polar Smart Coaching, for when you’re training away from the slopes.
START YOUR ADVENTURE TODA Y
Book your extreme snow experience at chillfactore.com. Airboarding costs £14 per person at off-peak times, while extreme sledging and snowscooting will each set you back £20. Sessions last for between 45 and 50 minutes.
All three activities can be tried by anyone over the age of 12. There’s no prior skill required, either, so you don’t need to be a snowboarder or a BMXer.
To keep your fitness tracked and your heart rate monitored, visit polar.com to pick up a Polar A360 (£154.50). A stylish device that’s available in five colours, the A360 works with Android and iOS devices, has a vibrating notifications function (for when you receive texts, calls and emails), and will track your sleep – all on a two-week battery life.
“Extreme sledging will see you ride specially designed sledges that enable you to weave down a 180m course”