A middle eastern desert tends to be the last place you would go for a spot of snowboarding. Sure, you can go and surf down a large dune, but what I’m talking about here is going down a snowy piste, at any time of the year in the middle of one of the worlds hottest countrys!

This year saw the opening of the third largest indoor snowdome in the world, in Dubai of all places.

It is estimated that in a single day an average of 3500 people will pay around $40 each for two hours on the slopes. Numbers of people arriving are expected to reach 5000 per day on busy days.

Burton, alongside other snowboard manufacturers have fully endorsed this venture, snowboard camps having been staged in the dome, hosted by some of the worlds best riders, Sani Alibabic and Gigi Ruf. Everything is available for rent from the board and bindings to the necessary clothing. Lessons enable anyone whether they are an expert or beginner to learn to snowboard at the next level.

Quite how this venture will fare remains to be seen. An even larger snowdome in Tokyo had to be disassembled due to lower than expected numbers of people turning up to use it. It seems as though very few people in Dubai have ever seen snow let alone been skiing or snowboarding.