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Ice Mountain Adventure Park: a haven for thrill-seekers

23:53 12/03/2017
Since Ice Mountain Adventure Park opened in 1999, thousands of snow devotees have zipped up their ski jackets and descended its indoor slopes.

Since Ice Mountain Adventure Park opened in 1999, thousands of snow devotees have zipped up their ski jackets and descended its indoor slopes. Activities such as paintballing, laser gaming and aerial climbing now provide year-round appeal, and the park’s latest venture – indoor freefall skydiving – is another big attraction.

“We are now one of the biggest players in oneday tourism in Wallonia,” says owner Stéphane Fievez, an entrepreneur and budding helicopter pilot. “While there are other places to skydive in Belgium, our place is unique because we are a complete adventure park.”

Not content with a record figure of 350,000 visitors last year, Fievez has set his sights on reaching 500,000 in 2017. “While our location is not necessarily close for everyone, it’s also not far for everyone. We have visitors from France as well as Belgium,” he says.

Comines-Warneton is a western outpost of Wallonia, between Kortrijk and Ypres.
Locally born Fievez chose the site for his ambitious project as it was one of the few willing to give the green light to the 40m-high installation. The soaring structure dominates the surrounding flat countryside.

Driving into the park, you discover the paintball, laser and aerial climbing grounds under and around the ski slopes. As you enter the lobby bar, your first sight is a tall transparent tube in which two helmeted and suited figures are defying gravity in the wind tunnel. The flyer, accompanied by a trained instructor, is on a team-building exercise from France. Colleagues film his experience as the instructor helps him remain level.

“We work with a lot of companies and there are also a lot of first-time flyers who come for fun,” says Fievez. “It’s good to have your first experience in a simulator, as you’re more stable than when you drop out of a plane. Even with pro flyers, there is always an instructor on standby for safety.”

Beyond the lobby, there’s a ski and snowboard shop, a reception desk for the various activities and a rental shop for ski and snowboard equipment. At the foot of the ski slopes are two restaurants, seating 600. Along with their panoramic views, they offer all the trimmings of an alpine vacation. The rustic wooden chalet with its open fires are a suitable setting to enjoy specialities from the Savoy region of France, including raclette, fondue and tartiflette, as well as various warming mulled wines and grog. As the restaurant facilities are open to outsiders, many locals come in winter to join the holiday atmosphere.

Aside from being a fun family day out, the indoor snow centre provides the perfect opportunity for a pre-season warm up or to sample skiing or snowboarding for the first time. The main slope is 210m long, includes an acrobatic fun park and is served by a T-bar lift. A second 85m slope has a gentler gradient for those learning to ski, with a magic carpet surface lift. Both have 60cm of fresh snow.

The Ice Mountain team have made a concerted effort to transform the park into
a year-round destination. “Last summer we opened an outdoor chalet with a large seating area and barbecue. Combined with the outdoor activities, it makes us relevant in the summer,” explains Chris Verghote who is responsible for marketing and communication.

He underlines the importance of evolving as a tourist destination and offering good value. “We have launched day packages where you pay once and can do activities all day,” he says. “If parents aren’t taking part they don’t have to pay, but can just enjoy watching their children. It’s a unique offer; an experience that is adventurous, not passive.”

The park runs holiday camps for children and ski lessons for school groups, as well as organising birthday and communion parties. It also has potential to host large events for up to 1,000 people. On the corporate front, there is a full range of business incentives and facilities. "Companies are mainly looking for a combination of seminars and fun activities,” Verghote says.

Employing an equivalent of 50 full-time workers, rising to 70 in the winter, Ice Mountain plays an important role in the local economy. Staff are all required to be bilingual, French and Dutch. “We have been to see the mayor of Comines, telling him what we do and how we draw tourists to the area as well as create jobs,” says Fievez.

“I like to do new things,” he adds. “Now that we have the skydiving, I’m looking for something else. If you don’t do new things, one day the customer will forget you.”

www.ice-mountain.com

This article first appeared in WAB (Wallonia and Brussels) magazine

Written by Sarah Crew