Grospiron, crowned as the the first Olympic moguls skiing champion at Albertville in 1992, is visiting the United Arab Emirates as part of the French delegation lobbying on Annecy's behalf.

The team at Ski Dubai who have been able to make 30 tons of fresh dry powder snow fall each night for the last four years when the centre is closed, have now developed the technology to make real snow fall during the daytime when the snow park is open.

The 22,500 square metres resort is part of the Mall of the Emirates and features an 85-meter high indoor mountain with 5 slopes of varying steepness and difficulty, including a 400-meter-long run, the world's first indoor black run, and a 90-meter-long quarter pipe for snowboarders.

Grospiron said: "Winter sport is all my life.

"And I really wanted to experience skiing in its astonishing environment."

Annecy, along with its rivals for the 2018 Games, Munich and Pyeongchang, is using the SportAccord here to promotes its bid.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected] 


Related stories
April 2010: Sarkozy - We will do everything possible to win Olympic bid
April 2010: Annecy launch Club 2018 to back Olympic bid
March 2010: Sarkozy adds support to Annecy 2018 Olympic bid
March 2010: Annecy reveals details of Olympic and Paralympic bid
March 2010: Annecy delivers Applicant File for 2018 Olympic bid