UAE Plans First Outdoor Ski Resort In Mountains Near Musandam Peninsula

The UAE "might soon have a ski resort in a natural environment," to go along with its artifical indoor ski slope at the Mall of the Emirates, according to Saifur Rahman of GULF NEWS. The Ras Al Khaimah government is developing a ski resort on its mountains bordering Oman’s Musandam peninsula where visitors "can ski in a natural and open environment." A road network to reach the peak where Jebel Jais Resort would be built is 70% complete. It "snows occasionally on the mountain during winter" -- which "may not be enough for operating an all-year-round ski facility, necessitating artificial means to generate ice." RAK Airways President Murabit Al Sawaf said, "We are currently experimenting with the technology to produce a large quantity of ice during winter. Once it’s done successfully, we will have the region’s first winter ski resort in Ras Al Khaimah" (GULF NEWS, 5/6).