A 57 year old skier nicknamed “Downhill Dave” has completed an astonishing 46,008 ski runs but has never seen snow outside of Manchester, in his three and a half years of skiing experience has only skied outdoors once.
Downhill Dave – real name Dave Knowles – is a taxi marshall at the nearby Trafford Centre but spends much of his time on the piste at Machester’s Chill Factore indoor snow centre – visiting most days, except every other Sunday. But he makes up for that down-day by often doing two sessions at the snow slope on weekdays.
He skis so much he has, in fact, skied a massive 5,146 miles – as the crow flies the same distance as flying from London to California or skiing down Mt. Everest 100 times.
“I caught the bug after a skiing lesson at Chill Factore three and a half years ago and I’ve never looked back,” said Dave, who says he usually skis down the slope an average of 18 times per hour and normally books three-hour sessions. “I’ve never skied anywhere except Chill Factore but I’d like to save up to go and try my hand at a ski resort one day soon.”
“I love it at Chill Factore though – I go most days and I now own three pairs of skis and one snowboard. I love the fact I can meet lots of people from all walks of life here.”