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University Ski Slope Aims to 'Bring People to Christ'
First all-weather slope 'of its kind in North America'
By Matt Cantor
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Posted Aug 31, 09 9:59 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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Virginia’s Liberty University presented its new synthetic ski slope—the first in North America—this weekend with extreme performances from pro skiers and snowboarders. The chancellor of the Christian university, Jerry Falwell, showed off his own moves after paying tribute to his dad, the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, who wanted the ski slope to bring more students to the school “and, ultimately, bring more people to Christ,” writes the Lynchburg News and Advance.
The slope ties in with the elder Falwell’s evangelic aim of “saturation evangelism”—to “reach every available person with every available means.” Said his son: “We’re just proud to be the only university in the world with its own Snowflex ski slope,” which allows skiing in any weather—without the snow, ABC News reports. Some say the Snowflex—basically carpet watered down by misters—performs very much like snow, with the caveat that long pants and long sleeves are critical, as falls can produce nasty rug burns, the News and Advance notes.