You Can Ski on Real Snow in London This Weekend, No Mountain Required

This Saturday, October 11, 2025, something unexpected will join Big Ben and black cabs on the streets of London: a pond skim for skiers with real snow.

The event honoring the merino wool brand Icebreaker’s 30th anniversary will be held at Potters Fields Park near the Tower Bridge from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Fittingly, it’s called Skim City.

Public registration for Skim City is now open, and coaches from Maison Sport, a ski lesson company, will be on site to help out pond skimming first timers. The schedule also includes a pro jam and the Skim City showdown. Arguably the best part of pond skims, spectating, is free. 

To participate in the skim itself, Icebreaker asks that skiers and snowboarders be “advanced,” meaning they’re comfortable on all the runs at a ski resort and can handle varied terrain. Each of the two time slots is limited to 20 riders. Signing a waiver is required.

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It won’t be the first time the mountains have come to London. Last fall, Peak Performance held a grand opening for a retail store in the city, holding a rail jam with pros like Alex Hackel and Theo Thoren. Those skiers, among others, sessioned a small collection of rail features, which, similar to Skim City, were surrounded by real snow.

Other city skiing curiosities include the ski jump that was once built inside Boston’s famous Fenway Park. An even less likely contender, San Francisco, had its own ski jump as well, back in 2005, thanks in part to mogul skiing superstar Jonny Moseley. 

Among skiers, Icebreaker may be best known for its toasty, 100% merino base layers that help cut through chilly weather on the mountains. Merino has a reputation for moisture-wicking, but in the case of the botched pond skims that are sure to come on Saturday in London, it’ll still get wet.

That’s all part of the pond skimming fun, though—whether you succeed or fail, the crowd will cheer you on. 

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