At the top of the lift, I tighten the bindings on my snowboard and prepare to drop in for another run. Ahead of me lies a freshly-groomed piste littered with a variety of jumps and obstacles, across which skiers and snowboarders of all ages are sliding, spinning and airing. Someone nearby comes clattering off an oblong box amid a flurry of snow and ski poles, dusts himself down and sets off again. I look back down at the biggest of the jumps – a scary-looking cheese wedge of snow – and try to visualise my trick. It's only October, but the sharp air turns my breath to mist. In here though, it's always this cold. I turn my board towards the ramp and let gravity take over.

Welcome to Friday night at Manchester's Chill Factore, one of a growing number of "real" snow centres in the UK. Essentially a giant fridge with a shopping centre attached, the 100m slope is the closest to an authentic skiing experience this side of the Alps – Scottish Highlands aside. There are five such indoor slopes in England and one in Scotland and, along with the plastic dryslopes, they form part of a network of artificial skiing facilities across the UK.

I'm in Manchester to meet Pat Sharples, the man in charge of the instructional classes known as the Salomon Grom Camps. The scheme began in 2005 when Sharples, a former professional skier for the Salomon brand, was training the elite freestyle team at the nearby Rossendale dryslope.

"Loads of people started coming along to the slope and asking if they could join in," he recalls, "and we just said, 'sure, why not?'" Before long demand for places had seen the coaching sessions expand to 15 locations. Despite the name (grom is surf slang for kid), Pat stresses that all ages are welcome:

"The youngest camper we've had is five," he tells me, "but you're never too old to join in. The oldest we've coached is 65. We gave him a pair of twin-tip skis and in one session he went away having learned 180s and slides on boxes, and he was attempting 360s."

Skiers are put into groups according to ability, with coaches drawn from the country's finest freeskiers, including James Woods (British Big Air and Slopestyle Champion), Andy Bennett ("the Michael Schumacher of skiing") and, on the women's side, Team GB member Becky Hammond. "The kids love it 'cos they've seen them in the ski movies and magazines," says Sharples.

Such is the quality of the training that some graduates of the Grom Camps are now professional skiers themselves, and are returning to the camps as teachers. One such skier is Joe Tomlinson, current British Junior Big Air Champion.

"Learning on the camps was brilliant," he fizzes. "I'd always come away having learned at least one trick. But as a teacher when you have a group of 10 people and every single one of them learns a flip or a spin, that's amazing too."

Sharples "pays the coaches well", but believes they would work for free if they needed to. In fact, the most striking aspect of the camps is the community spirit driving everything, from the friendly, cooperative learning environment to the organisation of the training. Newcomers are recruited through flyers and word of mouth, while the prizes handed out at the end of each session – for achievements such as "most improved" and "hardest working" – are donated by sponsors and parents. Sharples also negotiates a discount with the snow centres: every camp is £30, including coaching, equipment and between two and four hours on the slopes. "I try to keep it affordable for every kid. And most people go away with more money's worth in prizes than they spent on the camp."

As a snowboarder, I can't help feeling a little jealous that we don't have a similar coaching set-up of our own, although I'm sure it is only a matter of time. The truth is that the Salomon Camps are far from an isolated beacon of hope for Britain's snow lovers. Every night, skiers and snowboarders are piling into cars and driving to their nearest slope for a fix, while plans for more indoor snow centres are at an advanced stage. In 2013 Snoasis will open in Suffolk, boasting the longest indoor ski slope in Europe. Winter sport is alive and well in the UK.

All of which brings us to the Olympics. With the Vancouver Games on the horizon in February, and skiing half pipe set to become an official discipline four years later, could this unlikely breeding ground for talent one day produce a UK gold medallist? "Definitely," says Sharples. "We're coaching people on the British team right now who could be serious contenders for the half pipe in 2014."

• salomongromcamps.co.uk; chillfactore.com