Cleaning the grass skis would prove a tedious chore however.
Most oil to make the skis slicker and run faster was banned as it would kill the grass, but according to Molly Gill – Sheffield Sharks Ski Club founder and the secretary of South Yorkshire Grass Ski Club – vegetable oil was the preferred lubricant.
“They were horrendous to clean. Think of a thin tractor wheel, that’s what they were like – though we used a normal Alpine boot,” she says.
“You’d ski all morning and then spend the rest of the Sunday cleaning the skis with soap and water from a bucket.
“It wasn’t just the grass but the oil and grass would clog.”
Looking down at the 300m (985ft) drop from the top of the grass hill at Rother Valley to the lake below, Gill, 82, reflects on the changes to the site.
“It seems even steeper that I remember,” she says.
“I wouldn’t want to grass ski on it now. It’s like a mini mogul field.”