Ski Runs Turn Into Mountain Bike Resorts
It was a good season for ski resorts last year. America celebrated great snowfall at many of their resorts last year and Europe had some good bouts as well. Canada however didn’t have the same luck and many of their slopes were lacking snow, although they can’t complain with the great seasons they’ve had in years gone by. A great deal of ski area owners breathed a sigh of relief as the economic downturn threatened to wipe out skiers and snowboarders all together. Many already began to think about new ways to make money in the summer months however, as everyone is well aware that they are not out of the woods just yet.
America introduced a bill to Congress recently which would make it easier for local ski areas to build summertime amenities. Many resorts in Europe have expressed and interested in the same idea. Normally a typical ski resort might earn around 15% of their income during the summer months. If the facilities where opened up to a greater variety of sports and sporting events then their could be a dramatic increase in the percentage. The sport that most people support being introduced is mountain biking
There are often mountain bike trails at the base of ski mountains already and shops selling mountain bikes dotted around the areas. This would make the sport very accessible both to locals and visitors alike as they would not be forced to purchase or transport their own gear, just rent it as they would snowboards. The proposed idea however is for mountain biking a little more on the extreme side of things, utilising the ski lifts that are already in place to host downhill mountain biking events and competitions on the steep runs.
Roger Joules who runs one of Lake Tahoe’s ski resorts says “mountain bikers have been looking for some steep and challenging runs and our slopes are perfect for that in the summer. If we charge a small amount for the use of our lifts then it’s a situation where both parties win”. Roger has also said that they are looking into the possibility of building a wave machine on a section of the lake so that people can pitch up with their surfboards and ride some breaks in the summer months. This is still a long way off he points out.
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Tags: mountain biking, resorts, Ski Resorts, skiing, snowboarding
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