Ski slopes + mountain biking?
on February 6th, 2007
Above: View from the ski lift at Winterplace in West Virginia.
While I was in the mountains skiing not too long ago, I noticed that a handful of ski resorts offered mountain biking in the summer.
I was browsing the web and found this article about the risks of biking at ski areas. I read it more as background than as an assessment of the risks. It reported that approximately “158 NSAA member resorts reported having mountain bike trails at their areas, while 85 offer lift-serviced trails”. Well, I guess that’s more than a handful.
Does anyone have any experience with this? I thought it was an interesting concept. Would you go mountain biking on a ski slope?
6 responses to “Ski slopes + mountain biking?”. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Adrian
Posted on February 7th, 2007
I’m not a mountain biker, but:
There’s a whole sport unto itself called “downhill” racing.
they use really have full suspension bikes and shimano even makes compressed-air shifters for them so they can quickly shift gears while both wheels are in the air.
The great movie “2 seconds” tells the story of a downhill racer forced into retirement, turned bike messenger, rediscovering life.
here’s an unrelated clip of a guy doing downhill on a volcano and wiping out spectactularly, but apparently with surprisingly little injury considering…
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-162891478515007486
(this is NOT “2 seconds”)
Nick
Posted on February 7th, 2007
That’s an amazing clip. I love all the people with cameras… was he trying to break a record? In any case, that’s not something that people do every day.
I wasn’t too familiar with downhill mountain biking… sounds intense. I guess I didn’t make the connection between that and the mountain biking I do (if that makes sense).
Garry
Posted on February 9th, 2007
Yes, actually downhill mountain biking is my craving! I live in North Carolina, too. Sugar Mountain is an awesome ski slope to ride. I wouldn’t suggest a beginner to step foot on a downhill mountain bike trail. Start smaller like on a singletrack trail (and there is tons in NC!). There are downhill mountain bike camps offered (at ski slopes) that can take you to that next level. Of course, wrecks are part of it. But, practice makes perfect right? Mountain biking is a rush filled with adrenaline! If you ride, stick with it!
Nick
Posted on February 10th, 2007
Thanks for your comments. I’ll have to check that out… I have been meaning to try some singletrack trails.
Don’t worry, I think I’ll get comfortable on singletrack before I move to downhill. ;)
Nice to talk to another cyclist from NC.
John
Posted on April 12th, 2007
In British Columbia, nearly all ski resorts offer great mountain biking in the summer and have done so for years. Whistler, North America’s largest ski resort, has a huge Crankworx bike festival in late summer. I live near Whistler, love lift-enabled riding, and am surprised it is not offered nearly everywhere. A lot of it is downhill yes, but good XC and plain recreational fun can be had as well. Check out http://www.mbta.com.
John
Posted on April 12th, 2007
Whoops, http://www.mbta.ca . Sorry.
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