[6thElement]

I think I'd heard mention of this somewhere, maybe empty beer. If they can make it anything like Highland it would be a great addition. Highland trips were always a fun time when I lived in the NE, but it was a 5 hour drive. This would be 35 minutes away...

Can You Just Start a Bike Park? 2 Guys in Colorado are Trying

Jason Evans and Phil Bouchard, lifelong friends from New Hampshire moved to Colorado in 2020 and quickly noticed a gap in mountain biking opportunities, compared to their home state.

www.singletracks.com

 

[maxyedor]

No shit, visiting my in-laws may cease to suck

 

[boostindoubles]

They should do it.

 

[SkaredShtles]

Heh. I wish them good fortune, but that's gonna be a HUGE uphill battle.

 

[Westy]

They should probably try starting off with a quarter or half send

 

[6thElement]

Heh. I wish them good fortune, but that's gonna be a HUGE uphill battle.

Agreed, with the nimby's arguing about traffic when it's only 3 minutes off 285...

 

[Bikael Molton]

CO has 13 bike parks?

 

[SkaredShtles]

CO has 13 bike parks?

We do?!?

 

[6thElement]

Winter Park
Keystone
Granby
Steamboat
Powderhorn
Aspen

Then are they including the not really bike park ski resorts that let you take your bike up??
Vail
Copper
??

 

[Nick]

that must be including teh jump spots as well. Ruby, Valmont, Barnum, etc.

we have MANY legit d/j spots

 

[jonKranked]

Winter Park
Keystone
Granby
Steamboat
Powderhorn
Aspen

Then are they including the not really bike park ski resorts that let you take your bike up??
Vail
Copper
??

they're talking bike only mountains/resorts. ie highland. highland has no winter/ski operations and thus no constraints from that portion of the business.

 

[6thElement]

that must be including teh jump spots as well. Ruby, Valmont, Barnum, etc.

we have MANY legit d/j spots

they're talking bike only mountains/resorts. ie highland. highland has no winter/ski operations and thus no constraints from that portion of the business.

Article is worded poorly then unless they mean all the way to the Pacific...

and there are dozens of other great MTB stops almost anywhere west of I-25, including 13 lift-served bike parks

 

[SkaredShtles]

Winter Park
Keystone
Granby
Steamboat
Powderhorn
Aspen

Then are they including the not really bike park ski resorts that let you take your bike up??
Vail
Copper
??

Crusty Butt and Snowmass (maybe this was your "Aspen" entry?) have a park. Breck and Purgatory (I think) have "not really" parks... that still leaves a number unaccounted for.

 

[6thElement]

Forgot Crusty B even though I've ridden there a bunch...

So basically they just counted how many ski resorts there are with lifts

 

[Sandwich]

I will be anxious to see how this plays out. Highland has done exceptionally well for being a turd of a hill with a crappy lift. Some fantastic trail building and a phenomenal following has taken them a long way. I feel like ski hills never take it very seriously...you really need to hire a dedicated trail crew and build trails that are interesting in order to keep the lights on. I haven't been to a non "bike park" ski hill in many years...even though we are surrounded by them (Mt Snow, Attitash, Jiminy, Killington). Maybe FullSend can keep the lights on by offering a MTB specific park, rather than a ski mountain with bike racks on the lift?

 

[jstuhlman]

I will be anxious to see how this plays out. Highland has done exceptionally well for being a turd of a hill with a crappy lift. Some fantastic trail building and a phenomenal following has taken them a long way. I feel like ski hills never take it very seriously...you really need to hire a dedicated trail crew and build trails that are interesting in order to keep the lights on. I haven't been to a non "bike park" ski hill in many years...even though we are surrounded by them (Mt Snow, Attitash, Jiminy, Killington). Maybe FullSend can keep the lights on by offering a MTB specific park, rather than a ski mountain with bike racks on the lift?

I feel like Snowshoe does a good job with balancing the two. The two other mountains in NC are definitely putting a lot more time / $ into their summer activities recently as well.

 

[jonKranked]

I will be anxious to see how this plays out. Highland has done exceptionally well for being a turd of a hill with a crappy lift. Some fantastic trail building and a phenomenal following has taken them a long way. I feel like ski hills never take it very seriously...you really need to hire a dedicated trail crew and build trails that are interesting in order to keep the lights on. I haven't been to a non "bike park" ski hill in many years...even though we are surrounded by them (Mt Snow, Attitash, Jiminy, Killington). Maybe FullSend can keep the lights on by offering a MTB specific park, rather than a ski mountain with bike racks on the lift?

I feel like Snowshoe does a good job with balancing the two. The two other mountains in NC are definitely putting a lot more time / $ into their summer activities recently as well.

part of it is that east coast resorts are having to rely more on summer operations given the poor / unreliable winter conditions over the last decade. even with the ability to make snow the seasons are getting shorter. i don't believe west coast / rocky mt resorts have snowmaking infrastructure (and if they do its very limited; *note i could be wrong on this). i think in the next decade more east coast resorts are going to have to step up their summer operations to make up for reduced winter revenue. we may even see some smaller resorts shutting down, which would give some opportunities for another Highland style park to start up. I think one of the reasons they're so successful (aside from the previously aforementioned excellent trails) is that by not having to structure their operations around winter season, they have the flexibility to extend the bike park season as weather permits.

 

[jstuhlman]

part of it is that east coast resorts are having to rely more on summer operations given the poor / unreliable winter conditions over the last decade. even with the ability to make snow the seasons are getting shorter. i don't believe west coast / rocky mt resorts have snowmaking infrastructure (and if they do its very limited; *note i could be wrong on this). i think in the next decade more east coast resorts are going to have to step up their summer operations to make up for reduced winter revenue. we may even see some smaller resorts shutting down, which would give some opportunities for another Highland style park to start up. I think one of the reasons they're so successful (aside from the previously aforementioned excellent trails) is that by not having to structure their operations around winter season, they have the flexibility to extend the bike park season as weather permits.

agreed on all points. all the ones i mentioned also try to schedule a lot of non-mtb activites in the summer as well. various festivals, music+beer weekends, yoga weekends, etc. snowshoe has atv stuff and golf at the base. too. i know wintergreen also has golf - they really need to get into mtb; massanutten's done it for years.

 

[Bikael Molton]

The soil is much better in NH than typical western mountains.

I think sufficient irrigation should be very high on the list for a project like this. Depending on the vertical, I'd take a well irrigated and maintained trail system over a fast lift.

 

[jonKranked]

agreed on all points. all the ones i mentioned also try to schedule a lot of non-mtb activites in the summer as well. various festivals, music+beer weekends, yoga weekends, etc. snowshoe has atv stuff and golf at the base. too. i know wintergreen also has golf - they really need to get into mtb; massanutten's done it for years.

i think snowshoe had a lot of unexpected success with their WC event, they're gonna wanna do more. they're on the schedule for '21 and '22, and i anticipate more in the future.

 

[schwaaa31]

^^^ It seems like almost every ski area in New England is doing something in the summer now to keep revenue up. Zip lines, mountain coasters, etc. A lot have them have added mountain biking, but just with family friendly trails to keep the lifts spinning and the money flowing, Okemo, Loon, Cranmore to name a few. Killington and Berkshire East (Thunder) have really done the best IMO with balancing skiing and biking. Thunder more so. They’ll keep pushing back closing weekend as long as the weather cooperates. Killington always sticks to the date they plan for. But both have done great work with building and maintaining some really fun trails.
It’s too bad these guys in Colorado couldn’t find an old shuttered ski area a la Highland, that already has a lot of the infrastructure to start.

 

[rideit]

Shred Cooper!

 

[6thElement]

The soil is much better in NH than typical western mountains.

I think sufficient irrigation should be very high on the list for a project like this. Depending on the vertical, I'd take a well irrigated and maintained trail system over a fast lift.

One of the best descents in CO is very nearby to this planned site, it's a 70 minute solid climb to the top for a very fun 20 minute descent. With a few comparable runs and a lift to carry you to the top it would be a fun spot.

 

[Toshi]

part of it is that east coast resorts are having to rely more on summer operations given the poor / unreliable winter conditions over the last decade. even with the ability to make snow the seasons are getting shorter. i don't believe west coast / rocky mt resorts have snowmaking infrastructure (and if they do its very limited; *note i could be wrong on this).

CO resorts indeed use snowmaking a ton. From this 2002 article, 21 of 24 were already doing it, and the resorts have been investing heavily since then as they see the writing on the wall.

Pondering the snowmaking equation

SUMMIT COUNTY - Despite doubts prompted by the severity of this summer's drought, Summit County appears to have enough water for snowmaking this winter.

www.summitdaily.com

 

[Westy]

agreed on all points. all the ones i mentioned also try to schedule a lot of non-mtb activites in the summer as well. various festivals, music+beer weekends, yoga weekends, etc. snowshoe has atv stuff and golf at the base. too. i know wintergreen also has golf - they really need to get into mtb; massanutten's done it for years.

Wintergreen tried it for a few summers. The effort was half assed as there were only a few trails. There was a small but dedicated group of riders mostly from the immediate area. I don't know the politics behind it but they were never going to attract enough people with what they had, but I think they saw that the miscreants they were attracting were also never going to spend money elsewhere on the mountain let alone use indoor plumbing and quickly abandoned the whole idea.

 

[rideit]

Wintergreen tried it for a few summers. The effort was half assed as there were only a few trails. There was a small but dedicated group of riders mostly from the immediate area. I don't know the politics behind it but they were never going to attract enough people with what they had, but I think they saw that the miscreants they were attracting were also never going to spend money elsewhere on the mountain let alone use indoor plumbing and quickly abandoned the whole idea.

I resembled this astute commentary at one time...

 

[jonKranked]

CO resorts indeed use snowmaking a ton. From this 2002 article, 21 of 24 were already doing it, and the resorts have been investing heavily since then as they see the writing on the wall.

Pondering the snowmaking equation

SUMMIT COUNTY - Despite doubts prompted by the severity of this summer's drought, Summit County appears to have enough water for snowmaking this winter.

www.summitdaily.com

thanks for sharing. just curious, how much can the resorts cover? more or less than 50%?

 

[Westy]

I resembled this astute commentary at one time...

Most of those guys were active on the monkey at one time. Some good dudes, also a good number of unstable morons, notable by the large numbers of people that got banned from the virginia forums. I am pretty sure BV received a many violent threats from those slack jaws.

 

[Toshi]

thanks for sharing. just curious, how much can the resorts cover? more or less than 50%?

What I saw is generally on the order of 10-15% of total acreage.

Rundown of 32 Ski Resorts in Colorado | Map and List

This list and map of Colorado ski resorts is jam-packed with gems in all corners of the Rockies. Depending on how each season kicks off, Colorado can have as many as 32 ski areas operating at its peak winter.

www.uncovercolorado.com

No doubt they will increase this as the season gets shorter and shorter. I'm just glad they're not at 3,000-4,000 feet as is the case for some unfortunate East Coast, Washington, and European areas alike.

 

[jonKranked]

What I saw is generally on the order of 10-15% of total acreage.

Rundown of 32 Ski Resorts in Colorado | Map and List

This list and map of Colorado ski resorts is jam-packed with gems in all corners of the Rockies. Depending on how each season kicks off, Colorado can have as many as 32 ski areas operating at its peak winter.

www.uncovercolorado.com

No doubt they will increase this as the season gets shorter and shorter. I'm just glad they're not at 3,000-4,000 feet as is the case for some unfortunate East Coast, Washington, and European areas alike.

yea, east coast resorts rely primarily on manmade snow. at least in the mid atlantic region where i am.

 

[6thElement]

thanks for sharing. just curious, how much can the resorts cover? more or less than 50%?

I'll guess it's a lot less than 50% of their full in bounds terrain. Normally used early pre-season to get them going before the snow turns up. Not sure how much it gets used mid-season during a crappy snow year like this winter.

 

[jonKranked]

I'll guess it's a lot less than 50% of their full in bounds terrain. Normally used early pre-season to get them going before the snow turns up. Not sure how much it gets used mid-season during a crappy snow year like this winter.

here on the east coast resorts have their own reservoirs dedicated to snowmaking.

 

[jstuhlman]

here on the east coast resorts have their own reservoirs dedicated to snowmaking.

which in the case of snowshoe doubles as a lake for summertime shenanigans

 

[dump]

yea, east coast resorts rely primarily on manmade snow. at least in the mid atlantic region where i am.

This was the case 25+ years ago when I was there. Today it would be absolutely untenable w/o snow making. Places I'm aware of have basically 100% snow making. I've been skiing where the runs are the only things with snow, packed 3-5ft deep, and the woods are bone dry, and 3-5 feet down. Better stay on the trail!

The vast majority of Pennsylvania is below 3,000 ft, fwiw. (@Toshi)

 

[dump]

Perhaps implied, but places w/o snow making have basically shut down. All the local in-town skill hills and parks that could survive when I was little... done. Climate change is real.

 

[rideit]

When I first moved to Driggs, Targhee’s marketing slogan was “Snow from heaven, not from hoses”.
They quietly retired that in around ‘02 when they got a bunch of snowmaking equipment.

 

[Sandwich]

The soil is much better in NH than typical western mountains.

rocks are soil?

 

[jonKranked]

The vast majority of Pennsylvania is below 3,000 ft, fwiw. (@Toshi)

where i live is about 200' above sea level.

 

[jonKranked]

rocks are soil?

on a long enough timeline

 

[jonKranked]

Perhaps implied, but places w/o snow making have basically shut down. All the local in-town skill hills and parks that could survive when I was little... done. Climate change is real.

shut down ski resorts = potential bike parks