Ski Resort Happenings and Events
Friday July 4, 2008
When you are looking for things to do this summer, don’t forget your favorite ski resort. Many resorts offer four season activities and the support we give our local and favorite resorts in the off-season can only help the area expand and improve winter facilities. Here are this week’s featured resorts and a little of what’s happening on the mountains:
Northeast
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Jiminy Peak Ski Resort, MA - Summer at Jiminy Peak offers the most extensive lift-served mountain biking in the Berkshires and the Mountain Adventure Park is open daily. A special attraction to see this summer is the 378 ft. wind turbine, the first-ever for a North American ski area.
- Lost Valley Ski Area, ME
- It's not too late to join Lost Valley's summer Paintball camps. Facilities are also available at the Lodge for weddings and banquets.
Mid-Atlantic
- Wintergreen Resort, VA - A hidden gem in the beautiful rolling Blue Ridge Mountains southwest of Charlottesville, Virginia. The 4th of July holiday weekend at Wintergreen is packed with fun-filled activities, including chairlift rides, live music, a family movie under the stars, and the annual Arts & Crafts Show. Enjoy golf, tennis, swimming, and more all summer.
- Canaan Valley Resort, WV - West Virginia mountain summers make tennis, golf, swimming, and hiking easy and comfortable at Canaan Valley Resort. 18 miles of trails – in wetlands and northern hardwood forests – offer open meadows, abundant with wildlife. Activities also include mountain biking, climbing, hiking, and a world-class golf course.
Midwest
- Chestnut Mountain Resort, IL - At Chestnut Mountain, there's no shortage of traditional summer resort activities, the alpine slide, biking, hiking, and an 18-hole mini golf course. Don't miss the opportunity to take in beautiful riverscapes and geological curiosities on a 1 1/2 hour boat cruise up the Mississippi.
- Devil's Head Resort, WI - Devil's Head is a great summer getaway with miles of challenging single track mountain biking trails, an outdoor heated pool, 2 hard surface outdoor tennis courts, and for indoor activities - an indoor heated pool, two hot tubs, and a fitness area.
Rockies
- Steamboat Springs, CO - The Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Series features the best cowboys in Colorado and Wyoming on the baddest bulls and horses, every Friday and Saturday night through Saturday, August 16th. Other activities at Steamboat Springs include a beautiful alpine hike complete with a guide and a gourmet lunch and mountain biking galore.
- Angel Fire, NM - In this special summer of 2008, enjoy the 25th Anniversary Season of Music from Angel Fire. Summer at Angel Fire also means biking, hiking, go carts, and the Angel Fire Balloon Rally.
Far West
- Kirkwood Mountain Resort, CA - Kirkwood summer includes mountain biking (cross country, downhill and bike park), hiking, scenic chairlift rides, climbing wall, ropes course, zip line, disc golf, horseback, riding and much, much more. Also, everybody is invited to participate in the annual mountain cleanup and Environmental Day on 7/6.
- Sunrise Park Resort, AZ - In the heart of Arizona's magnificent White Mountains Sunrise Park Resort is hosting over 1,500 bow shooters for a 3-D Archery shoot over July 4, 5 and 6. Chairlift rides and horseback rides are available all summer.
Summer Ski Resort Spotlight: Deer Valley Resort
Featured Ski Resorts: Week of June 16
Featured Ski Resorts: Week of June 9
Featured Ski Resorts: Week of June 2
Featured Ski Resorts: Week of May 26
Kirkwood Mountain Resort in Summer © Kirkwood Mountain Resort
Comments
Bicycles should not be allowed in any natural area. They are inanimate objects and have no rights. There is also no right to mountain bike. That was settled in federal court in 1994: http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/mtb10. It’s dishonest of mountain bikers to say that they don’t have access to trails closed to bikes. They have EXACTLY the same access as everyone else — ON FOOT! Why isn’t that good enough for mountain bikers? They are all capable of walking….
A favorite myth of mountain bikers is that mountain biking is no more harmful to wildlife, people, and the environment than hiking, and that science supports that view. Of course, it’s not true. To settle the matter once and for all, I read all of the research they cited, and wrote a review of the research on mountain biking impacts (see http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/scb7). I found that of the seven studies they cited, (1) all were written by mountain bikers, and (2) in every case, the authors misinterpreted their own data, in order to come to the conclusion that they favored. They also studiously avoided mentioning another scientific study (Wisdom et al) which did not favor mountain biking, and came to the opposite conclusions.
Those were all experimental studies. Two other studies (by White et al and by Jeff Marion) used a survey design, which is inherently incapable of answering that question (comparing hiking with mountain biking). I only mention them because mountain bikers often cite them, but scientifically, they are worthless.
Mountain biking accelerates erosion, creates V-shaped ruts, kills small animals and plants on and next to the trail, drives wildlife and other trail users out of the
area, and (worst of all) teaches kids that the rough treatment of nature is okay (it’s NOT!). What’s good about THAT?
For more information: http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/mtbfaq.