What is Vail Resorts and does it affect skibiking?

There's been some confusion lately about skibikes and Vail Resorts.   Vail Resorts means much more than Vail Ski Resort along Interstate 70.  Vail Resorts actually owns four ski resorts in Colorado - Vail, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, and Keystone.  They are heavily intertwined.

Vail Resorts has a number of ski passes that allow skiers, snowboarders, and skibikers to access all four ski areas and Arapahoe Basin all using one pass.

Popular Vail Resorts passes include the Epic Pass, Epic Local Pass, Summit Value Pass, Epic 7-Day Pass, and the Keystone 4-Pack.  The main difference between the passes are the blackout dates.  The less expensive passes have more blackout days during high season.  The Epic Pass has no blackout dates and is valid at any Vail Resorts ski area.

As Vail Resorts expands and buys new ski resorts, they are inheriting a variety of legacy rules and regulations.  This includes skibike rules and regulations.

Change is as certain as death and taxes in the ski industry.  If you've gotten used to a favorite ski resorts rules and regulations, don't be surprised if a few of them are changed.

Change can happen from a variety of factors.  Insurance is going to be a driving factor in many instances.  Change can also be fueled by incidents that happen during the ski season.

The sport is new to many Vail Resorts within Colorado.  They are not new to other Colorado ski resorts.  One thing is certain is that Colorado ski resort risk managers do communicate with each other as well as  resort CEO's.

I suspect that the incidents that happened at Copper Mountain, A-Basin, and Powder Mountain in Utah  have gotten around.   The new rules that Vail Resorts staff have been distributing seem to reflect this.

Changes in Vail Resorts overall rules and regulations will be hard to accept, especially ones that have been around awhile. Rather that getting emotional and lashing out, try to swallow your pride and deal with it. Once the insurance industry understands skibikes, things could change back.

Peace out and have a great season.  The weather patterns are looking really nice for the upcoming week.

© 2012 G. Kunkel and A Colorado Skibiker Goes Skibiking. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to G. Kunkel and A Colorado Skibiker Goes Skibiking with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Skibikes are no longer allowed in Keystone Ski Resorts terrain parks

There's a new policy at Keystone Ski Resort for the 2012 -2013 ski season.  Skibikes are no longer permitted in the terrain parks there.

Greg Gerloff the Health and Safety Manager  at Breckenridge Ski Resort contacted me Sunday evening.  He helped develop the new skibike policies for Vail Resorts and is in charge of communicating them to the general public.

Greg explained that Vail Resorts is currently developing a professional webpage that will explain the uniform policies and rules and regulations for all of Vail Resorts.

One outcome of the new policy is that bikes will no longer be allowed to use the terrain parks at any Vail Resorts ski resort - Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail, and Beaver Creek in Colorado.  This is a new policy starting with the 2012 - 2013 ski season.

Unfortunately staff members at Keystone have told a number of riders that they were still permitted in the terrain parks.  Greg said he would be  communicating with staff there to let them know this is no longer true.

In addition, homemade and conversion bikes are not permitted at any Vail Resorts ski area.   They want them to be as manufactured as possible.

The bikes must also load within the envelope of the chairlift.  This means that bikes that are designed to be carried underneath the chairlift must be loaded into the chairlift instead.  This includes designs like Geary Snow Bikes.

Leashes must also be worn at all times.  This includes on the chairlift and on the slopes.

The uniform Vail Resorts regulations are:

• Bike must have no more than two (2) skis.
• Must have metal edges on the skis.
• Must have a seat.
• May only have one rider per bike.
• Must be designed to load the lift without slowing or stopping.
• Must be loaded within the envelope of the chair; bike counts as a rider on the chair lift.
• Not allowed in terrain parks.(including Keystone)
• May be restricted in certain areas of the mountain and lifts for safety reasons.
• No homemade bikes (including conversion).
• Retention device (must be worn at all times).  

So those of you who have been riding in the terrain park at Keystone.  Enjoy the memories.  Expect enforcement of the no skibikes in the parks in the near future.

© 2012 G. Kunkel and A Colorado Skibiker Goes Skibiking. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to G. Kunkel and A Colorado Skibiker Goes Skibiking with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.