Vermont Business Magazine What's up with downhill mountain biking? In just the last few weeks ski resorts around the state have been making news. On July 21, Suicide Six opened its new Elemental bike park, jumping into the downhill mountain bike scene and joining Mount Snow, Killington, Okemo, Sugarbush and Burke in offering lift-served mountain biking. On July 28-29, the Vermont Mountain Biking Festival returned to the trails at Ascutney. Then, on August 1, Killington plays host to one of the biggest mountain bike events in the country: the Fox US Open, attracting an estimated crowd of 5,000 to watch mountain bikers ride down the same slopes that Mikaela Shiffrin and other FIS ski racers competed on at the World Cup last November.
Meanwhile, around the state mountain bike clubs are working together to connect their networks and there's a plan afoot to create a new Velomont Trail that would run from Killington all the way to Stowe.
Mountain biking at Killington in 2017. Killington photo.
"It would be for mountain bikers and other users like what the Catamount Trail is for skiers," says Angus McCusker of the Rochester and Randolph Area Sports Trails Alliance, which has been leading the charge.
On August 9, McCusker and RASTA co-chair Zac Freeman, Nick Mahood of Suicide Six's new bike park, Lilias Ide of Kingdom Trails, Ryan Thibault of MBTVT and representatives from Burke, Bolton Valley, Killington and Sugarbush will be at the Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum for a roundtable discussion of the future of mountain biking at resorts around the state. The informal discussion with audience participation, will be moderated by Lisa Lynn, editor of Vermont Sports and Vermont Ski and Ride.
Doors to the museum will open at 6:00 and guests are invited to enjoy the exhibits and socialize.The discussion begins at 6:30.
Craft beer provided by Collective Arts Brewing, wine and cider will be served at a cash bar. A $10 entry donation helps support the museum's mission to "Collect, Preserve and Celebrate Vermont's Skiing and Snowboarding Heritage".The event is the eighth of the season in a series of "Thirsty Thursday" talks hosted at the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum sponsored by Collective Arts Brewing and Vermont Sports.
Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum, located at 1 South Main Street in Stowe, VT, has been interpreting and sharing Vermont's ski and snowboard history for 15 years at its Stowe location.
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The Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum thrives by collecting, preserving, and celebrating Vermont's skiing and snowboarding history. The Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum is a 501c3 non-profit organization that welcomes visitors from around the world to share, to reminisce, and to enjoy the collections and their stories. The museum creates visually stimulating and historically in-depth exhibits, along with year-round educational programming and statewide community events.
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Source: Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum www.vtssm.com. 7.30.2018