BOISE, Idaho — Ski resorts have gone through a monumental change in the past decade, focusing more on summer operations to turn resorts into year-round destinations.
A big component to the success of summer operations has been mountain biking, as lift access to bike parks not only makes it easier for people to learn it also brings people and dollars to ski resorts.
"Bike parks offer an amazing opportunity to learn mountain biking at an accelerated pace," said Karen Grubb who came from North Vancouver in British Columbia. "It’s a great business move, but it’s also a really good way to encourage people to get into riding."
Ski Idaho completed their Southwest Idaho Summer FAM Tour at Bogus Basin on Saturday. During this tour they took riders to Brundage Mountain Resort, Jug Mountain and also Tamarack.
"There is definitely a lot of variety," said Jason Van Horn who works for BermStyle.com. "One thing I really like about Idaho is how close the riding is to the towns."
I got to ride some of the trails in the Basin Gravity Park at Bogus Basin with this crew. They were much better riders and I had a hard time keeping up, even though I have more experience riding at this lift service park that was created in 2021.
"Mountain biking is a new sport and a lot of people in our demographic learned as adults," said Grubb. "Now kids are learning it and families are taking it up together and it’s a skills based sport."
Ski Idaho does this program to promote the summer operations at our resorts. However, it is a unique opportunity for these riders to fly in and try out different rentals at no charge.
"It’s a great little program and I’m psyched to be able to get up here and explore," said Van Horn. "Our goal is to find ski resorts and ride new ones."
Tamarack and Brundage have developed new trails in the past few years. The riders enjoyed the Brundage to Bear Basin that was built last year and Tamarack has been adding new trails every year.
