Supporting the Downhill Sports Lifestyle

This site is dedicated mainly to the parents and guardians of down hill sports athletes. We are the support crew. We may not do the sports ourselves, but we find joy nonetheless. We love seeing our athletes thrive. And we love the challenge in the travel and logistics, the coordination and problem solving (or at least we try to…most of the time).

The website will house notes I have taken over the last several years pertaining to all of the behind the scenes work for planning and executing family trips to downhill resorts. Our family mainly travels to downhill resorts in West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. We also taken flights to Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. So depending on where a reader lives, my experiences may or may not apply to your needs.

Below is a little basic introductory information about the sports themselves because sometimes athletes know more about a sport than their support crew.

Downhill mountain biking is a type of mountain biking that is done at ski resorts in the summer time when the slopes are green with grass. Lifts are altered to carry mountain bikes and riders uphill. Every other chair is taken down and replaced with a bike rack. Riders take switchback trails that traverse the mountainside. They ride downhill to the lift line, take the lift back up and do it again over and over. Trails are usually graded just like a ski run as either green (easiest), blue (medium), black diamond (very difficult) or double black diamond (crazy difficult). Resorts provide maps of the summer trail system. Downhill Mountain bikes are specific to the sport. They generally have few gears, wide strong tires and wheel rims, strong disc brakes. They have strong hydraulic suspension that can be adjusted for the compression and rebound in the front fork and the rear suspension. The bike frames have what looks like a joint near the bottom bracket that allows the frame to flex. The bikes tend to have wider handle bars and very low seats meant to be out of the way because the rider is mostly standing on the peddles for the duration of a downhill ride. The bikes are heavy and would never be ridden for any other reason than flowing down a mountain. Riders wear full face helmets, chest plates, elbow, forearm and knee pads. Riders wear full finger gloves and may also wear protective base layers and they generally wear longer shorts and light weight long sleeve shirts to protect skin from falls. The resorts often provide bikes, gear and helmets for rent and private and group lessons. The sport is risky, dirty and involves a lot of gear maintenance. Riders have to purchase lift tickets which are scanned by a liftie at the base of the mountain and at the top. Resorts usually provide patrol units in summer to assist with injured riders. But there tons of venues that provide downhill riding without lift serve or patrol. These are usually municipal or county parks with trails or dirt roads that take riders up to the top of the mountain where they can enter flowing trails to the bottom. As you might guess, downhill mountain biking is pretty dangerous. Why do kids and families love downhill mountain biking? There are two main reasons. The draw for all riders is a chance to test personal limits and overcome risky challenges by mastering bike handling skills and to live to tell the tale. It’s exhilarating to talk about the the day’s adventure after the lifts close.

Skiing and snowboarding are winter sports and I don’t think it’s necessary to explain what the sports are or what the resorts are like in the winter. However, there are many people who have never been to a winter resort. It might feel intimidating and so I will give a brief overview. Resorts are centered around ski and snowboard trails. The trails have lifts. Participants purchase lift tickets to use the lift to ride up and ski or snowboard downhill all day. The trails have names and ratings. Green trails are easiest, Blues are moderate, Black Diamond are difficult and Double Black Diamond are advanced. Trails will have names like, “Easy Street” or “J Hook.” The resorts are usually in locations that are far from towns and cities. So they have condominiums for rent that are placed generally along the trails in the outlying area. The resorts typically have a ski and snowboard rental shop, retails shops, restaurants, maybe a hotel, possibly a pool or ice rink, a ski patrol, lifts, shuttle buses and parking. It is almost like a mini city or a mini college campus. The season generally starts around Thanksgiving and ends near Spring Break. The peak times will be the Christmas and New Years holiday. The best snow is usually in January and February. There is never any guarantee of snow no matter where the resort is located. There is also no guarantee you won’t have too much snow.

Almost all downhill resorts are designed to welcome and support new comers to the sport. They generally have websites that help orient visitors. They generally have rental shops for visitors to rent gear and take lessons and a patrol team to keep visitors safe and to respond to injuries. And still, there is so much that goes into these sports that is learned in applied experience. I hope that reading my thoughts and notes will be of some help.

Downhill sports can be a one time vacation experience but they are best when thought of as a life style. They require a lot of gear that can be purchased new or used, borrowed and/or rented. It takes years to slowly acquire all the gear a person needs to be safe and comfortable and to make the trips efficient. It all has to be stored and transported and maintained. It can be overwhelming but part of the fun is to try different brands and designs over many trips, to research and gab about gear with friends and to work toward that perfect set up that keeps a family happy on the mountain no matter what. Once you get there, you want to share all that you’ve learned.ii