Poster: A snowHead
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Much has been written about the increasingly dodgy financial state of Scottish skiing in the face of snow failure.
For some years Nevis Range has encouraged mountainbikers to use the gondola for downhill rides (luckily the 6-seat cabins are big enough - one wonders if they were originally sourced for this purpose?). But could biking produce a sustainable future for Scottish skiing generally, boosting revenues when snow is thin or gone?
There are environmental arguments against it, which is why the funicular on Cairngorm doesn't carry bikes (in fact, even pedestrians are not allowed out of the top station in summer), but maybe well-maintained tracks can minimise any erosion and damage.
More about this from yesterday's Sunday Times.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Mon 8-03-04 11:20; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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There's been a long-term debate about mountain biking and erosion and a lot of evidence and a big school of thought that says it does no more (or little more) than walking. I'm no expert, but reckon it does on some types of track, and not on others.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Even if grass skiing is little known in the UK, mountain boarding is gaining in popularity - perhaps that's another possibility for the Scottish resorts. http://www.mountainboarding.co.uk/
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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sksnky, as a keen biker and a remp for imba-uk I can say that yes, it does cause erosion : so doea walking and most other contryside activities. What do you think paths are if not eroded bits where lots of people have been? as to whether it causes *more* erosion? debatable, but tthe studies I've read indicate that that difference is negligible, and varies depending on ground conditions
I do think, though, that the ski centres need to be viewed as year-round destinations
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Well that was my point: that it doesn't cause (much) more erosion than walking. I think thought that some types of path (peat bogs for example) it may cause more, but others (hard track, grass) it probably causes less.
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