At the Rogla ski resort, where we maintain one of the best snow parks in the region, we have hosted FIS snowboard world cup (PGS). 

Join us for our MTB destination branding workshop at the 5th Conference on Adventure Management, 7/8th February 2016, Adventure Campus Treuchtlingen.

Is the development of mountain biking tourism among your New Year’s resolutions? Well, then you need a good plan, and the basis for any such plan is to be a sustainable business model.

Snowboarding and freeskiing are constantly progressing at a fast rate which also requires development of new, innovative infrastructure which enables further progression of these two sports. Jumps have always been one of the most important elements of both sports, which encouraged construction of big kickers that provide adequate air time for most demanding tricks.

We have finally managed to find some time to develop a new website. As there were plenty of blog posts on our old website, we have copied only the most read articles. 

We have organized a 10-day long study trip through Slovenia with James Daniel Mcknight, a renowned MTB journalist. A full report will be published in Mountain Biking UK in early 2017.

There are several characteristics of terrain park equipment upon which a choice of the most appropriate equipment and manufacturer can be made. Some of the characteristics that can help you choose the safest and highest quality equipment are:

It took a while for the ski resorts to implement basic rules and guidelines for behaviour of skiers on the slopes. At first these rules varied from resort to resort, however in the end at least in Europe the 10 FIS rules were implemented to standardize them and make them more understandable for slope users.

The temperatures are increasing and in the long term affecting the length of the winter season and especially snow conditions on ski resorts with lower altitudes. Artificial snow has solved many problems when there is a lack of natural snow, however to make artificial snow, temperatures below freezing are needed. 

Terrain park maintenance is unfortunately still the topic that does not get enough attention from the resort management. In a rush to develop a terrain park with minimum cost, resorts too often neglect the importance of regular and quality park maintenance. This is especially obvious in case of heavier snowfall, which can, in case of bad maintenance, have a great impact to the park performance until the end of the season.

Terrain parks can be fun for riders with different skill levels as they can be comprised of lines of different difficulty. Diversification of lines provides better experience for the users as riders with different skill levels are separated which in turn also increases safety. Similar to the standards in alpine skiing, difficulty levels in terrain parks also vary from beginners to medium and expert or pro lines.

When the return on investment in your snow park earns profit, then it is the right time to think about how to make your park even better, more creative and how to reduce the maintenance time. One of the best ways to maximize all of the mentioned tasks is to buy a new groomer that is specialized for working in snow parks.

Have you ever considered how you would run your ski resort if you and other employees in the resort were not skiers. Probably you cannot even imagine such a situation, as that would mean that you would not be able to successfully communicate with visitors of your resort and understand their needs.

It all started more than 200 years ago when man started to ride ocean waves for the first time. From then on, we can witness the evolution of the culture and nowadays different sports that are based on the wave transition. The wave transition known from surfing contributed to the development of skateboarding and later snowboarding – from wave to concrete bowl skateparks to snowboard halfpipes.

For most companies it is hard to influence members of the generation Y which is why we decided to prepare three articles where we will explain how resorts and other endemic companies can use sponsorships in action sports to reach, attract and influence the young population.

Snow parks became very popular among younger ski resort visitors and most of them want to experience the fun and pleasure that they provide. However, fact is that even the easiest, beginner-level elements and obstacles in the snow park, are too demanding for the majority of ski resort visitors.

The days when mountain biking destinations were rarity are over. With increasing popularity of mountain biking the number of destinations that provide quality and similar trail infrastructure as well as accompanying services is increasing. 

Many successful cases around the world have proven that mountain biking can help ski resorts to manage seasonality. 

We have developed a biking strategy in the municipality of Tržič. 

We have built an asphalt pumptrack in the center of the Slovenian capital Ljubljana. On the 900 m2 big degraded area of an illegal parking place, we have developed a pumptrack with 140 m2 of asphalt riding surface.

Safety should be the number one priority in any bike park, which is why resorts should do the best they can to increase safety awareness and educate their visitors about possible threats they face when riding in a park. Apart from proper signage and trails divided according to difficulty level, riders should get the opportunity to get familiar with obstacles that they face on trails in a safer environment. Consequently, when they face such objects on trails they are prepared and know how to overcome them

In order to provide fun and challenge for bike park or trail system visitors, trails of different difficulty levels are developed. To inform visitors about the required skill level for each trail and encourage them to use trails that match their skills, appropriate trail difficulty rating system should be implemented.

Fact is that the number of mountain bikers is increasing at a fast rate, yet we do not have much data on the number of participants. That is why we are on a mission to create a world map of mountain biking participation.