Attitash Bike Park: What Does The Future Hold
3 Apr 2014
(Photos courtesy Attitash Mountain Resort)
(rider: Nate Waterhouse Mt. Bike Program Coordinator)
Q&A: Attitash Bike Park!
Who are you and what do you do at Attitash Bike Park?
I’m Nate Waterhouse Mt. Bike Program Coordinator. I oversee the daily operations of the bike park, including trail crew and bike shop operations.
I am Corey Madden, Event Director, and I work to gain sponsorship for all our events, schedule and organize events including Mountain Biking, Running, and our Music Series.
How long ago did Attitash become a Bike Park? Who or what was the driving force?
The Bike Park started in the late 90’s with Marc Jenks as the main force behind it. As time went on, other managers came in and made improvements over the years. I joined the staff in 2002 and worked with some great local trail builders like Chris Krug and Mike Eliot who really helped to expand the park. Prior to Chris and Mike joining the staff, we only had 4 trails...they expanded it to over 23 trails in just a few years, and it has continued to grow since then to what you see now.
How many visitors do you get in a weekend/season?
Our Park includes DH & XC Mountain Biking, an Alpine Slide, the Mountain Coaster, Water Slides, an Air Bag Freefall Jump, a Climbing Wall, the Euro Bungy, and new this year is a 5000’ Zip Line. We play host to an average of 800-2000 visitors daily throughout the summer, and would expect an increase with the addition of the Zip Line and Mountain Bike trail expansion. It is difficult to put an exact number on Mountain Bikers since they do not all have to go through the Bike Shop to get a trail pass and lift ticket. Our Eastern States Cup Series events host an average of 100 riders, and the Pin-the-Trail Tuesday locals race has 20-30 riders.
What is the most popular trail at your bike park?
I can’t say what the most popular trail is. My favorite trails route is Bat Cave-to-Marley-to-Red Squirrel Rampage.
Do you have plans for a new trail this year or plans to re-develop an existing trail?
We are working to expand our Mt. Bike terrain to our other peak, Bear Peak. We have a few XC/All-Mountain trails there now, and We hope to add more XC/All-mtn trails with some new lift served DH terrain too! There is a new attraction going in on Bear Peak that will allow us to do this trail expansion.
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What is the mountain bike scene like at your resort? Are there any restaurants or bars that mtb-ers like to hang?
The Bike shop is kind of the hub. The locals hang in there and meet up with the staff to ride and talk trash. Most of the riders will go to Matty B’s across the street for pizza and beers
Do you have any big events going down at your bike park this season?
POC Eastern States Cup Series.
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ESC DH Cup July 13th
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ESC SuperD Cup Aug 16th
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ESC Enduro Cup Aug 17th
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ESC DH Cup Sept 21st
How has the snow been over the winter? Will it affect your opening date? Do you have an opening day in mind yet?
The winter has been great. We have had plenty of snow but that shouldn’t affect our opening date. We will strive to open with 100% of the terrain on Memorial Day weekend and go weekends only until Fathers Day in the middle of June. We then open 7 days a week through Labor Day. The fall season is weekends only through the Columbus Day weekend in October.
What does the future hold for your resort?
We hope to continue to expand at Bear Peak with Lift Served XC/All-Mtn and DH terrain. There is a lot of potential to create more beginner friendly terrain and create longer more diverse DH runs.
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