Calling All Snow-Bikers
Hey, you skiers and snowboarders, has anyone out there ever tried snow-biking? I just heard about it on a trip to Canada, and now I’m dying to get to a mountain and try it.
Snow-Bikes, as explained by the Austrian inventors on their website, are bike frames with seat and handlebars that have been equipped with skis front and back where the tires should be. The rider also wears short skis on his or her boots for balance and more control on turns, as well as to meet requirements for using chairlifts at ski resorts. They’re light enough to pick up and carry onto lifts, and fold up to store in the trunk of your car, or fit into a travel bag that the airlines will take.
This is apparently not a new thing. An article I read reminded me that the Beatles snow-biked down a hill in a scene from Help! I gather that it’s popular in Europe, and many places in Canada, too, but there are only a scattering of U.S. resorts that offer snow-biking. The best bet is to head to Alberta, where a number of ski resorts near Calgary, Banff and Jasper offer snow-bike rentals and training. They say that the learning curve is as easy as, well, learning to ride a bike.
Frankly, it looks like a blast. Also like something that older, well-fattened Travel Gurus can do without trashing their knees or breaking their legs. At least that’s how it looks. If anyone has tried it, I’d like to hear more about it. Heck, if John, Paul, George and Ringo can snow-bike, then darn it, so can I. See you on the slopes this winter. I’ll be the one dressed like Lance Armstrong.
Snow-Bikes, as explained by the Austrian inventors on their website, are bike frames with seat and handlebars that have been equipped with skis front and back where the tires should be. The rider also wears short skis on his or her boots for balance and more control on turns, as well as to meet requirements for using chairlifts at ski resorts. They’re light enough to pick up and carry onto lifts, and fold up to store in the trunk of your car, or fit into a travel bag that the airlines will take.
This is apparently not a new thing. An article I read reminded me that the Beatles snow-biked down a hill in a scene from Help! I gather that it’s popular in Europe, and many places in Canada, too, but there are only a scattering of U.S. resorts that offer snow-biking. The best bet is to head to Alberta, where a number of ski resorts near Calgary, Banff and Jasper offer snow-bike rentals and training. They say that the learning curve is as easy as, well, learning to ride a bike.
Frankly, it looks like a blast. Also like something that older, well-fattened Travel Gurus can do without trashing their knees or breaking their legs. At least that’s how it looks. If anyone has tried it, I’d like to hear more about it. Heck, if John, Paul, George and Ringo can snow-bike, then darn it, so can I. See you on the slopes this winter. I’ll be the one dressed like Lance Armstrong.
