Earlier this week there was a phone call held with a representative from Blue Mountain Resort. The closure of the Bike Park for 2020 and the future of the Bike Park were both addressed. It was a proper discussion and provided some clarity on the decisions that have been made. For sake of argument, I have prioritized the details specifically to the Mountain Biking operation, as the remaining Summer Attractions carry another level of opinion and argument that has already been shared.

No Bike Park for 2020, due to but not limited too:

- Considerable start up costs to bring the trails and infrastructure back to operational shape

- Acknowledgment that the clientele are purchasing expensive assets and products (bikes and gear), thus an announcement earlier in the season relieves the MTB community of committing to these financial decisions 

- Anticipating that demand will be depressed for the day ticket holders and rental bike markets due to the economy. The flip side, Seasons Pass sales reached a record HIGH this season which was recognized and spoken on as a positive from the Resort

- The Gondola Cabin presented one of the biggest challenges in regards to safe social distancing practice, along with the sanitization of Rental bikes and gear

- Based on the analysis and the directive of a the business plan, the probability that the Bike Park could Operate at a viable level was not deemed possible for this season

Summer 2020 Resort Operations:

- The immediate goal is to salvage a Summer Operation of some capacity that unfortunately does not include the Bike Park

- There are plans in place that Blue Mountain Resort have announced to manage the on Resort population, including area's where dense crowds and lines have routinely formed. SEE HERE for those details, More announcements can be excepted in the coming weeks

- For 2020 the decision is to reconfigure SOME of the Bike Trails into Hiking Trails, with minimal impact to the existing trail, paths around sections of trail if needed, with no plans to dismantle or remove features, technical sections, corners, etc

- Looking to grow the hiking, trail running and adventure sport market this summer

- There is potential for other attractions and resort activities to be non operational due to safety, sanitization, and viability factors 

Future of the Bike Park:

- The Bike Park is part of the mountain community and is a fair business 

- Roughly 1 million dollars invested in the trail infrastructure

- There is a plan to stay invested in Mountain Biking. A portion of this plan still includes the potential to move Mountain Biking to the South 

- Blue Mountain is monitoring the Insurance Markets and Claims Patterns as we move through COVID as change is inevitable and could impact Mountain Biking Liability overall

- Blue Mountain is accepting of the risk tolerance mountain biking presents, and recognizes right now Mountain Biking is a good fit for the Resort

- The ultimate goal is to have Mountain Biking and Hiking/Sightseeing cooperating and running in unison

- Blue Mountain recognizes that the unfortunate vibe the Mountain Bike Community feels is an MTB vs. Hiking battle, and are seeking to have both businesses operate lucratively, in tandem, in the future

- An announcement on the future of the Bike Park is undetermined at this time, as the focus remains on Operating Summer for 2020 in a capacity, and refocusing on the Winter 2021 and Summer 2021 in the Fall