INSIDER AT BLUE
BLUE MOUNTAIN RESORT/RICHARD ROTH
STOKE + PROGRESSION AT BLUE’S SKILLS CAMPS words :: Allison Kennedy Davies Our region has quickly become a mecca for families who are passionate about outdoor activity. Most of us have put our kids in ski or snowboarding lessons with the dream of being able to build their skills to a level that you can eventually ride together. Blue Mountain Resort’s Skills Camps can help your active kids build their bike skills or round out their athletic ability with the same progression you’ve come to know and love. Week-long day camps are running at the Mountain this summer, with a focus on providing skills-based programming for either trail biking or overall athletic performance. While all experience levels are welcome, Blue’s Bike Skills Camp is offered to children ages 8-14. Campers require their own
equipment and should know how to ride a bike. With these basics in check, camp instructors will help the kids focus on adapting those skills to mountain bike trails. “There are a lot of unique skills and manoeuvres to learn when you start riding in an off-road environment,” explains Alex Mann, Assistant Manager of Snow School and On-hill Programming at Blue. “Dirt, forested trails, obstacles, steeper up and down sections, tighter, twistier turns—when you get into an off-road genre of biking, lots of new challenges pop up. The camp is structured around gaining those skills.” Based out of Blue Mountain’s South Base Lodge where Mike Towers, Manager of Parks and Trails Maintenance, and his team have been gradually building a skills zone for cyclists, the camp will utilize Blue’s existing XC trails as well as some of the lower mountain
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