Headshot Posted February 19, 2014 Posted February 19, 2014 http://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/member/Summer-is-the-New-Winter-Queenstown-NZ-with-Kelly-McGarry,24846/iceman2058,94 Imagine if we had a chairlift up Tokai and JH - the cannuks and euro's would be all over the place...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted February 19, 2014 Posted February 19, 2014 http://www.vitalmtb....6/iceman2058,94 Imagine if we had a chairlift up Tokai and JH - the cannuks and euro's would be all over the place... Nah. Not enough vertical, mate. Shuttles would be a far better proposition. They were a proposition in Tokai, and still are - we're just waiting on official approval. Unfortunately it was shelved last year. But it's still on the table as a possibility in the future. Danger Dassie 1
nigelhicks Posted February 20, 2014 Posted February 20, 2014 Headshot - as Mayhem said we lack the vertical in most cases - Also we lack the fact of snow in winter ... Without snow the ski lifts are not economically feasable as if you look in Europe the ski passes cost way more than the bike passes - as the bike passes are just meant to tick over ... Thats why Hafjells owners are planning on closing the park as it just costs too much in overheads in overheads to keep the park going in the summer. Here in SA we all know the culture of MTB is to see who can ride up the hill the fastest via strava, so to put in a lift anywhere in the country would only be economically viable if you had buy-in from government who would offset the losses that the lift would initially obtain by writing it off to increased tourism in the region. However - as you have the main attraction being Table Mtn just up the road - a 2nd lift at Tokai would not be feasable as people would do one or the other - not both. (Especially at R200 which is the going 2-way rate at Table Mtn now) ... Also - would you spend R100 PER Run down the hill if you were to pay the Table Mtn fees? I think a ton of people would have a hissyfit. I know i would as its just too expensive - 10 runs = R1000 ... for one days riding. So this is where the overseas parks benefit from the snow season - as they get more clients to compensate for the lack of clients in summer. So unfortunately I do not see an economically viable Mtb-specific cable car in SA for some time. Danger Dassie 1
Headshot Posted February 20, 2014 Author Posted February 20, 2014 Hey, just a little fantasy guys. Agreed we aren't as high but then again how high are the mountains in Queenstown which was the example I gave - we lack a snow season so no turnover in winter from skiing - but - mtb still works here in winter so maybe there would be a market all year round? I was thinking of a small scale chairlift - not a mega cable car like TM. Jonkers has a lot of vert - probably around 1000m. As you say though, its all about the Epic and funrides here and the gravity crowd in SA is tiny. . One positive about the Epic of course - the steeper singletrack is emptier than ever because the XC guys don't want to injure themselves before the big race... Captain Fastbastard Mayhem 1
MTBeer Posted February 20, 2014 Posted February 20, 2014 what's wrong with pedaling up the hill..... JPD 1
Guest Omega Man Posted February 20, 2014 Posted February 20, 2014 I can only speak from my own personal experience on this one. The dude that runs the cafe at Jonkers investigated the idea of a chairlift. He reckoned he could get a 2nd hand one in Europe and have it installed for about 10mil. He's an engineer by trade so that's right up his alley. I reckon there's enough vert there for a chairlift. on the firehut side where there's no cliff faces.The idea was effectively shut down cos he couldn't get a long enough lease from the land owner to justify the investment. There are other options tho. The UK has a HUGE gravity riding scene which is based mostly around uplift buses & trailers. They only have 2 ski lift there. Fort William and one other I can't remember the name of. Getting free vert here is of course frowned upon for some reason so it would take a large mind shift to get people to accept and embrace an uplift system. The thing about ski lifts is it's not the ski lifts. It's all the stuff around the ski lifts. The entire economy of the towns close to the lifts will be based around the lift system and the money that skiers generate for the area. And there's typically an entire network of lifts. The PDS for example has over 200 winter lifts if you include those draggy things and travelators. In the Summer time the lifts operate at a loss and they only open up 24 of them to service us lowly mountain bikers. The lift pass prices are about a 3rd of the price of the winter passes and the number of mountain bikers vs skiers is only about 10 to 1. In terms of the money generated by mountain bikers vs skiers the guys I've spoken to in the shops over there reckon they make more in the first week of winter than they do in an entire Summer. Unfortunately it all comes down to money. Headshot 1
Guest Omega Man Posted February 20, 2014 Posted February 20, 2014 what's wrong with pedaling up the hill..... Pedal up an Alp 15 times in one day and we'll talk. Hehe.
vulcan Posted February 20, 2014 Posted February 20, 2014 So chuffed that I moved to NZ 6 weeks ago… settling in with a new job, house, etc and and super happy. I'll be in Queenstown for Easter with maai baaik. Just saying. Headshot 1
Joe Low Posted February 20, 2014 Posted February 20, 2014 How far ahead of SA is NZ? About 11 hours .......But 30yrs behind the UK Danger Dassie 1
vulcan Posted February 20, 2014 Posted February 20, 2014 How far ahead of SA is NZ? About 11 hours .......But 30yrs behind the UK Got that right
Headshot Posted February 20, 2014 Author Posted February 20, 2014 Pedal up an Alp 15 times in one day and we'll talk. Hehe. Ya, nothing wrong with riding up a hill - its just that if you want to enjoy the downs and have sufficient energy and time left to ride them properly or more than once, doing hill repeats does not work so well. And most of us pedal on the downs, unlike most SA mtb riders
MTBeer Posted February 21, 2014 Posted February 21, 2014 Pedal up an Alp 15 times in one day and we'll talk. Hehe.just pissing on your (bakkie) battery
nigelhicks Posted February 21, 2014 Posted February 21, 2014 in queenstown there is proper elevation - just the ride up the Skylift gondala takes you up 800m (roughly the same as going from the base of Tokai to the radio mast) ... then the hill carries on up for another 700m So they have lots of elevation to play with
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now