New gear helps open up winter to summer sports athletes
Mountain bikers compete in a criterium around the slopes of Vail's Golden Peak on Saturday. Daniel Petty, The Denver Post
By Jason Blevins, The Denver Post
VAIL — For hard-core summer athletes — runners, cyclists, rock climbers — winter is the season of the gym.
But with events such as the Winter Teva Mountain Games and new designs in bikes and ice tools, summer athletes are able to keep pedaling, climbing and racing in the snowiest months.
"I see a lot of people turning their heads, like 'what you are doing here on your bike, you should be skiing,' " said Jake Kinney, who was jumping his summer mountain bike — outfitted with newly designed snow-specific tires — off a snowy jump in Saturday night's big air bike contest. "How cool is that? I'm riding the slopes at Vail with my bike."
The 6-year-old Colorado Ski Mountaineering Cup has grown from six races in 2007 to 10 events this year. The North American Ski Mountaineering Championships last month in Crested Butte fielded more than 50 elite racers.
Sari Anderson, of Carbondale, is a regular on the adventure racing podium and recently began dominating ski mountaineering races. The mother of two won Saturday's ski mountaineering race, which spanned 20 miles of snowy trails and climbed 9,400 vertical feet.
Read more about the sports and the gear that are opening up winter to summer-sport athletes and see photos from the Winter Teva Mountain Games under way at Vail.
Weather
Current Contests
