Mountain railroads need money to invest in infrastructure for mountain bikers. And today, as in the near future, this comes primarily from business with skiers and snowboarders. The more profitable the winter, the more money remains for summer tourism. We mountain bikers do not yet bring in enough revenue for a decent investment volume to be deducted from this. Weak winter tourism is therefore not an opportunity for mountain biking, but rather a serious threat. If skiers stay away from a mountain lift, it will not invest in the summer infrastructure, but will try to bring back the skiers. The hope of us mountain bikers should rather lie in modern and profitable mountain railroads that invest in the summer to compensate for their risky winter activities. To do this, they need money and therefore successful winter business.

The Filzbach mountain railroads on Lake Walen have shown that collapsing winter business is a threat to the sport of mountain biking. The small and low-lying ski resort lost winter guests years ago, and the summer frequencies from the bike park were unable to compensate for the drop in sales. If Filzbach had not been faced with half-empty tills in winter, the popular bike park would probably still exist today. However, it alone has not brought the struggling mountain railroad back into the black.

Strong figures in winter are good for us mountain bikers, and not just for mountain railroads. Hotels and inns are in a similar situation, and municipal administrations, which are responsible for maintaining bike and hiking trails, are also reliant on booming winter income. If savings have to be made due to a collapse in winter tax revenues, the red pencil for trail construction is quickly applied.

The predicted climate change and the resulting difficulties for alpine winter tourism are anything but promising for us mountain bikers in the medium term. We are dependent on the people on the slopes to keep the money rolling in. If a mountain railroad or hotel catches a cold in winter, it will have pneumonia in summer.
 

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The blog post was first published online on December 23, 2015