Sweet Dreams?

You wake up in the middle of the night, sweat trickles down your back. Yes its now the middle of the summer, but the summer heat is not the cause of your perspiration, its that re-occurring dream of your first skiing holiday the previous January. Does this sound familiar? It certainly rings a bell in the back of our minds!

If you went on to conquer the fear and trepidation on your first skiing adventure, then well done, this web site may not be for you. If on the other hand, you are looking for a winter sport that can provide a more relaxed, and leisurely way of enjoying the mountain air, then read on.

Introduction.

Over the last few years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people taking to the winter slopes of Austria, Switzerland and France. Many have tried the traditional winter sport, and spent their first couple seasons of skiing in a ski school, but by far the biggest increase in interest has been towards the snowboard. It's popularity seems to go from strength to strength.

Skibiking on the other hand, has stayed pretty much in the background. We feel the probable cause is under-exposure, and we hope, through this site to try and remedy the situation.

Skibikes have been around for many years, albeit under a different name, "ski-bobs" to be precise. The name may have changed, but the sport has continued with little change. Modern technology and materials have however allowed considerable improvements to the design and production of Skibikes in general. Their versatility and adaptability is exceptional, allowing riders a variety of speed ranges, from 2 to over 100 mph, and are quite able to cope with all types of snow conditions, from deep powder to sheet ice.

So how, and where did it all start, and why has the sport not gained the popularity of skiing or snowboarding? All very good questions, and ones that are not easy to answer. The origins of the sport are debatable, some will say America, and others will say Europe. We feel its true origins lie firmly in Austria, Salzburg to be precise, more detailed information can be found in the section (About).

Their original use is also open to debate. We heard a theory many years ago which sounded logical to us, but is as yet unsubstantiated. It is thought that after the end of a day's skiing and the lifts were turned off, the lift attendant at the top station was required to ski down under the lifts and check that no person or persons were still on the lift, and doomed to certain death in the freezing overnight air. Considering the long day's toil, and the rather uncertain terrain under lifts, then add to that the poor light conditions that usually apply at that time of day, a less energetic and safer way than skiing would be more appropriate. Over the years we have seen many skibikes parked at the back of ski lift huts, and occasionally seen lift attendants skibike down the side of the lift at the end of the day.

We hope you enjoy our Website. We will continue to improve and update both the format and content, but this site will always be 'under construction'. If you have any comments queries, or suggestions please contact us, our contact address can be found at the bottom of each page.

Happy SkiBiking.

Gail & Mervyn.