By Sue Bergstrom for Valdez City News –
If you’re interested in outdoor sports in Valdez, you probably already know Nick Weicht and Lee Hart and how excited they both are by the potential of the Valdez area and all the great places it has for outdoor recreation. Together they decided that there needed to be an organization dedicated to supporting the things they care about. So they gathered supporters and founded a new non-profit organization, Levitation 49.
The organization’s web site describes what they’re all about.
“We are a non-profit coalition of business, community and governmental leaders interested in fostering national and international amateur and professional mountain sports competitions in Valdez, Alaska.
“Our mission is to create and enhance the economy, image and quality of life in Valdez through the development and promotion of world-class mountain sports events and resources.
“Mountain sports don’t just entertain. They improve communities. They drive economies. They bring tourism dollars, entertainment and media attention attracting fans from around the world. Business wins, athletes win, Valdez wins. “
The group has a board of directors, volunteers and a definite plan. In the next five years they want to help give the Valdez area more and better-maintained trails for hikers and bikers, an ice park and a bike park and to begin work on a mountain bike trail system.
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Their plans effect more than recreation and tourism. Their goal of a zero waste practice for all events would support the city instituting composting and recycling programs; something many residents have been advocating for a long time. They want to promote an in-town hub for mountain sports events, bringing business from Thompson Pass and Keystone Canyon events into town; something not included in some prior area groups’ event-planning. Suggested sites are the Civic Center and Ruth Pond area, or the area of the new harbor project.
And of course there are event goals. Levitation 49 hopes to bring a UIAA (Union Internationale des Associations d’Alpinisme, or International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation) sanctioned Ice Climbing World Cup Event to Valdez. The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation is the leading representative body for climbers and works to promote their interests throughout the world. Because Keystone Canyon’s reputation already attracts ice climbers from around the world, there is plenty of potential support for such an event.
Another planned event is a fat bike freeride world championship. Freeride is a discipline of mountain biking closely related to downhill biking and dirt jumping focused on tricks, style, and technical trail features. It is recognized as one of the most popular forms of mountain biking. A fatbike, or wide tire bike, has over-sized, wide tires designed for riding on soft or unstable terrain, like snow and sand and used at low pressure to enable riding over rather than around obstacles. Levitation 49 sees Valdez as the place to push the envelope in this sport just as it did in extreme skiing.
You can find out more at https://www.facebook.com/groups/372263776205052/ or http://www.levitation49.org/
