Along with some of the country’s best skiing and snowboarding terrain, Colorado can now boast its very own wakeboarding cable park. Mile High Wakeboarding is the first and only cable park in Colorado and starting up such a venue was no easy feat.
TransWorld Business touched base with owner Steve Jones to get the scoop on this new hot spot.
Why do you think there have never been any cable parks in Colorado until now?
Colorado is a little bit behind the rest of the US when it comes to watersports but with 2 pro wakeboard events, 2 consecutive years in a row and lots of other events coming and new people getting involved, we are fixing that quickly. Water is also very tough to come by in Colorado so it’s a big hang up. That was the single largest portion of our entire project.
Is there a large wakeboarder demographic in the area?
It’s not huge but it’s rapidly growing. We have doubled or better each year statistically and we have only reached less than one percent of all of those that participate in boating watersports on a regular basis. It’s growing at a rate of 200 percent or more each year in Colorado and I’d like to think that more will get involved now that they don’t need access to a boat in order to try it out. Cables bring it to the masses and also create a great social environment to hang out, watch, and learn.
Were there challenges to opening a cable park in Colorado? How long did the process take from conception to the final result?
The biggest challenges were water and an accessible location with room to grow. Other challenges were the short timeline we had from the final approval to opening – less than 20 days. Our concept was on paper 10 years ago, and hasn’t changed much. I just needed the time to put the plan into action and go through the process. There is much more to come – all based on demand.
Tell us about some of the features of the park.
We currently have 2 of the 4, two-tower systems up and running and will add more as demand dictates it. There is a 600’ beach along the west side of the lake that we put a ton of work into and we have a pool, retail complex, and sand volleyball courts and other games for group events. Our features are targeted to our core customers – those wanting to learn to wakeboard , kids coming to wakeboard camp, and those planning group events. Zip lines and much much more are coming down the pipe.
How has business been since the grand opening?
Our boat programs are booked out at least a month but we haven’t advertised the cable park much yet, but will do so shortly. We took over a building and pool complex that have been extremely cumbersome so in short, we are up and running but it’s still a minor construction zone and there are a ton of behind the scene things to do to make it right for riders. The cables are perfect though so as our marketing hits in mid July, and as the obstacles go in the water, it will get crazy and we’ll be able to handle it just fine.
What do you think Cable Parks add to the sport of wakeboarding?
Cable parks are a game changer. Not only do they bring smooth water and access to those that don’t have equipment, an expensive boat, or a private lake, they level the training environment completely. There is no single better way to learn how to wakeboard or progress faster than when you can try something 10 times in a matter of 3 minutes. Imagine wanting to learn a trick on a snowboard. All the way up the chair lift, all the way down to your favorite jump, bamn, one shot – make it or not – and then you start the process over. This takes time and a lot of it. Cable parks on snow or water allow you to hit the same feature or try a trick over and over in a short period of time. The progression is unbelievable until you try it and understand it. I recently took a trick to the boat that could and would literally kill you if you messed it up. The cable allowed me to work it out safely and softly and then take it to the boat on my first try.
TAGS: Cable Park, colorado, Mile High Wakeboarding, Steve Jones, Wakeboarding
