[Sly Fox]

Nice find, J-Dub. Consider me interested in the lower rates for alumni.

[JDUB]

its a good read, it answers a few questions we had and provides some insight from JJ

I'm really excited to see how this turns out, I think we will get a lot of really good publicity for it and it will help a lot with recruiting and giving us bored college kids something to do

[PeterParker]

We’re not planning on a half pipe but we’re looking in to. We have the tabletop and the quarterpipe, but maybe a halfpipe is something we should do. We’re putting the final touches on the plan now.

Yes, they should go ahead a plan to put this in. This will draw the professionals he mentions earlier in the article. Plus you can have night competitions, demos or pro shows that people can come watch.

The lift shown on the master plan is not the same lift that will serve the snowflex. The slope has it's own tow bar lift.
The lift on the plan will be used by mountain bikers to create a downhill only biking experience.

That's actually pretty cool. Downhill mtb'g down the baldspot would be kinda cool. The lifts are a nice touch. If they mark a good terrain and partner with the bike shops in the area, Central Virginia as well as the commonwealth as a whole, they could put on a bunch of mountain biking competitions every month or even have rides every weekend. If they had a place they could set aside some campsite rentals, that would just be a bonus to accomodate folks who would attend these events. (That might also work for the RVing type alumni/friends of the university who would like to come back to homegames with their camper or make a week of it in their RV for homecoming.)

Plus, they could get the biking community to help keep the trails clean, groomed, etc. The MTB community is usually very good about protecting the natural resources and areas in which they are allowed to ride. Also, now the LU club team can host some collegiate rides (if the courses are really good for both Downhill and singletrack.)


I also like the forward thinking Beaumont highlighted concerning the plans to set aside a larger area for expansion of the snowflex surface area. Are they planning to put a stage area in the ski lodge? Seems a tailor made scenario for a stage of some sort to enjoy some late night live music after boarding with coffee in hand (especially during the winter months.) Would be an interesting amenity if they decide to rent out portions of the lodge to business groups, organizations, churches, et al during times when the majority of students are on breaks, i.e. Christmas,


Who else is glad that the "mountain coaster has been scrapped"?


Although, I could still see, with the outdoors complex they've got, where an epic ropes course and zip line course in a treed area on the mountain would be cool. Word of Life is an example of a place that has been good about capitalizing on the terrain they have for "outdoorsy" type activities with professional ropes courses, zip lines, beach, etc. If done well, it could be a decent draw for the community as well as students.

[jcmanson]

We’re the largest city in the country without an interstate.

Seriously? Sure would be nice for that to change.

[Sly Fox]

That was the case back in the '80s when I was in school. I am not sure that statement still is true.

[thepostman]

according to http://www.querycat.com/faq/0122781d9f5 ... a8f0d064e8

Fresno, California is the largest without an interstate....

[LUconn]

With any Lynchburg or Liberty fact, you basically have to assume it's false until proven true.

[thepostman]

well, the fact that i had never actually heard that rumor i thought it might be true...since every rumor i ever hear is completely untrue...but a simple google search and all your questions can be answered! haha

[blindpilot]

actually, I think the 2000 square mile Lynchburg msa might be larger than fresno's even though fresno has more population

[blindpilot]

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[qkslvrsrfrboy]

Yeah but fresno has major interstates alot closer than Lynchburg does as well. And the highway that goes through fresno is much more of an actual highway rather than 460 or 29

[Sly Fox]

There are many cities larger than Lynchburg without an interstate. According to the most recent US Census Bureau projections for the City of Lynchburg for July 11, 2007 the city has 71,282 residents. I really don't want to sit down with a map but I am confident there are scores of larger cities without an interstate running through it. Here in Texas alone there is Sugar Land (Jesse Sanders' hometown), San Angelo, McAllen, Killeen (Danika Dale's hometown), Frisco, College Station (home to Texas A&M), Brownsville, Bryan and Allen. I left off about 15 cities without an interstate passing through it since they were within 5 miles or so of one. Even if you leave off the suburbs I listed that are reasonably far from an interstate (Sugar Land, Frisco & Allen) you would still have six cities would larger population and there were probably 10 more just below Lynchburg in population without an interstate in Texas alone. Suffice it to say by any standards that as a city Lynchburg is nowhere near the largest city without an interstate in America. In fact it may not even be in the Top 50.

Perhaps you would prefer to use the metropolitan area designation for comparisons. Let's explore that as well. The US Census Bureau estimates the population of the Lynchburg metro at 243,580. The following metropolitan areas have larger populations without an interstate:

• Anchorage (362,340)
  Atlantic City (270,644)
  Boulder (290,262)
  Fresno (899,348)
  McAllen/Edinburg/Mission, TX (710,514)
  Merced, CA (245,514)
  Modesto (511,263)
  Myrtle Beach/Conway (249,925) ** We're not even the largest in the Big South **
  Salinas, CA (407,637)
  San Luis Obispo/Paso Robles, CA (262,436)
  Santa Cruz/Watsonville, CA (251,747)
  Santa Rosa/Petaluma, CA (464,435)
  Visalia/Porterville, CA (421,553)

Being the 14th largest metro without an interstate is rather impressive. But far from being the largest by any measure. Someone mentioned land mass and you don't want to even think about talking about Lynchburg in comparison to metros in western states.

[PAmedic]

^^^ that settles it- I'm heading to Houston w/ a gun.

homer

[SuperJon]

That list Sly posted was dumb. Four of the things listed were multiple towns. Conway is not part of Myrtle Beach. Conway is Conway. It's Myrtle Beach's arm pit. If we're going like that, add Danville and South Boston in with us.

[LUconn]

metropolitan area.

[SuperJon]

And I thought the thing was not just an interstate running through it, but the distance away from an interstate as well.

[thepostman]

regardless of where this "great" debate goes it sure would be nice if Lynchburg had an interstate...it would help....but the improvements of 460 and 29 even since I have come into town has helped as far as the ease of coming and going from Lynchburg....

especially since a large portion of 29 between here in North Carolina is now 65...it helps...

[rogers3]

Why do Texans always want to steal someone's thunder?!?! Come on Sly- Sugar Land??? Surely can't qualify, as it's a suburb of Houston and lies just about 7 miles from 610. I remember when the interstate thing became a much mentioned rumor; I felt rather slighted until I started noticing that there are other cities (and not even outlying secondary cities like Sugar Land) that lack interstates within their limits or in their outlying suburbs. Brownsville was one of those cities as was Albany, GA. Fresno would fit in the same category, but I've got family in Bakersfield and they say that 99 is not an interstate in name only.

These days, with fuel costs, I think that there are not as many people who worry about the interstate thing here in the Burg. In the long run, the proposed add'l daily train to DC might be better for the area than a $1-$2 B interstate that will take 15 years to complete.

[mrmacphisto]

This may have been addressed, but how does snow affect the ski surface?

[Fumblerooskies]

This may have been addressed, but how does snow affect the ski surface?

According to the article, anytime it gets BELOW FREEZING they have to close it down b/c it gets too slick.

[Cider Jim]

Let the LOGGING begin!

Crews began clearing below the area known as the Bald Spot on Liberty Mountain on Tuesday, creating space for slope parking and a ski lodge. As a result, access from Candlers Mountain Road to the Bald Spot will be closed to the public until the project is completed...Liberty Mountain Snowflex Center will consist of a main ski slope and a beginner slope for ski and snowboard instruction, totaling about 40,537 square feet of skiable area.

http://www.liberty.edu/libertyjournal/i ... &ArtID=400

[LUconn]

Oh that makes sense. I saw them and I thought that they were just making a little lot so people didn't have to park in the road to hike up there. They parked the big tree grabbing machine at the base of the road.

[JDUB]

that explains all of the caution tape blocking off the entrance to that road and the increase in traffic and parked cars at that tiny lot area

[PAmedic]

TAKE THAT, TREE HUGGERS!

now prepare for the "screaming for trees" group to show up; drums, jergas and all.

[Cider Jim]

They've been logging for days, but I can't tell any difference in the mountain from the LU side. So I got to wondering, will the ski slop be on the back of the mountain (the Rustburg/Campbell County side), so that the local Lynchburg residents won't even be able to see it, like they can with the LU monogram?