Last week we went to Silver Star Mountain Resort to do a feature on the all new
2011 Specialized Demo 8 with Curtis Keene. Jordan and I were also able to sneak away and enjoy the resort for a few laps in between video shoots and this is what we found there.
Details inside,
Silver Star is a really progressive riding resort that takes beginner and intermediate riders and helps to hone their skills and make them more confident. Advanced riders will be blown away at the quality of the trails and the speed that they can flow them at, but for myself I really like that fact that an intermediate rider can walk away from the day with a boost to their confidence thanks to the proper layout and structure of the trail system up at the resort.
Currently there are 16 bike specific runs to whet your appetite for dirt on and in the coming weeks, the resort will be opening an all new blue run, making for a total of 17 runs. You start out at the mid mountain village and can choose from green or blue runs for a quick warm up to get you to the base, where the Comet Six-Pack Express chair awaits to deliver you up some 1600 vertical feet in just under 8 minutes.
1600 feet up in under 8 minutes on the 6 seater Comet Express
Roll down and on to the trails of your choice
At the top you'll find an easy to read trail map and staging areas for each selection of trails. A few trails funnel riders away from the peak and out towards more spur trails that will give you more corners and real dirt than you can possibly skid your tires through in one day. Mellow green runs, playful blues and ripping fast and technical black runs await everyone at Silver Star.
Curtis Keene enjoying some of Silver Star's great trails:
All take offs for jumps/features are marked so that riders know that they should take a look and then hit the jump/feature if they are confident in their own abilities to do so. Here is Sarah hitting up a mellow little jump on World Cup - note the flags to let her know that it is a jump that she is about to hit:
Apres riding is tough to find up here, so come knowing that you should get to the restaurants right after riding and then plan to shower after you eat dinner and have a refreshing beverage. The coffee shops and restaurants are open all day while the lifts are moving, so you’ll be guaranteed to get a good lunch in after logging a bunch of vertical for the first half of your day. But be prepared to eat as soon as the lifts stop spinning.
The village is easily the most colorful one you'll ever see at any resort in north America. Some may find it too much, but it's character to me and I like it!
View of the village from up on the Milky Way hiking trail.
Our crew had the pleasure of staying at the Snowbird Lodge in the Village and let me tell you - this is the nicest living a mountain biker could ever ask for. I have been to most bike resorts and numerous ski hills and I have never been able to stay in a place this nice. Summer rates are significantly lower than what you'd have to shell out in the winter, so treat yourself to some luxury - we did!
Snowbird Lodge:
Underground parking
What you can't see here is the 2 other bedrooms and 3 bathrooms that also make up room 303
Yep one of those big hot tubs was ours, if only for a few days.
Resort notes and information:
-Full rental fleet of bikes for those that cannot bring their own bikes or wish to try DH for the first time.
-$36 Youth Full Day, $39 Adult Full Day
-$309 Youth Season’s Pass, $349 Adult Season’s Pass
-Comet Six-Pack Express runs from 10AM to 5PM daily and to 7:30 PM for Extended Play on Wednesdays
-Open Daily June 24th to September 6th with 2 Bonus weekends of Sept 11/12 and Sept 18/19.
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Check out the Summer activities Calendar here.I'll leave you with an amazing sun set shot and a shot of Curtis getting sideways to remind you as to why you are there!
Just my 2c, as a local rider.
Terrible choice of music tho, other than that great write-up
@ lux-freerider : Yeah, the music was a bit heavy...