Kicking Horse Bike Park: Trail Crew Update

Do you remember last year when you could never get enough speed to hit this new rock drop on Wild Rose? Problem sorted.

Actually, that rock drop is now on Pioneer. I know, it sounds like a lot of work to move such a big rock, but we did it the easy way. Pioneer is now the name for the whole race course. In the past Pioneer just referred to the top section, Claim Jumper was the middle and Wild Rose was the final zone. The park manager got sick of putting up all the different signs each year because he is grotesquely lazy, so he just calls everything Pioneer now.


The Wild Rose section had a major reroute done last year, so much so that we had to change the name we refer to it as Wild Rose. Well, it wasn't perfect, so we went back in again this spring and reduced the pedal section by half and added some speed leading into Bear Sh*t Rock, which is wonderful because that rock was put on this earth to be a launchpad (see top image).


We made numerous other small changes to the entire length of Wild Rose including moving the landing of this transfer. A recent survey shows that the writers of this blog unanimously can't wait to ride this trail! Speaking of race courses, the Western Open is upon us right quick this year, July 3rd in fact. You'll want to show up just for the Brett Tippie variety show. This is a proper DH race that shouldn't be missed, for riders and spectators.

Excalibur is something brand spanking new at Kicking Horse - an uphill climbing trail!

The brainchild of that lazy guy mentioned above, this 2 km broadsword winds up Crystal Bowl so that pedally folk can do multiple laps of the alpine trails. They can then continue to the bottom or climb all the way back up and beyond to T4, which should be on your bucket list if you haven't enjoyed it yet. It is a glorious and challenging ridge ride that takes you all the way to the valley floor. Pricing hasn't been announced yet, but let us know if you like it. If the response is good, we have plans for more pedalling.

Pulling Excalibur from the Stone? Can Prince Richard be the next King Arthur?

And yes, we are prepared to expand this project in any weather.

Swamp Donkey got a major facelift last season with pedal sections removed and more pump added. Most of the knots and kinks are worked out now, but we'll be back in there this summer for a bit more massaging. Here's what it looks like for this year's opening (filmed last year on a smoky day):



Lower Kranky Pants received a much-needed facelift. Gone is the notorious Bridge From Space that wound through a quag, replaced with Clay From Earth.


Superberm has seen a few small improvements scattered along its length, including this jump near the top of SB3. We have big plans for this trail that will reveal themselves over time. The biggest change is under way with a serious reroute of the middle section we call SB2. For opening you will still be riding part of SB2, but you will have to endure a short detour on the ski run while we endeavour to open a fun new trail with more flow and less wood.

The DJs received some much-needed drainage work this spring so they should be smooth and dry by the time we open. Unfortunately, one of the new jumps has a seep right in the middle of the blue landing. We'll wait until the last possible moment to see what is going on, but we may have to close at least a portion of the jump line until we come up with a solution or the earth stops wetting itself.


Training Wheels was majorly rerouted late last season. We have such an amazing alpine here that we are trying to give riders more trail so you can enjoy more time up there. That said, it is still best to keep your eyes on the trail. Luckily it's a good looking trail too.

Blaster is not the Blaster of yesteryear. No trail has changed so frequently and completely as this tough ol' boy. The top simply doesn't exist anymore due to slope work done for the winter product. So Blaster will now begin at Pioneer top. We will be building a singletrack to the bottom half of the old Blaster (which was seriously changed last year!), but in the meantime, you'll follow the road. Sound confusing? We'll have it marked for you. Oh yeah, and Roadrunner is mostly different too as of late last year. You'll see.

So after all that, what will be open on June 25? Everything except Northern Lights, Rock Garden, and Dragon Chaser. We can thank that summer we had in April. It's going to be all-time this weekend, especially if the rain is kind to our fresh dirt. Come see for yourself. Need info?


Richard asked me to write something witty as a way to link readers here to the bike park TC Instagram account here: @khbikeparktrailcrew. But I don't know how I would write something witty about that.

See you up here! Crowe

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MENTIONS: @BlackCrowe

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