Blue Mountain, Ontario Closes Bike Park

 Lol we got a few BM brown nose's downvoting my comment so it can't be seen. Nice

 @kyleluvsdh: I remember riding the old South Chair and adult lift tickets being $33 back in the day. Blue clearly caters their business plan to Toronto tourists, charging BC & Quebec rates for a tiny Ontario Escarpment ledge. I was kinda hoping the bike park would be open this season just to push myself to get out riding more. Hopefully 3 Stage and maybe Kolapore will see some new trail building... or, more like, maybe I'll finally figure-out a shuttle-lap from top of 3 Stage to the bottom that doesn't involve getting lost! lol. I've been going to Collingwood for ski/board/biking since highschool and that was the '90's for me. It sucks that many locals are hurting from the seasonal job loss. Blue Bump sucks. Guess it's road-trip Quebec time instead.

 I don't know how to tell you this but it's private property and you're still not going to be allowed to ride those trails legally regardless of the condition they're in.

 @friendlyfoe: If you're riding an XC bike you're fine though

 some of us even remember way back when Swatty kicked it all off with his shuttle! A whole load of Ontario DH racers from the early 2000's are out here in the Sea to Sky now, was quite the exodus at one point.

 @vr6ix: Good times, Blue used to be so much fun . I probably never would've gotten into DH without Blue. It's sad to see where corporate greed takes a business, especially one that we've all supported for so long. The second oldest attraction on the hill next to ski and boarding, is now gone. Very sad

 @flipfantasia: I was looking at a photo my buddy sent me from I think 1998, showed some guys in the trailer of the shuttle truck with their bikes going up the road with their helmets on. Damn good times it looked like

 More money in foot traffic riding the lift then riders.

 my 1st time there it was 27 bucks for the day and I was so hooked. I bought a bigger bike that could take the hits and still ride at home in the 6. So sorry for the trail crew or any one else that works there or is laid off. Renting snow shoes and fat bikes 2022

 Good news is we the riders won't have to wait in line for the 1 chair lift to overfill a shit load of tourists to carry them to the top of the mountain for tinder/insta pics (never understood why anyone wouldn't just drive up the hill park and take a photo next to the oversized red chair! Makes more sense to pay for a shuttle? Good news X2 is I'll be less likely to hit people walking up the mountain using the bike trails (if you been to blue you understand what I'm writing)

 @smallmonkey: Valid points

 @flipfantasia: can confirm, another ontario DH guy living in sea to sky

 I hear what you are saying about being disappointed with no lift service. I know I'm being optimistic, but hopefully the shout-out to XC riders means that trails will still be maintained in some form, but you’ll have to climb as well. I like the grind of the climb, so if this is how it plays out I’ll be happy.

With very little ski revenue this year I can also understand the need to maximize revenue for the summer. If hikers means that trail builders have a job to come to this summer while they dream of new lines I like that they are thinking long-term.

 @flipfantasia: Swatty and Ken = legends!!!

 I stopped snowboarding at Blue Mountain when they introduced that weird pricing structure. It was like the stock market or something. Prices fluctuated daily. No more last minute trips up to Blue because last minute ticket prices were insane!!

 @Crampagnolo: and another one.

 @DaveT1974: how dare you think it should be run as a profitable business!

 @renbuskeh: didn't know this was your era too!

 @philshep: lived in Collingwood for 4 years

 @flipfantasia: yes!!!! That shuttle van smelled so bad after 2-3 runs.....Swatty was a legend! Now I pedal up hills to earn my turns....(most of the time...)

 @flipfantasia: yup, literally changed my life for the better

 @flipfantasia: RIP Ken Klowak

 @DaveT1974: your comment is spot on...even if the lift isn’t running it looks like trails will likely remain

 @madmon: glad to see someone say it. I'm very sad to hear about blue closing. I enjoyed three great summers working as a tech there in the mid 2000s and last rode it in the fall of 2019 when visiting home, there was lots of fun to be had on those trails, can't imagine the area without them

 @hirotasa: Hey!! Been a stretch! I rarely ride the bike park these days either, and I only live half hour from WBP, lol!

 @flipfantasia: ditto for me. I was just telling the guys at work about the old shuttle van.

 DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE YOUR 1-STAR GOOGLE REVIEWS! MAYBE BY IMPACTING THEIR BOTTOM LINE, THE WILL BE FORCED TO REOPEN (hopeful). DON'T LET BLUE SWEEP THIS UNDER THE RUG, AS THEY'RE TRYING TO DO SO. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL TV NEWS STATION, LET'S GET THIS STORY SOME TRACTION!

AND DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE YOUR 1-STAR GOOGLE REVIEWS LETTING EVERYONE OUTSIDE THE BIKE COMMUNITY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO!!!!

www.google.com/travel/hotels/entity/CgoIq6OJvtiBsOppEAE/reviews?g2lb=2502548%2C2503781%2C4258168%2C4270442%2C4306835%2C4317915%2C4328159%2C4371335%2C4401769%2C4419364%2C4463666%2C4482438%2C4486153%2C4491350%2C4509285%2C4511371%2C4270859%2C4284970%2C4291517&hl=en-CA&gl=ca&ssta=1&rp=EKujib7YgbDqaRCro4m-2IGw6mk4AkAASAHAAQI&ictx=1&sa=X&ved=0CAAQ5JsGahcKEwiYwoq-l7jvAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAg&utm_campaign=sharing&utm_medium=link&utm_source=htls&ts=CAESABpJCisSJzIlMHg4ODJhNzBkNzJhZmIzMjQ1OjB4NjlkNGMwMGQ4N2MyNTFhYhoAEhoSFAoHCOUPEAMYFhIHCOUPEAMYFxgBMgIQACoJCgU6A0NBRBoA

 @flipfantasia: Swatty oh wow that digs deep into the memories, I did a week-long ... whatever "day camp" XC thing they ran back in the '90s once... I think I was riding my Trek VW Edition bike at the time - remember when cars came with bikes or skis??? haha. I used to do the Squire John's rides on Saturday mornings... who remembers climbing to the top of Alpine or swimming in their snow-making pond?

So what's the market like in BC for an Onterrible rider? Industrial design degree, metal/sheet-metal fabrication background, 15+ years Solidworks... lmao!

 Blue has constantly wavered on their Downhill / lift access. They have had lawsuits and deaths. I miss the 2000's DH riding scene in Ontario, that was an amazing time! It's not all doom and gloom though. Bikes are so much better than they used to be, we can head out, earn our turns and be more fit and beter riders for it.
and hey, maybe one day that south lift will open to a beautiful network of trails.

 @Yarlezy: i was told 2 weeks ago by an employee that they were thinking of opening the south chair this year to make things work. i was shocked when i got home from work tuesday night.

 @Yarlezy: might have misunderstood. he said they were talking about opening the orchard to bikers.
i assumed that meant the chairlift

 @kyleluvsdh: what's really funny is the influx of 5 star reviews right around the time of their message about closing. I have a few accts and will leave a few 1 star reviews to claw back some reality to them. They are dicks 100% I grew up In the area and they are total idiots.

 @Expronowfat: They're real pieces of work over there eh? They must pay people for all these 5 star reviews . When you look at the number of 5 star reviews they have it's a little nuts, many of which seem like bot accounts..

It's hilarious they think people are going to pay to hike and ride their crappy XC hiking and biking trails.. Here's something they clearly didn't take into consideration. Places in Québec and elsewhere that are pay as you play XC and enduro trail networks, came out of the the ground as such. They weren't 1 of the 2 only lift access DH bike parks in the Province, that just decided to say screw you to the DH community, close the DH trails, close the lift to bikes (because $20 per "hiker", per trip up the gondola makes them more money than someone with a bike taking the lift does). And then once they've given us riders the boot, they try to get those same people that they literally just SCREWED (sand paper and all, no vaseline, no grace), they want those same people to come back and PAY to ride their shitty, garbage XC and hiking trails. Lol

They're going to be paying out of pocket to maintain the trails, so now they ACTUALLY won't make money off biking. They'll be paying to maintain their trails out of their "hiking" (gondola rider) profits. Lol
Screw you Poo Mountain

#BOYCOTTBLUEMOUNTAIN

 nooooooo... the riding sucks out here don't do it.....

 No they did not issue stay at home orders. That doesn't mean much though, per capita Alberta is worse off than Ontario, and B.C. isn't too far behind.

AB = 3,180 cases per 100,000 people
ON = 2,196 cases per 100,000 people
BC = 1,754 cases per 100,000 people

 Is that peak positivity rate?

 BC sucks, tell your friends!

 I know a shit ton of people that will come out and volunteer to build as well! A bunch of us already build trails, know what riders what to ride, and understand what a trail needs to thrive and ride properly. Last spring I heard about a trail build happening in the area and it got kiboshed by Andrew Duggin, he called the cops and the MNR and gave them the location. I got a chance to take a look at the trail in question and it was a straight up rake and ride through the trees. It was all natural with practically no man made work. And the guy called the cops.. This is also someone that calls themselves a "rider". Really sad :/. If people in the area are down with DH, lets actually built a sick spot and one that we can shuttle! Places like Three Stage came along by people just like us, going out and making trails! They didn't go to the city and say "how do you feel about us making trails? Is that okay?" We have to just do it, and if they want to sanction the trails then they can (which is what happened at Three Stage). We need DH trails in Ontario, before all the DH riders of Ontario just decide to leave. I'm getting to that point myself unfortunately

 Just got a new DH aswell! Good news is bromont isn't a far drive and is a much better park

 @smallmonkey: One of, if not the best bike park in the east! Lets GO!

 Yes, clearly shuttling tourists up the hill so they can walk off the trails and trample all over the wild life and litter everywhere is more important. As long as the $$ is flowing. Thanks for nothing Aspen/KSL.

 @h82crash: Agree. Major BS

 @Daledenton: Dox? I said the guys name after he called the cops? I didn't tell you his address or to go to his house or anything along those lines. Just stated who called the cops on a trail being worked. How is saying his name doxing him? I didn't reveal anything that wasn't already public knowledge. He made it publicly know all over facebook last spring that he called the cops lol

 @kyleluvsdh: Andrew Duggan = Bigmouth snitch.

 @Dont-hit-trees: Nailed it^ Oh and I spelt his name wrong. Call me "Dox Daddy" lol xD

 @Daledenton: The definition of doxxing is publishing private information in a public forum with malicious intent. This was not private by any means, in fact he made sure it was the exact opposite. Personally, I don’t comment on topics I don’t fully understand. Especially for PC brownie points.

 Amen

 @ismellfish Come ride in Québec with the crew! You and your new DH bike will love it! \m/

 @kyleluvsdh: bromont suck don't go there

 @kyleluvsdh: I’m in bro

 @kyleluvsdh: Duggan called the MNR because that trail was being built on provincial park land and was jeopardizing mountain bike access to all of 3 Stage. Actual local trail builders have met face to face with the MNR warden and it's been made very clear that if illegal trails continue to get built in 3 Stage they will ban biking from the park entirely. So if people are building trails that threaten our local trail network, I expect Duggan to make sure it gets shut down. If he doesn't, you can be sure there is a long line of us behind him that will.

 @kifu: This track was NOT on Three Stage property, It was on private land..

 @kifu: So you're a snitch too? Nice

 @Boriscima: Yeah that's true, Bromont's no fun! ;D

 100%!!!

 Dh is no more dangerous than dh skiing. There’s a ton of stats to back this up and has been covered extensively here on pinkbike. Speaking with the first responders at blue, the most common injuries they get called for in the summer are 1.bee stings (I’m as surprised as you) 2.fractures and sprains running down the hill 3. MTB injuries.
I’m sure the spineless lawyers in our sue happy province could turn any one of these into a lights out scenario.

 @Dont-hit-trees: yah, that list is pretty accurate. I worked three years at patrol at Blue, and personally found that 70-80% of the calls were in the Village, or hiking. The Collector was unsurprisingly a popular trail for bike calls.

On that point,i think it comes down to how much more profitable skiing becomes, and how they can offset the potential financial penalties should a lawsuit go through. Just not as much of a cushion with biking. There's probably less of a case to be made when someone injures themselves from walking on a hiking trail. Not as much liability on the resort.

 Blue never recovered from the great flattening of things man made. Their entire operation seemed to be built in a way to make MTB as inconvenient as possible. Coupled with clay soil and frequent sporadic heavy rains in summer months trail status was always a wildcard so it just became not worth the time.

 dh biking is certainly more dangerous than dh skiing. would love to see some of the stats or coverage you’re talking about, the only ones i can find suggest bikers are approximately 100x more likely to be injured than skiers. what’s more likely to injure someone, falling on snow or falling on rocks? tipping over on skis or crashing with a bike?

 My brother and I grew up riding DH at Blue and almost every we knew had a major injury at some point. Like major. Broken backs, legs, damaged shoulders.

 @turco999: don’t underestimate how many riders get themselves off the hill on their own accord. Both times I’ve broken bones I rode or carried my bike down, don’t get me started on stitches. I also know atleast 4 other people who rode down with broken bones or other injuries and took themselves to the hospital. Hell even my 50 year old dad rode down and had me take him to the hospital after he crashed biking.

I’ve also skied 75 plus days a year the past 10+ years and I’ve never been badly hurt skiing and I go in the park and spin the xl jumps and huck myself with a lot less regard than I have biking. I only know one or two people who have been hurt skiing (aside from getting hit by other people) and it’s only in the park, you kinda have to suck at skiing to get hurt when you’re not in the park. Anyone can get royally messed up downhilling.

 Had the same thought. Sad not to be able to share the park with them.

 North Bay as well, in between Sault and Toronto.

 Would love to check out those trails however it is farther then Bromont so unless I’m driving through on my way out west i’ll have to take a hard pass.

 @ismellfish: Once you see the trails there though it's hard to say no to the 7 hour drive each way . It's just another option ya know? I got some buddies up North and having a spot like that must be like having a little slice of BC in your backyard . But yeah Bromont is AMAZING

If you get a chance though, checkout Bellevue, they've got some legitimate tracks and big kid features, and if you can carpool up with a group of buddies for a shuttle weekend, it would be that much more worth the drive

Oh and It's 230m of vertical! (it's taller than Blue Mtn) and they have a shuttle road! YEWWWW!!!! \m/

 any xc trails up there?

 @kyleluvsdh: i’d be down for a weekend some time. DM me if there is space in a carpool

 @cliocatface: Yeah!

Not on Bellevue, but right down the road!

www.trailforks.com/region/hiawatha-highlands

that's probably the most popular XC network in the area^ and the city is pumping a bunch of money into the XC trails at Hiawatha this year I heard. Apparently the mayor of SSM wants to turn the area into the "outdoor capital of Ontario". And I like the sounds of that!

Other than that, there's quite a few other XC trail networks in the area also, check here:

www.trailforks.com/region/sault-ste-marie

Cheers

 @ismellfish: 1000%! The teams gotta work together, especially in these times \m/

And a bunch of us head up to Bromont literally every weekend to ride DH, come join the team! There's usually always room for more \m/

 @kyleluvsdh: thanks man!

 Northern Ontario has some great riding. We spend a good bit of time in Sudbury and intend to get to Sault Ste. Marie this year. I'd take Sudbury over Blue MTN any day, but I don't mind pedaling.

 @privateer-wheels: If you're looking for something less rocky then Sudbury tends to be, North Bay has an escarpment of flow trails:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdfxT3BAJiw&t=428s&ab_channel=ToogyHowserMTB

Also have another hill with similar Canadian shield terrain just 10mins outside of town.

 @cliocatface: No problem, cheers \m/

 @Nacaeman: I love the rock in Sudbury! Would like to check out North Bay as well.

 You only have to deal with the SSM winter though.

 Woot ! Glad the word is getting out on SSM. I moved up to the Soo 8 years ago and never looked back. What a killer place with killer trails. Check out Velorution for any more information on the area and the riding scene www.velorution.ca

 I meant to post this a week or so ago. Here’s a list I’ve been working on of places in Canada that offer gravity riding!(there’s still so many to add):


Eastern Canada DH Bike Parks/Trails


- Horseshoe Valley Bike Park (ON) +
- Loree Forest Trails (ON) •
- Scarborough Bluff (ON) •
- Dagmar DH Trails (ON) ^
- Lookout Gravity Trails (ON) ^
- North Shore Trails (ON) ^
- Laurentian Ski Hill Area (ON) •/^
- Skead Trails (ON) ^
- Bellevue Valley DH Trails (ON) •

- Camp Fortune Bike Park (QC) +
- MSS Bike Park (QC) +
- Bromont Bike Park (QC) +
- Circuits Frontières (QC) •
- Parc Freeride 40/80 (QC) •/^
- Montcalm Bike Park (QC) +
- Mont-Arthabaska (QC) •/^
- Domaine du Radar (QC) •
- Vélo de Montagne MSG (QC) •
- Mont SM (QC) •/^
- Mont Sainte-Anne Bike Park (QC) +
- Le Massif Bike Park (QC) +
- Le Juniper (QC) ^
- Mines de St-Urbain (QC) ^
- Mont-Bélu Bike Park (QC) +
- Mont-Comi Bike Park (QC) +
- Mont Sainte-Joseph (QC) •

- Sugarloaf Bike Park (NB) +
- Crabbe Mountain Bike Park (NB) •
- MVP Trails (NB) •/^

- Brookvale Alpine Trails (PE) •/^

- Keppoch Mountain Bike Park (NS) +
- Grey Mountain Trails (NS) •

- Topsail DH Trail (NL) •
- White Hills Trails (NL) •
- Coppermine DH Trail (NL) ^
- Corner Brook Trails (NL) •/^

+ = Paid Lift/Shuttle Access
• = Self Shuttle Access
^ = Hike-a-Bike



Western Canada DH Bike Parks/Trails


- Asessippi Bike Park (MB) +

- Mill Creek (AB) •
- Cypress Hills Provincial Park (AB) •/^
- Fort McMurray Trails (AB) •/^
- Botterill Bottom Park Trails (AB) •
- Keillor Trails (AB) •/^
- Moose Mountain Trails (AB) •
- Prairie Mountain Trails (AB) ^
- Canmore Trails (AB) •
- Baseline Mountain Trails (AB) •
- Pass Powerkeg (AB) •/^
- Canada Olympic Bike Park (AB) +
- Nitehawk Bike Park (AB) +

- Piper Recreation Area (BC) •
- Ptarmigan Recreation Trails (BC) •
- The Bluff Recreation Area (BC) •
- Copper Mountain Trails (BC) •
- Boer Mountain and Kager Lake (BC) •
- Cranbrook Hill Trails (BC) •
- Dragon Mountain (BC) •
- Valemount Bike Park (BC) •
- McBride Mountain (BC) •
- Fox Mountain (BC) •
- Westsyde (BC) •
- South Side (BC) •/^
- Desous Trails (BC) •
- South Rutherford (BC) •
- Box Lake (BC) •
- Idaho Peak (BC) •
- New Denver (BC) •
- Mount Buchanan (East) (BC) •
- Nelson’s North Shore (BC) •
- Svoboda Road Trails (BC) •/^
- Mountain Station Trails (BC) •
- Morning Mountain Trails (BC) •
- Giveout and Gold Creek (BC) •
- Whitewater Gravity Trails (BC) •
- Rialto Trails (BC) •
- Merry Creek (BC) •
- Malde Creek (BC) •
- Red Mountain (BC) ^
- Stewart Creek Trails (BC) •
- Mackenzie BC Trails (BC) •/^
- Mosquito Lake Trails (BC) •
- Whistler Mountain Bike Park (BC) +
- Diamond Head (BC) •/!
- Alice Lake & Highlands (BC) ^
- Valleycliffe Trails (BC) ^
- Kamloops Bike Ranch (BC) •/^
- Sun Peaks Bike Park (BC) +
- Silver Star Bike Park (BC) +
- Boulder Mountain Trails (BC) •
- Kicking Horse Bike Park (BC) +
- Mount 7 Bike Park (BC) •
- Panorama Bike Park (BC) +
- Mt. Swansea Trails (BC) •
- Bootleg Mountain Trails (BC) •
- Fernie Bike Park (BC) +
- Morrissey Ridge Trails (BC) •
- Mount Washington Bike Park (BC) +
- Harper Mountain Trails (BC) •
- Powers Creek (BC) •
- Apex and Surroundings (BC) •
- Gillard Trails (BC) •
- Crawford Trails (BC) •/^
- Iron Mountain (BC) •
- Burnaby Mountain / SFU (BC) •/!
- Cypress Mountain, North Shore (BC) •/!
- Mount Seymour, North Shore (BC) •/!
- Mount Fromme, North Shore (BC) ^/!
- Eagle Mountain (BC) ^/!
- Burke Mountain (BC) •/^/!
- Woodlot Trails (BC) •/^/!
- Thornhill (BC) ^/!
- Vedder Mountain (BC) •
- Sumas Mountain (BC) •
- Ledgeview Trails (BC) ^
- Big White Bike Park (BC) +
- Porpoise Bay Trails (BC) •/^
- B&K (BC) •
- Coast Gravity Park (BC) +/!
- South Benson/Wolf Mountain (BC) •/!
- Mount Prevost Trails (BC) •/!
- Mount Tzouhalem (BC) •/!
- Forbidden Plateau (BC) - Closed
- Skirt Mountain (BC) •/!
- Harbourview (BC) ^/!

- Montana Mountain (YT) •
- Haekel Hill (YT) •
- Mt. Sima Bike Park (YT) +
- Midnight Dome Gravity Trails (YT) •

+ = Paid Lift/Shuttle Access
• = Self Shuttle Access
^ = Hike-a-Bike
! = Open Year-round

Hopefully this helps everyone find some awesome places to shred this season! Cheers Big Grin \m/

 scontent.fyzd1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/60349442_2249865481703145_68776389347639296_n.jpg?_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=0EJeqVF-V10AX-nM3dC&_nc_ht=scontent.fyzd1-2.fna&oh=0a2021294648c7e5be50833f6babc7f9&oe=6077E450

 

 I almost died on that highway drop. I was the first in the train and there was a family of hikers on the landing. I had to chuck my bike in midair to avoid landing on a kid. Signage got a lot better after that.

 @Adamrideshisbike: they always had to have picnics there

 @todayisthegreatest: Rumour is - They got rid of Highway and Scorpion Thunder because a family kept having their lunch ruined by riders landing on their sandwiches.. Rendering them claywiches.

 @kyleluvsdh: heard they are planning to discontinue skiing and snowboarding and replace it with lift access tobogganing to make their new customers happy

 @todayisthegreatest: I heard that too

 @kyleluvsdh: i actually came across a family having a picnic in the middle of the race course for the autobahn race in 2019

 @todayisthegreatest:
Haha xD

 the money up there in the summer comes from 'couples away for a romantic weekend', 'girls weekends' and the folks who never get outside and think they're in the wilderness when they go to the resort. These groups just want to hike around, hang in the restaurants and spend money in the boutiques. Downhillers will mostly grab a couple of pints and a plate of fries, then bail.

 @friendlyfoe: just to clarify, Blue makes enough off of tourists taking the gondola to the top to walk around and take pictures. They just saw the lines of hikers compared to bikers and seized the opportunity to make more money by freeing up space on the lift using COVID as another reason to cease lift access DH. I will never spend another Fu@KING dime!!! at their property and I spent a lot over the last 10-15 years. Blue can suck it!

 @friendlyfoe: Further, its not like they are going to stop the gondola and the trail maintenance absolutely sucked for the last several years. It would be mid-season before some of the runs were fixed and opened fpr riding. I don’t blame the trail crew but the management for being cheap ass. I even suggested a dig day/weekend where riders would assist to get things in shape but was poo-pooed.

 @friendlyfoe: I didn’t say they were operating at a loss (show me the books bc they have been running the lift for DH long before tourists started outnumbering rider). My point is that they saw an opportunity to increase profits by getting rid of DH.

 @ismellfish: And you don't see that as a completely rational and logical thing for them to do? Sucks for the bikers, but you act like they owe you something.

 @friendlyfoe: I didn’t say it wasn’t a logical decision from a business perspective, just a sh@tty situation. Further, they don’t owe me anything so don’t jump to conclusions. Do you own shares in Aspen skiing Co or something?

 @friendlyfoe: In most cases you’re right. Let the free market do it’s thing. In this case, Blue Mountain the company is just a steward of Blue Mountain the lifestyle. Residents man the lifts, cook the food clean the rooms. People don’t move here for the high paying jobs. I left six figures to come here and I was happy with the trade off. It’s the lifestyle the mountain provides. And while all is not lost, the community will suffer.
Not everything if for maximum profit. You, as a firm defender of their decision we can assume make similar orientated life decisions.
Seeing as you have all this extra time not riding the lift, maybe a little self reflection?

 @friendlyfoe: What you think I rap for? To push a fuc*in RAV4?
-Kanye West

Ouch

 @Dont-hit-trees: I don't think I ever implied that their decision is one that would be considered the moral high ground. A quick search of who owns Blue Mountain says in 2017 the group was acquired by a split between Aspen Skiing Company and KSL capital partners. A further search of either gives way to more private equity and holding groups.

For the record I think it sucks that they're killing MTB lift access riding. I'm just not at all surprised to see it happen.

 I think you are mostly right. But I’d say most places I’ve been lately, if it’s Whistler, Quebec or NE USA trail/enduro bikes are now more popular then ever.

 @onemind123: for lift access riding nothing beats a DH bike. That's why. Believe it or not we aren't far from Quebec as well.

 Trail bikes are more than enough.....Yeah, unless you have the freedom for multiple weekends in Quebec it is def overkill for Blue or anywhere else that comes to mind in Ontario! But still, I miss my DH bike!

 @teenwolf: I always liked my DH on the trails at blue, but the 5k peddle to get to the far side was brutal. A dropper post made a lot of sense.

 @rockyflowtbay: that pedal seems like 5k, right?!

 @teenwolf: it's about 2kms iirc.

 @atrokz: clearly not 5km....surprised it is even 2! But certainly always seemed like forever when you wanna ride!

 @teenwolf: I'm probably not too far off. I recall my data from days at blue being like 20k steps just on the flats for a short day ????. I'm sure someone w Strava has the actual length.

 Its making me question owning my DH bike. I'd ride Blue twice a week and every 2nd or 3rd weekend do bromont or into the states for 3 or 4 days. With the border closed and blue shut down, kinda hard to justify it. A DH bike at horseshoe just plain sucks.

 @CamTakacs: I sold mine after having one since 2013. Bought an Enduro. 170mm with a dropper. Should do the trick.

 Because, 20-40laps of blue in a day is still hard as f*ck on a trail bike(structurally I mean) and multiply that by 30+ days a year...

 Amen! The Shoe deserves Sea Otter!

 Thanks for posting that photo. So many great memories over the span of two decades - I wish Blue would have had a kinder send off, such as thanking us for the patronage, thanks for all the great times and great friends made. They could have collected and posted photos from the riders to commemorate a great time instead of posting a shitty 500 words to let us know. They could have said "Thank You" for the great times and let us do the same.
Jeezuz, it feels like my girlfriend dumped me.

 @dguzzler: Cheers, I'm happy to share some of the good memories. Those were simpler times as they say. And I completely agree with you. They did the community dirty, it feels like a real kick in the sack :/

 CAMP FORTUNE IS SICK!!! I can't upvote this comment enough!^ If you like gnar, and rocks, you'll LOVE CAMP FORTUNE

 @kyleluvsdh: yup! Used to leave my DH bike in Ottawa to ride Fortune and ride trail bike in Ontario! Love every ride there!

 Absolutely. I just hope it doesn't get overwhelmed and we spend 30 minutes in the lift line for a 30 second run. Don’t get me wrong, they have the right approach with some good jumps and drops. Hopefully some punk without skill doesn’t kill themselves and the parents sue the sh&t out of them.

 @ismellfish: partly agree. I agree with the lines getting way to long last year, actually towards the end of the season it persuaded me go to Bromont each weekend instead. I take issue with horseshoe, while they do their part (excellently), there’s a party that’s a stake holder in both resorts. So by going to horseshoe they still make profit.

 @wvanlogg: yes, i read up on ownership. It appears that Skyline developments owns 50% of the retails space in the Blue Mountain village. Not sure what input they have wrt operations though.

 Maybe Mr. Edwards will find a spare nickel for RCR.

 less down and farther drive????

 I was hoping that I'd be able to go this year, especially since you helped me get the last part for my freeride hardtail! Hopefully horseshoe is able to open this year, or make the trip out to Quebec! Again, thanks dude!

 @noone1223: definitely hate seeing all the trails at blue sit if there's no turnaround. But just a few hours out east there's bigger runs, cheaper beer and better food!

 @smallmonkey: Same here. The trails out here aren't that great and not exactly maintained, but I'm definitely going out to where it's better. It's just sad seeing years of work go to waste, as well as a ton of jobs.

 why would you support an enduro race that blue is hosting when they're gutting out the heart of it?

 I always thought that was a great solution. Use one of the lifts in the middle of the mountain for bikes. Better to get to all trails, don't have to mix with the people taking hikes.

 It's too bad they never fully embraced the mountain biking. You see small hills in NE USA like Highland, Thunder, Burke (lower) create amazing trails with similar elevation. Will almost 5 million people within an hour or so, it could have been so much better, and been a real center for lift access in Ontario.

 #BOYCOTTBLUEMOUNTAIN

Amen.

Don't support anything BMR does.
Shareholders are sweating.

#BOYCOTTBLUEMOUNTAIN

 What Highland has done with 600 ft, Blue could have done better if they wanted to. They never really had the desire to make it a mountain bike destination.

 I always heard Calabogie was sick! Ugh ONTARIO!!!!!

 Calabogie was fun!! Agree, Blue was mostly a waste of a 2 hr drive...and Fortune in Gatineau was a better destination at 4+ hours for some rough, albeit relatively short, DH riding on a chair!

 See you at Bellevue Valley DH in Sault! Come out to Bromont and Mont-Sainte-Anne if you get a chance too! Or hit us up and we can probably work out a carpool situation! Cheers \m/

 If you ever want to stretch a trip out, Thunder Bay and Dryden have great trails also. I have to hit North Bay this summer. One of the few places in that direction I haven't made it out to yet.

 @BeacherMike @kyleluvsdh thanks guys. I've been all over Quebec. I was born and raised in Newfoundland, and really appreciate technical riding more east. Northern Ontario really reminds me of home from what I have experience so far. Sudbury is my current favourite area in Ontario, and hoping to find similar pockets of goodness in the rear you have posted =)

 @privateer-wheels: Oh man you're going to LOVE Bellevue Valley DH! It may remind you of home too .
There's some amazing Canadian Shield rock worked into some of the trails. Most notably: 'Bee Sting', 'CONKY' and 'House Rock' (House Rock is similar to the Dwayne Johnson rock drop Brendan Fairclough worked into his 2019 Redbull Rampage run). They've got some amazing trails there, you'll be pleasantly surprised \m/

They have:

Three Single Blacks
- 'Hot Knives'
- 'Side Piece'
- 'Bee Sting' (Bee Sting is more of a Blue trail with some optional black features, but still sick)

One Double Black
- 'CONKY'

Two Pro Lines
- 'House Rock'
- 'Ron Burgundy'


The locals seem to be so welcoming and hospitable too! It really seems have that mini BC vibe

 Seeing as Whistler is predicted to have a 2 month ski season by 2040, I can only see investment in their bike park growing.

 No fear, Whistler Bike Park isn't going anywhere

 @drakefan705: I take that as a bet and steal some Thudberg lunch mone .

 Fact check confirmed xD