Sun Peaks Bike Park Opens Tomorrow - Park Update
You’ve been longing for this day nearly as much as the struts on your trusty shuttle vehicle… The Sun Peaks Bike Park opens tomorrow morning, offering nearly 2,000’ of lift-accessed vertical! Long-time local rider and Sun Peaks Bike Park Coordinator James Jeffries says we’re in for a treat this weekend, “Overall trail conditions are great, it’s hero dirt out there! There are a few of the usual wet spots still to dry up. Route 66 is still soft after a full machine re-work but it will tighten up as it gets tires on it and settles with time.”
The Trail Crew’s been busy with a top-to-bottom machine grooming of the park’s signature green route, Smooth Smoothie. This upgrade will improve trail smoothness and flow while also assessing drainage issues for better trail sustainability. In a similar vein as Route 66’s facelift, Smoothie’s work is toward the end of making the trail more approachable for beginner riders as an introduction to lift-accessed riding, for overall progression through the Bike Park’s many trail options.
Smoothie’s upgrade is still in the works and though the trail is expected to be open to the public, you’ll notice a marked difference as you pass the parked machine illustrating how far the crew’s progress has descended. The full upgrade is expected to be completed by the end of next week and, like Route 66, will be soft for the first little while. Both trails will tighten up as they get tires on them and settle with time. In case you're wondering about the process; after the initial machine build is complete on a section of trail, the Trail Crew moves in to manually remove large rocks, rake the surface smooth, and shovel-slap pack/tamper-pack as terrain allows, all before it sees the first rubber.
The new race course for the 2016 Canadian DH Championships is shaping up nicely, new trail components Sticky One and Resurrection are still works in progress and will complete the new top-to-bottom singletrack assault once finished, "The new race course is nothing like the track used in the past, it will test racers’ bike handling skills for the fastest times. The new course is 100% singletrack, with a select few machine built features and segments to keep things interesting, starting from the top of the Sunburst chairlift on Insanity One right to the base of the mountain,” explains Jeffries.
Beyond focusing on improvements to the mountain’s beginner and intermediate machine-made flow trails, the trail crew has been tending to the usual pre-season maintenance that often gets glossed over, but make the biggest overall difference to your ride out there; repairing water damage, brush cutting singletrack, general trail surface buffing and jump lip/landing shaping.
What can you ride tomorrow? Just about everything!
The Sun Peaks Bike Park is home to 40 lift-accessed trails – check out the trail map here and trail status and descriptions here – from those 40 options 36-38* will be open to ride, with the exceptions being:
Resurrection and Sticky One are shaping up nicely but are still works in progress, as new elements to the DH race track. Both new trails are slated to be open to ride by July 8th, or sooner, with Sticky One likely coming first.
Vista and Altitude XC trails remain closed for early season riding due to moisture issues and lingering snowpack in the alpine, this route will be open as soon as conditions allow. Check out recommended routes on the Bike Park trail map for alternative XC and All Mountain routes.
*Behind Bars may need some additional time to dry out and Smooth Smoothie is in the midst of a full facelift, it will likely be open but the full upgrade is not expected to be complete until next Friday.
Get yourself to the bottom of the Sunburst chairlift and enjoy as much riding as you can handle, with a day stretching from 10:00am through to 7:00pm (last lift up at 6:45pm) you can get your fill of DH with plenty of time to swap out for the trail bike and explore the mountain’s lift-accessed cross country and all mountain trails, or earn your turns with a pedal on the Mt. Morrisey XC trail network.
Bike Park season is finally upon us! We hope you enjoy the trails this weekend and that hero dirt that us interior riders usually only dream of. If you see the Trail Crew lads out there be sure to toss some extra high fives their way for all the blood sweat and tears they’ve put into making your day in the saddle a rad one.
Sun Peaks Resort mountain biking trails
See you on the trails!
- Sun Peaks Bike Park Team / @SunPeaksResort
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Kudos to your trail crew for (re)building an incredible trail. It used to be okay, but the new changes are a work of art. Whistler Bike Park could learn something here for their Dusty's Descent trail.