Whitefish, Proven Here - Video
As mountain bikers it is our nature to explore and get lost in the woods in search of the next prime stretch of singletrack. Riding in Whitefish and the surrounding Flathead Forest of Montana, there are opportunities abound for us to fulfill this inner desire. Whitefish Mountain Resort is the hub of riding activity with purpose built park jumps and rugged natural, mountain lines linking together a lift-serve experience that rivals any park in the country. We spent many an afternoon testing the limits of our trail bikes there. Venturing outside of town limits and into the fringes of this sparsely populated state, miles of trails were revealed. The high ridge-lines of the Alpine Trail network provide distant views of glaciers and what felt like endless turns. Further west, strewn between the lakes region, we found untracked dirt veiled by seasons of pine needle decay. After a week exploring the region, we began to question ourselves and ponder relocation to this alcove of like-minded riders, world-class trails, and the plethora of local breweries was an additional draw.
The long days of the summer months in this northern region led to multiple ride sessions in the day. In the morning, we hit up the local townie flow trails of Spencer Mountain. These would be a central feature of any other riding region but were just one of the many offshoots from downtown Whitefish. In the later afternoon when the daylight stretched well into the evening, we headed deeper to more remote locations, ending our days under the blue glow of the summer night sky.
Is it better to research and ride known commodities of trail or pick a spot and take a chance? Well, the latter was our strategy to explore the lakes region west of town. Late one evening with motivation fading and the Trailforks app listing most trails as “unmaintained”, we risked pointing to a spot on the map. Heading out into the unknown, we bush-wacked our way in. With dissension among the ranks and night closing in, our perseverance was rewarded. We found fresh dirt preserved under the cover of past seasons’ fallen flora. Nature preserving nature. As our knobbed tires uncovered these un-tracked trails, hoots and hollers echoed among the trees.
Presented by: yeticycles.com
Filmed by: Joey Schusler and Craig Grant
Edited by: Craig Grant
Cable Cam Tech: John Reynolds
Sound Design: Keith White
Music Composition: Ajay Bhattacharyya
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Photos by: Craig Grant
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Riders: Shawn Neer and Jubal Davis
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#YetiCycles #ProvenHere #SB5
MENTIONS: @yeticycles
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102 Comments
Oh look, another terrorist attack. Good thing we have Ben here to point out societal problems. Still waiting
Wars been going on for a few thousand years now.
For anyone swinging through the area, check out www.flatheadamb.org for local info and bike related events.
This line tells me @joeyschusler was pusing some.home bodies out of their comfort zone with his wanderlust.
End of the vid is at Spencer: www.trailforks.com/trails/otter-pop
Tough to say where the middle bits were filmed. There's a lot of trails around that kinda look like that. Might have been Tally Overlook. www.trailforks.com/route/tally-overlook-loop
And trails like Spencer and Tally Overlook aren't really ever brushy.
For the other stuff (Spencer, Tally Overlook, etc.), those'll be good to go way earlier. Spencer should be good by mid to late April, and Tally Overlook will be good soon after that. The higher Tally area trails probably need until late May.