GFell

@PorterupO4W9: I've wondered this for years: could it be just a step to fulfilling their daydream? -- quit that boring "knowledge work" job, and, instead of commuting, turn those fresh mud-tires inland and get lost in the backcountry? The idea of commuting to a cubicle in some office turns my stomach, so maybe this is "daydream" preparation to one day escape from that prison? But then again, isn't craving (and then buying) all that expensive gear exactly what keeps one imprisoned? Chicken or the egg?

Nothing like Madchild to get you warmed up to shred!

Haven't been looking forward to watching footage of an event this much in a very long time. What a beautiful setting and beautiful group of riders and crew!

The graphs make me think of the old MSDOS computer game, Nibbles.

@TommyNunchuck: *laugh emoji*

His goggles landed on my burger.

@Lanmine: That's unfortunate to hear but I suspect there's more to it than meets the public eye. Nonprofits are restricted by the grantmakers who fund them. If the funding is granted specifically for trail development and not rock climbing development, they cannot choose to change how they use their funding or they lose it completely. In "STONE QUARRY" area, there are many indigenous archeological sites which need to be protected and ALL of the trail development there has been done around these sites through specific corridors which cannot be changed. And, as far as I know in both Penitente and Stone Quarry trail systems, SLVGO! did not build the original trails and have only ever helped maintain them to manage erosion events, so I'm not sure how trail maintenance leads to the destruction of climbing sites? There may be part of that story I'm unaware of though, so, as a fellow SLV resident, I'd be curious to learn the details about how this occurred. Clear and specific communication is the best way to unwind distrust and confusion in small rural communities, and I'm betting they'd like to hear from you in person so they have a better understanding of what damage they have caused to the local climbing community. A secondary thought: given how difficult it is to find funding at all, it may make more sense to apply for trail building and maintenance support for multi-use trails because more of the population can take advantage of these developments (there are no MTB specific trails in the SLV). Still, I bet if you were able to locate a grantmaker who specifically wants to fund the development of climbing areas in the SLV -- as long as they aren't on known archeological sites -- SLVGO! would be willing to help make that happen. It's always worth a shot. Thank you for furthering this conversation because these are all important topics to discuss in this remote valley which has access to such limited resources!

@stormracing: The trail is known locally as "Treasure." It starts at the top of Wolf Creek Pass via the CDT, but quickly drops west off of the divide and descends many thousands of feet toward Pagosa. It eventually dumps you out onto a FSR which you can take back to Highway 160. The true gems are the massive rides from Monte Vista -- combination FSR or BLM two-track linked with high-country singletrack to form absolutely huge loops through the mountains just southwest of Monte. No one rides them (or knows about them) but me and a very few others.

Hey Brice -- you should check out the organization SLVGO! and their stewardship of the trail systems in the San Luis Valley of south central Colorado. The valley is a true hidden gem and there's such trail variety: everything from low-tech flow across the high-desert plains; tight, Moab-like slick-rock tech systems; huge shuttle missions off Wolf Creek Pass; endless wagon road double-track for those long gravel days; or enormous high-country adventure loops into the San Juan Mountains. It truly has something for everyone -- even endurance racers like myself. Cheers, and great article!