Each summer at Fernie Alpine Resort we make updates and changes to be always improving the experience for all our guests, this year some exciting items include;

New Resort to Park  Connections for Hiking & Biking
Working in partnership with the Fernie Trail Alliance, we’re bringing the resort and the Mount Fernie Provincial Park closer than ever before!  This summer, take the Timber Chair from the base of Fernie Alpine Resort, enjoy alpine hiking or biking on the new Mammoth Loop or Lost Boys Trail, and proceed to hike or bike your way back to the Provincial Park via the Megasaurus & Boom trails, to our new Old Growth trail.

Trail Updates
Our hardworking trail crew will be busy this spring finishing up construction on a new Timber side trail called “Neverland” – a sweet singletrack that spurs off of lower Rumplestumpskin and promises to be an adrenaline pumping option for advanced riders.   Also new this summer will be the Mammoth Loop, a new alpine cross country biking loop at the top of the Timber Express Chair!

That’s not all!  View the full list.

Now I lay me down to bed, I pray the lord for epic trails to shred. And if they’re not there when I wake then epic lines I vow to make…

Machines are fuelled and lubed, tools are sharpened, and muscles are eager to dig. Spring has nestled quite comfortably into the Elk Valley and the trail crew is heading back to work this week! Here it is… your first Fernie Alpine Resort trail crew update of 2015!

Thanks to low spring snow levels we have already been able to survey a few trails and the news is good. Our commitment to resolving drainage problems and focus on steering our older fall line trails towards newer environmentally sustainable construction practices has finally paid off.  Those rides we have seen, in fact, have very little spring run-off damage. This means that other than the usual inspections and buffing, we can focus our time on a few brand new projects for the 2015 season.

So what is new this season? A quick review of my notebook work list looks something like this:

• buff out and blowdown removal on all 30+ trails plus signage installation
• finish construction of the new Timber side singletrack trail ‘Neverland’
• construction of the new Timber side alpine cross country bike trail ‘Mammoth’
• revert dual slalom back to singletrack with new skills park features
• complete a new singletrack multi-use trail from Elk Load to Boom Bottom
• construction of new multi-use singletrack trail from Haul Back Bottom through old growth forest to Old Goat in Mount Fernie Provincial Park
• new multi-use paths connecting resort accommodations to Fernie Alpine Resort base area and the new Fernie Nordic Society trails
• major tune on Rumplestumpskin from Timber Chair unload to Surprise Corner (mid elevation), upper Mr Berms and upper Big Rig berm tune-up.

It is a heavy work list for our crew this year but we look forward to the challenge. Detailed and daily updates start this week so keep checking back with Trail Crew progress on facebook, instagram, and the FAR website for glimpses of all the action.

See you on opening day June 27th Loam Rangers,

Sincerely,

Your Fernie Alpine Resort Trail Crew

Fernie, B.C
One of the largest Bike Parks in the region with a recent focus on progression makes Fernie Alpine Resort’s bike park a favourite among the biking community, being voted in the Top 5 Bike Parks in Canada for the last 2 years.  Offering cross country, downhill, single track and dual slalom trails accessible from the base area or chair lift as well as a number of green trails and lessons for any ability level to learn the sport or brush up on skills.

Photo: Tourism Fernie

Fernie Alpine Resort isn’t the only place to ride in Fernie, along with a number of trails accessed from town, maintained by the Fernie Mountain Bike Club and the Fernie Trails Alliance there have been significant improvements made to a number of trails over the last few summer’s allowing even more people to enjoy scenery around this gorgeous mountain town!  A favourite among the youngest generation of riders, Fernie also has a FREE dirt jump park with large & small jumps, bridges and obstacles to check out, located in town near the aquatic centre.

For more information on Mountain Biking in Fernie, B.C visit the Fernie Tourism website.

Photo: Tourism Kimberley

Kimberley, B.C
There are ‘trails for everyone’ in Kimberley, 3 different trail networks offer everything from beginner riding with gentle, scenic cruises to some adrenaline pumped more difficult trails.  With the newest improvements of the trails, the North Star Rails to Trails network is a 25 km long multi use track perfect connecting Kimberley & Cranbrook, perfect for families looking for an afternoon spent exercising outdoors in one of the sunniest places in B.C!  Other trails to try are the Lois Creek Trails, geared towards beginner to intermediate riders, and the Kimberley Nature Park, one of the largest municipal parks in Canada for great for riders of all levels.

Get more information on the Tourism Kimberley website.

Photo: Tourism Golden

Golden, B.C
Try out the only gondola accessed mountain biking in the region at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, with over 3,700 feet of variety, there’s downhill hardcore single tracks with multiple berms, jumps and wooden features as well as lessons and green trails offered for beginners!  Golden, B.C has more amazing mountain biking options to offer, being located near Mount 7, one of the most challenging downhills in Canada!  Not to worry if you aren’t into the challenge, there are over 100 kms of cross country trails on Mountain Shadows and Moonraker trail systems as well as easier road and mountain cycling.  Don’t miss the annual Totally Spoked Bike Fest, this year on May 30^th, and participate or observe great mountain biking events at the resort and all around the town!

Get more information on the Tourism Golden website.

Fernie Alpine Resort’s bike park has been ranked by voters in the Top 5 Bike Parks in Canada for the second summer in a row by MTBParks.  Look out for the official announcement and list in May on MTBparks.com and decline magazines digital edition.

Start planning summer now!  Opening day is Saturday, June 27th, experience lift accessed hiking and mountain biking as well as interpretive programs our zipline & aerial park and much more!

Book your vacation online or call us at 1-800-258-7669 today!

A dream doesn’t become reality through magic. It takes determination, sweat and hard work.
– Colin Powell

Another legendary summer is well under way at Fernie Alpine Resort. We are now two weeks into bike park season yet it seems like only yesterday we were breaking ground on spring trail work. It is a major task to open over 2505 acres of hiking and biking trails; and this year we accepted the additional challenge of preparing our upper mountain Timber side trails as well.  Opening weekend always brings a level of anxiety, trepidation, and excitement for our crew as we look forward to seeing familiar faces out on the trails and hoping that our month of hard work earns a certain level of #ferniestoke. Despite significant amounts of rain fall, there were many muddy smiles and high fives flying to our relief.

After a quick respite, the Bike Crew headed back into the forest to finish our new green trail “Duff Dynasty”. One of our main goals this season was to create a fun, flowy way for novice riders to access lower mountain green trails without having to ride the gravel road. While bike parks these days are taking a lot of flack for ‘dumming down riding’ or making things ‘too green’ the reality is that;
1. These 10% grade trails are more environmentally and fiscally sustainable than tech fall line trails
2. More people, including families, are entering the sport and looking for enjoyable (not hostile-on-the-brakes-scary) descents
3. These wide, machine made flow trails can be enjoyed by all abilities and promote progression that allows bike parks to attract, retain, and convert people to life long bikers which is great for the industry in general. We altered the route and grade of upper Mr. Berms to assist with this access and have now completed and opened Duff Dynasty top to bottom. We have also done some substantial work to Ben’s Big Rig including resurfacing, rebuilding the berms, and widening the traverse across the Dipsy which provides an alternative green route down to Eville and Honey Bee. Crews will continue to revisit and improve these new sections as the season progresses and the trails wear in.

The remainder of our time over the past two weeks has been spent improving all the small stuff that usually goes un noticed. Tasks like weed whacking, pulling out stubborn boulders, cutting roots, and pruning back trees is not glamourous work, but it is definitely hard work worth doing. This should translate to better flow, improved sightlines, and less stinging nettle burn to the shins. There are also a few new connector lines out there to assist with the choose-your-own-adventure style riding we all love; keep your eyes our for a lower TNT to Duff Gardens connector (cuts over to lower Rumplstumpskin above all the wood work); and a steep loamy alternate route on Rumplstumpskin just before the slow tech rock section with the small bridges.

Moving forward, you will see our crews out this week improving the hiking trail out Lost Boys Pass, working on a total rebuff of Canada Cup Downhill to repair major winter erosion issues and alder overgrowth, in addition to ongoing buffing of all your favorite rides. There are a few other projects in the works but you will have to keep checking in for the latest updates and sneak peak photos.

In the meantime, keep on slaying it Loam Rangers. The Scott Thursday Night Race series continues with our third race of the year on July 17th and our Kids Intermediate Freeride campon July 24th. See ya out there!

Sincerely,

Your Fernie Alpine Resort Bike Crew