Trails Update: Nov 08, 2019
A great sprint to the finish
We’ve been graced with outstanding weather for November trailwork this year! The bonus opportunity moved our Lord Of The Squirrels buffing to the exit of LESS. We focused on the short climbs that for some people had become the cruxes of the trail. Roots are armoured and capped, drains are wide open and ready for the eventual rains. We hope to beat the melt next spring and shake things up a little bit more before re-unveiling it...
The RMOW crew is also done for the season, after completing a re-route and some bridge upgrades in A River Runs Through It. Full disclosure: I’m a fan of old-school skinny biking… So I committed the WORCA crew to repair and reconnect “Pass the Sugar” to the RMOW re-route. (Pass the Sugar is the 150m long optional double black skinny/stunt).
The simple bridging of a section smashed by deadfall turned into a full-on renovation as, segment after segment showed serious decay. We braced it all up to keep the full trees in place and replaced most of the joining segments. The iconic teeter-totter was on “its last leg” and was also replaced. Shying away from moving parts, we opted for an a-frame design which commemorates the shape of the soon to break teeter.
Did I mention that I’m a fan of old-school skinny biking… while some of the new work looks “easier” (in pictures) we took care to make things a little higher and skinnier. The whole balance experience clocks in at around a minute of focused adrenaline! Perhaps the days of “sessioning river runs through it could make a comeback? (I only made it twice in 5 tries this afternoon…)
In the spring, we’ll be adding a prologue “squirrel catcher” feature so that everyone knows exactly what lies ahead…
Go check it out when (if) the snowline creeps down.
Thanks!
I look forward to Monday mornings. I love my job. The work is challenging, both physically and mentally… sometimes even emotionally. I am lucky to have an outstanding team that keeps me on task and buys into our vision for making Whistler’s trail network the best it can be!
Benoit, Renee, Ian and Pat take great pride in their work. They are shredders who ride what they build (even the climbs). It is a pleasure to spend time in the woods with you!
Bonus trail crew shoutout goes to our team of WORCA dirt camp coaches who put in some (hard) time with us this spring and fall: Liam, Danielle and Andreas, thanks for the sweat and sore backs you put up with!Extra bonus shoutout goes to the sponsors and volunteers (I know… I already thanked vollies last week). Beyond the Tuesday Dig Nights, we had some volunteers put in full days with the crew: See you again soon Rob and Tic!
Finally, the WORCA volunteer board! You guys make this whole thing possible! Whether through securing funds, getting trail approvals, wrangling sponsors or putting up with my raven stories, Seb, Matt, Quinn, Sandi, Nina, Kate, Omer, Rob, Grant, Bernard, Huw and Dale, everything that we do in the forest is only possible thanks to your devotion! See you in the peak chair line up!
Dan Raymond
WORCA Lead Trail Builder
