Trails Update: Nov 5, 2021
Weather Report Suite
Winter rain, now tell me why
Summers fade and roses die
The answer came, the wind and rain...
Bob Weir paints this week’s mood well. It was another soaker out there and it feels like old man winter is ready to take over.
And so, like the bears, our tools are set to hibernate.
Winter gray and falling rain
We'll see summer come again
Darkness fall and seasons change
We’re calling it a season.
We gave AM/PM everything we had left and it too needs a break. The trail will remain closed until spring when we can finish what we started (so will After Hours).
At the end of the day, wet and chilled to the bone, Liam said these repairs felt like playing whack-a-mole: every time we got water off of the trail, it re-appeared at a different spot. Indeed. We then bumped into my friend Claire who was walking her dogs, she likened AM/PM to a colander. Very astute.
Liam, Renee, and I survived the week thanks to hot soup and tea. And riveting reminiscence about our favourite projects from earlier in the summer:
“That rock wall at the top of Whipped Cream was pretty fun, also the wasp’s nest thing on Delineator. Can’t believe no one got stung!” - Liam
“After all those years of wishing for it, “Section With a View” (climb reroute on Section 102) gives me some closure. I loved the intricacy of building the new bridges on Delineator with Andreas too. Some projects were memorable for how hard they were… like that LOTS segment where all the rocks needed re-arranging” - Renee
This fun game made me reach out to the other members of the team (that were not in class at the time of writing).
“Definitely nice to work on Delineator since it’s in my backyard! I also loved working on Chipmunk and Industrial Waste since I ride them so often” - Andreas
“Replacing that rotten bridge with rocks (to make a drop) on Anal Intruder was complex and fun. The Chipmunk and Industrial Waste upgrades made a huge change. Making berms with Liam on Beaver Pass too!” - Darren
“High Society (all of it). It was great to revitalize a westside classic. Building the rock bridge in the Shit Happens canyon. Also: finally getting the railings on the Sproatt creek crossing (Industrial Waste) was sweet” - Pat
“Those big rock ramps on Yummy Numby turned out really cool! There were so many fun projects… Also: armouring around all the roots for the climbs and that thing that could have been a bridge but we used only rocks on Lord of the Squirrels” - Benoit
For me (Dan): “I’m really stoked about blue-ifying A Cut Above. That trail needed some of everything (rock, dirt and wood work) and the crew blasted through so many big complicated upgrades. Lower Piece of Cake is also a point of pride: everyone elevated their masonry skills after the clinic with Ken! The climb to Out There also brings me a lot of “network connectivity” satisfaction. Oh, and Runaway Train feels like it’s actually finished now. Oh, and the modernizing of Foreplay too, plus, there’s also…
every week filled me with an immense sense of accomplishment!”
I cannot thank the crew enough! Their work ethic and attention to detail is second to none. I am so proud of what we’ve accomplished this season and look forward to seeing what interesting puzzles we will need to solve next year… starting with AM/PM.
Finally, I also want to thank our members, all trail users and Whistler council for trusting us to care for these invaluable community assets. It’s a real privilege to share our craft with you!
See you on the trails!
Dan Raymond
WORCA Lead Trail Builder
