Hurtin’ For Vert – Stage 3

Posted on August 22, 2009September 7, 2009 by Smoke

I won’t tell if you won’t tell…

Yes, the torture never stops on this trip. It’s beginning to feel like another stag party, but no one is getting married. Today we’ve got a double header with the classic Nelson line of the Paperbag to warm up, and one of those little helicopter jobbies to take us up to some alpine for the main course.

The Bag is a good reason to visit Nelson. A long enough climb to make it feel like you’ve done something with your day, and a technical descent through endless rock slabs down to a beach.

Oh, and it gets pretty technical in spots. Enough to even stress out the North Shore riders a bit. Not much, but a bit. Matt made it look simple.

Hey, it’s a rad ride… but we were just getting warmed up.

Ahhhh…that’s what I like to see.

Sollid Mtn., and a very small landing zone.

It’s two ridges over from yesterday’s ride, and we could see Cherry tops easily from here.

Don’t get too excited, there Burchie.

Mario, overacting in a corner.

So cliche…

Looking north to the Kokanee’s.

Here come the Whistler boys. Two up…

…and one down. Silly Dingo, loosen yer cleats.

A couple more postcards for you.

So, the flat fest continued. Luckily, it’s about the best huckleberry season in living memory. Only one thing to say about this next shot…

“NOM NOM NOM NOM”

Whoa, those berries really go through ya. The lake is THAT way…

It’s too bad you can’t see how steep this section is. Probably the steepest continuous section of the whole four days.

The last section of this ride is all about open rock faces, hence the “Doz Slabs” handle. Lower Hitman gets you all riled up with a rock garden of big tombstones, and then you get into a series of 12 burly rock lines that culminate in this bad boy here.

The usual finish into a lake for continuity, and we’re happy campers.

Here’s your stats…

And your

Interactive Map

goodies.

Hurtin’ For Vert – Stage 2

Posted on August 21, 2009September 7, 2009 by Smoke

I did NOT get enough sleep last night, but I think I still did better than everyone else. A wicked thunderstorm rolled through after midnight, and while some were sleeping outside I managed to score a sweet trailer with a huge memory foam mattress.

Still, we all had to get up really early to catch the ferry at Galena Bay.

A nice cruise on the lake was a nice reward. Check the smoke from all the forest fires that are still burning around BC. Margus was more interested in cheesy trick shots.

Ja Mario, the camera still loves you, even in the morning.

OK, we’re off to Baldface today, and with some help from Pat at Dirt Tours. While they can’t shuttle us all the way up, they did manage to get us up the first 5000’.

Here’s the specs…

So while we got close, you still have to hike the last bit to the top.

Here we are at Cherry Tops, the high point of the day. If you look carefully, you’ll see Tyler hurtin’ his way up to the top, way in the background.

And now, a selection of different riders doing the same thing.

After that, the trail got really steep for a long time. Check out the arm pump on Wade.

Time for a whiskey break.

Then it was back to sick steeps for another hour. Here’s Tyler, catching some rare airtime.

Everybody say thanks to Pat.

“Thanks Pat”

Now all we had to do is wait for Kinrade to bring my van back. Luckily, there was some kind of hippie fest going. I think a lot of these shrubs only get out of the Slocan Valley a couple of times a year. Very entertaining.

The Muffin Tops did some dancing for us.

Parking is expensive in Nelson, so we put all our bikes on one parking meter. Anyone who’s ever had a run in with the meter maids in Nelson will appreciate this one.

Bikes, beers, bros, now we just need some food.

Oh, and Carys says “Hi!”

**Bonus

Google Map View

Hurtin’ For Vert – Stage 1

Posted on August 20, 2009September 7, 2009 by Smoke

Now that we got the warmup done, it’s time to ride. The first stage is the legendary Keystone Standard ride. A gorgeous out and back rip up by Revelstoke.

Here’s the beta…

As usual, it’s a bluebird day. Still, even with perfect visibility it’s hard to see Burchie in there.

Oh, there he is.

Our token female out for this lap. Elinor and Casey had big FR rigs, and went back to Revy. This is Nicole(I think…sorry if I got it wrong), from Vernon.