Gillard Session

Dave wanted to ride something different today, and since he was going to be in Kelowna we decided to go hit up Gillard.

Only one problem…too many Fags on the bridge.

Haven’t spent much time up in Gillard the past couple of seasons, but it’s looking great.  Tons of work has been done up there.  Hard to believe this network was essentially destroyed by fire.  Here’s Dave on Dr. No, which has had a substantial rebuild this year.

Also finally had a look at the new Casino Royale (lots of pics of the build from Bert and Ernie…I mean Andrew and Brant..at that link).  It’s an incredible trail.  While there are a few really large moves, for the most part it’s more of a technical ride with some 5′ drops and some really, really cool lines.  Highly recommended.

Oh, and thanks to Brooke for driving the shuttle today.  That was awesome.

Casino Royale Rebuild

I’ve really been off the back for trail work this year.  Apparently it’s a normal part of becoming a parent, and I’ll be able to put a lot more time in again in a year or two, but for now it’s sort of sad how little I’ve been able to get done this season.

At least I’m out there a little bit.  Brant and Andrew (and lots of other folks) have been out a lot resurrecting all the old Gillard trails that were destroyed in the fire of 2003.

They have already re-opened Casino Royale, and now we’re out clearing Lower Casino, which I didn’t even know existed.  It’s pretty hard to find in places, but there’s a bunch of old decrepit stunts to follow.  Andrew is able cut some new lines that are pretty clear, too.

Well, until you hit this swamp.  This is when Ryan showed up to show us the way, as he worked on the old trail way back in the day.

Ummm…where is that trail, again?

OK, so we’ve got a bit of work ahead of us.  Still, with just a handful of MTBco members out today, we got a good third or more of the line cleared and some nice features rebuilt.

Next year….that’s gonna be a great line.