Big White Ski Resort has officially started constructing a world-class, lift-served mountain bike trail network with 100's of acres of gravity fed trails, terrain parks, pump tracks, and freestyle training facilities. In June, Alpine Bike Parks began trail design and construction started in early August. Alpine brought on local riders Tom and Bas van Steenbergen and started carving out trails for Big White’s master plan developed by Brent Harley and Associates. For 2017, there will be a spectrum of trails for all ability levels, including pro-level trails designed by Tom and Bas.
For over 50 years, Big White has been consistently ranked as Canada's top family ski resort. Located in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, the resort village is a 45-minute drive from Kelowna, 5 hours from Vancouver and 6 hours from Seattle.
Bike Big White’s goal is to create a unique asylum for the mountain biking community. At full build out, this family-friendly trail network will include more than 30 trails (70% flow and 30% technical) to explore for years to come.
Working around the clock to build world-class downhill trails before the snow flies, Alpine's team has just scratched the surface of the resort’s wild alpine terrain. Everyone is psyched to make Big White’s ride-in, ride-out alpine trails legendary. The collaboration process between the resort, the builders, and the hometown hero's has created something special that Big White is very proud to release. The bike park opens in the summer of 2017.
“
Through the years, I have become an avid gravity mountain biker and often I find my family traveling long distances to ride great trails,” said
Big White’s President, Peter Plimmer. “
So, I have to say that this project is as much a personal lifestyle decision as it is a business decision. We want to have an awesome place to ride close to home and I believe the personal meaning of this project to our family will differentiate us from other lift-served riding destinations.”
Tom and Bas scheme on the optimal line with Alpine's PM Morgan Benbough.
Dustin Gilding, Alpine's lead trail designer and excavator operator, points out the line to ReBull Media House producer Harrison Mendel. Harrison has brought together an all-star crew to capture the magic up on the mountain this summer. Be on the lookout for some great content dropping in the coming months.
It would be an understatement to say that there are BIG things to come from Big White.
The dirt at big white is prime right now.
A couple trails on the lower mountain are complete and Tom and Bas took some time out to test ride them...
There are multiple lips and wide landings aplenty.
Alpine's owner Judd de Vall brought his kids out to test out the trails... 9-year old Anthony Shelly with the big no-footer!
Smiles all around from the groms - Big White is Li'l Shredder approved.
Thank you Dustin Gilding for all that you do - Good luck to you and Carson at Rampage in the weeks ahead
Up and comer Kelowna rider Ben Schleith... Thanks for your shovelling and filming.
#lightbroCanada, Eh!
Thank you to the awesome crew. We could never have planned for this and we are so proud to have been able to get this park off to such a great start!
Big White mountain biking trails “
Big White Resort has some exciting collaborations and projects in the works with trendsetting riders, builders, and bike industry companies,” adds
Plimmer. “
We look forward to sharing our story with you as we undertake and continue this exciting and creative process.”
For more information visit
bikebigwhite.com
MENTIONS:
@tomvansteenbergen /
@Basvansteenbergen /
@bikebigwhite /
@robb /
@Alpine-Bike-Parks /
@hmendel
As the years go on for many of us experienced riders; we find ourselves riding with family, wives, uncles and dads looking to stay in shape. The blues and greens can be a riot, manualling, and popping all over the place while the noobs turn their knuckles white.
Looking forward to it.
What doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me though, is why is North Van, Squamish, Whistler (outside the park) and Pemberton so highly revered for their trails when only recently there's one or two flow trails in each location if you're lucky, with the rest being highly technical? Obviously people really do love technical trails. Not sure why this gets turned on its head for bike parks, although it does explain why DH bikes are a dying breed. I've been thinking of ditching mine lately, as I'd rather ride tech and you generally have to pedal to get that these days, unless you're into riding OS and In Deep for the 1,897th time. It makes me sad that in 13 years of garbo we have no more singletrack than we had when it opened. If anything we got less when the snowmaking for the olympics killed the original No Joke.
But as you suggest, what the majority wants, is what the minority has to suck on too, and these days what we get is not what comes to my mind when I think of smashing shit on a DH bike. How's that for an old man rant about the good old days?
How much work do you think goes into maintaining Half Nelson alone?
It's a tough choice - as I get older I can have flow with the odd big crash or tech with lots of little ones...
You've actually raised a point I often make myself and fits nicely into this discussion. Bike parks spend shitloads of time and money on not only building flow trails, but maintaining them as well. And let's not get started on woodwork (which thankfully is no longer as popular as it once was). You'd think they could scratch a line or 3 in up in garbo once every decade or so, but no; they spend countless dollars and hours building and then maintaining machine built stuff. There's absolutely a contingent of riders that love tech, yet Whistler is a prime example of failing in that department. They wonder why rogue trails like Dark Crystal happen and are wildly popular, yet they are too busy providing for blue flow riders. It's their choice of course, and it's not like the park isn't popular. But there's a lot of folks like me that don't go hardly at all any longer as tech has be relegated to the back of the bus. Sure, Canadian Open section was a welcome addition, but we are talking about 300m here. They are for sure losing local business as many people I know are done with the park on account of the lack of singletrack development, which as you point out is cheaper to build and easier to maintain. Shit, let a few guys each year scratch a line in for free.
As for Half Nelson, it serves a great purpose for keeping the masses off the mountain bike trails, for which I'm grateful. Couldn't care less if I ever rode it again personally, but that's the thing about opinions... I'm sure you don't care too much about mine.
@plyawn Golden for me provides another good example of wasted time, money and effort. Building ridiculous woodwork and jumps that don't work. The only thing worth riding there is the race course and it's world class. (Or Terminator Ridge out of bounds) Too bad they didn't put half the time and money spent on the wood right beside it and knock out another 3 race course style trails and have one of the best parks going. At least the best race course in the world is on the other side of the valley.
We see the tension between those that want to attract new people to the sport with green trails and catering to experienced riders with black trails. But if you go for ride with NSRide you will see mums and kids riding the scariest, blackest trails with matching pink Walmart pads on crappy bikes. They are nuts!
Man, I miss Van...
The terrain on the mountain is awesome. We just started a tech trail designed by dustin, tom, and bas that will become a "van Steenbergen" signature trail from top to bottom of the mountain.
We are proud to be working with you and looking forward to burning as much diesel as possible until we get snowed out!
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may till oct?
Actually, one of the best times I've ever had skiing was in the socked in clouds at Big White. I can't wait to try out the bike park - sounds fun!