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Bike trail receives ministry approval

After years of lawlessness, the municipality has at last made an honest trail out of Foreplay, an as yet unfinished bike trail that climbs the flank of Blackcomb Mountain and overlooks the north end of the Chateau Whistler Golf Course.

After years of lawlessness, the municipality has at last made an honest trail out of Foreplay, an as yet unfinished bike trail that climbs the flank of Blackcomb Mountain and overlooks the north end of the Chateau Whistler Golf Course.

The Resort Municipality of Whistler received a Section 102 approval under the forest practices code, which essentially legitimizes the trail. It is one of the first in the province to receive the designation.

"We applied last year and just got the go-ahead to build it," says Keith Bennett, manager of parks operations for the RMOW. "Now the entire trail will be sanctioned, running from the Green River crossing at the start of the Green Lake Loop and finishing where the existing section of trail comes out in Lost Lake Park. The section that has been built is only about a quarter of the whole trail."

Now that it’s legitimate, the municipality will build a suspension bridge over Wedge Creek. The Whistler Off Road Cycling Association will use a $10,000 donation from a local land developer to hire trail builder Chris Markle to complete the remaining section of trail.

"It’s pretty cool. This is the first new trail that’s gone through the approval process and now I’m getting some money to help build it too," says Markle. "I have to thank Keith for that and the Parks department. They got the approval, and they’re building a bridge. How many towns would get behind a rogue trail builder like that? It’s a real compliment.

"Mountain biking is a draw for Whistler, and it’s great to see the muni getting behind it."

Markle started the trail four years ago and has spent the last three years building "what Whistler was missing – a true epic single track trail for Whistler that takes three or four hours to finish."

He did most of the work himself, and estimates that it will be between 20 and 25 km long when he is finished. The last piece, which drops into Lost Lake Park, is already finished, and he has completed a loop out of the first piece off of a new logging road by the Green Lake Loop. It will eventually start from Wedgemount Road.

He estimates that he has completed about 12 km of the trail, but probably won’t be able to finish this summer.

The $10,000 was donated by real estate developers Duane Jackson and Bill Kunzweiler to compensate for the bike trails that were impacted by construction within an area known as the B.C. Rail Lands. Sections of Danimal, Beaver Pass and 99er on Whistler’s west side were lost to roadways, but will eventually be reconnected by an interpretive trail.

Markle has been contracted to build that interpretive trail, although he says it probably won’t be done until the blasting and tree-felling in the area is completed. He and a partner were also awarded WORCA’s annual trail contract, worth $8,000 to maintain existing trails in the valley.

Once Foreplay is completed, likely by next summer, Markle is looking forward to giving the trail it’s final name. "Foreplay is just a teaser, a taste of what’s to come," he says.

"Naming is always the hardest part. A friend named Kill Me Thrill Me because I couldn’t come up with anything. I’ll have to ride the trail when it’s done, and when I get to the end of it pick a name that’s epic, that suits the trail."

For Bennett, the exercise is an example of what can be accomplished in the rest of Whistler.

"It goes back to that partnership between developers, the municipality, the off road cycling association and the so-called illegal trailbuilder, and bringing them together to develop a new mountain bike trail that is a real mountain bike trail, and making that trail legitimate," he says.

Eventually the municipality hopes to obtain Section 102’s for all of the more popular trails in the Whistler area.

Says Bennett: "We’re not going to be able to do it for every little trail, but there are some great rides out there that we should protect and legitimize."

Task Force turns attention to mountain biking

The municipality formed a bicycle task force two years ago, involving all the major stakeholders in the valley, including representatives from the cycling community, B.C. Rail, B.C. Hydro, retailers, and the tourism industry. A vision for commuter cycling is in the final draft stage, and will likely be released this summer.

The task force will now focus on its other objective, which is to construct a vision and policies for mountain biking in the valley "that support and enhance Whistler’s position as one of the Top Bike Towns in North America," according the task force mandate.

The task force has already completed Resort Municipality of Whistler Trail Standards, which determine how courses are built, marked and maintained for cyclists. Copies have been sent to the International Mountain Bike Association, the provincial association, clubs, and as far away as England and Australia.

"If that works out we’ll have some fairly standard trail marking rules and definitions of technical trail features so when you ride a trail here in Whistler, and it’s a black diamond, it’s very similar in difficulty to what you might ride in other places," says Bennett.

"There’s no international standard. We took this on because we needed something. It helps to legitimize the sport and mountain bike trails if you need to approach a private land owner and ask for a right of way – it helps to protect them in terms of liability.

"The standard should be consistent, and riders should always know what they’re getting into, and will have a better time because they’re not getting in over their heads."

The task force will be asking the public for ideas and input during the course of the summer, which will help them to develop a mountain bike vision for the valley.