In many ways the annual Squamish Gearjammer saves the best for last. As the third race in the Squamish Triple Crown, following the Ore Crusher and Test of Metal, the Gearjammer is designed to be tough and technical with 52 km of trail from start to finish and over 40 km of singletrack.
That's about five kilometres more riding in the 2009 Gearjammer, getting underway on July 25, while the amount of singletrack has also been bumped up from around 70 per cent to close to 80 per cent.
In past years the top Gearjammer times have been on par with the top times from the Test of Metal, despite the fact that the test is more than 20 per cent longer.
The Gearjammer starts at Alice Lake Provincial Park, and includes sections of approximately two dozen local trails. The first part takes riders up the forest service road to Cliff's Corners and Ed's Bypass, and from there the course includes sections of Rock'n'Roll, Dead End Loop, the Bob McIntosh Trail, and another forest service road past Edith Lake. The next section includes Mikes Loop, Mike and Men, and Tracks from Hell, then back up to Ray's Café, and up Cliff's Corners to the first water station. From there it's a steep climb up logging roads to the Skookum climb, and a descent down Middle Power Smart to IMBA Smart. From there's it's lower Skookum, George's Crossing, another FSR to Recycle, and top and bottom sections of Pseudo Tsuga. Then it's road riding again to the Ring Creek Rip, and onto the Powerhouse Plunge before crossing over onto Crumpit Woods trails - Far Side Trail, Farther Side, S&M Connector and a climb up the gas cut to Three Virgins. From there it's Seven Stitches, Summer's Even, and Raven's Plateau in ValleyCliff, and the final selection of trails that takes riders to the finish at Rose Park.
Registration is still available at www.gearjammer.ca with a maximum of 500 riders taking part this year.
Cumulative times in all three Triple Crown events are being counted to acknowledge the skill and commitment of riders.
