Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Trails and tribulations

WORCA, muni one step ahead of development

By Andrew Mitchell

Mountain bikers looking for lower valley trails that have been cleared of snow may have gotten a few surprises this spring, with the Sea to Sky Highway Improvement Project now working on a patch of forest that was the first two sections of Train Wreck, and a new cut through the start of Trash. Far from isolated incidents, this is only the latest in a string of development projects taking place throughout the community.

Both the Resort Municipality of Whistler and Whistler Off-Road Cycling Association are looking to turn trail losses into gains for mountain biking, as both organizers are backing an unprecedented number of singletrack projects throughout the valley.

“The way I look at it is that (development) is going to happen, and we have to deal with it,” said Jerome David, WORCA’s director of trails. “As long as everyone is aware of mountain biking, and supports us, then we can rebuild trails and have some new ones as well.”

The list of trails impacted by — or slated for — development is long:

Comfortably Numb — Rogers Wireless has applied to the province to build a cell tower to service Emerald Estates, reactivating a logging road that is now part of Comfortably Numb. Comfortably Numb was recently designated as an Epic Ride by the International Mountain Bicycling Association. The RMOW has asked Rogers Wireless to consider co-locating their tower with a new tower that Telus wants to build over the Green Lake Loop trail.

Green Lake Loop — Part of the trail could be lost as the construction one or possibly two cell towers in the area.

Kill Me Thrill Me — Developers have applied to the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District to build a subdivision at the entrance to the Soo Valley that would overlap a section of the trail.

Shit Happens — More than a kilometre of trail was lost as a result of the Rainbow development. The developers have provided WORCA with $10,000 to rebuild that section of trail, and work will begin this spring.

Rolo Coaster — This short descent on Blackcomb was lost entirely due to the construction of the Whistler Sliding Centre. WORCA is in talks with Whistler-Blackcomb to replace this trail.

Roam In the Loam — Short trail lost to the construction of the First Nations Cultural Centre. WORCA has been compensated with money to build a new trail.

Lost Lake — Municipality has rebuilt sections of singletrack throughout the park into a beginner and intermediate trail system. Some riders are concerned by the loss of challenging trail sections.

Trash ­— A large portion of the singletrack section closest to the road has been lost to a new cut, which will one day include a section of Sea to Sky Trail.

Train Wreck — The realignment of Highway 99 went through the first two sections of the trail. The community will be compensated for the loss of those trails, and the RMOW and WORCA are weighing options as the other sections of trail are in need of repair.

River Runs Through It — A gravel road was punched through the middle of the trail for a test well site. Only a small section of trail was lost.

Danimal, 99er, Beaver Pass — Sections of all three trails have been lost to the Stonebridge Development. The developers compensated the mountain bike community with over $10,000, most of which was funneled into the completion of Comfortably Numb.

Crater Rim Trail — Section was lost to athletes’ village development.

According to Davis, WORCA is responding with a massive trail project this summer. One of the main priorities is to rebuild the lost section of Shit Happens, creating a trail to link Alpine Meadows with Emerald Estates, and possibly the new Rainbow subdivision. It will be challenging, he says, and could cost as much as three times what was budgeted several years ago.

“The original plan was done a couple of years ago, and two years later we have different standards,” he said. “It’s also going to be super hard to rebuild, as we’re being pushed into terrain that was avoided before when the trail was originally built.”

Trail building in the area could cost up to $30 a metre, including the installation of new bridges, and the cost of meeting safety and environmental standards. It was costed at about $10 per metre.

The first goal is get a new section of trail built, followed by a renovation of the entire trail to make it possible to ride in both directions. Sections will also be used for an intermediate trail connection to the subdivision.

Another project on the books for this year is a renovation of Babylon By Bike. Boyd McTavish has been hired to rebuild a section of trail that is becoming harder to ride each year, installing bridges that will likely have to be carried in by helicopter. There are also plans to add bridging to the Ride Don’t Slide descent off Highway 86.

As well, WORCA is planning to do a major overhaul of Danimal and Lower Sproatt, repairing some sections that have eroded over the years, and generally making some difficult sections easier to ride.

That’s on top of general maintenance to all trails in the Whistler area, which started this week. By this weekend, all the winter maintenance will have been completed on Cut Yer Bars, Kill Me Thrill Me, and Trash.

WORCA’s trail budget will include the $35,000 Community Enrichment Grant from the RMOW, $10,000 from Rainbow developers, money raised from Loonie Races, and funds left over from last year.

The money will go to the trail contractor, Chris Markle, as well as other trail builders who will work with Markle and learn from him over the summer. The goal is to train a group of local trail builders how to build and maintain trails to Whistler and IMBA standards.

Volunteers will also play a bigger part this year. Davis is organizing volunteer trail days for all of the major projects planned this season, including Shit Happens, Danimal, and Babylon By Bike, as well as a sweep day where volunteers will cut deadfall and prune growth on trails.

“The main message I want everyone to get is that we’re on top of what’s going on, and that our goal is always to have no net loss of trails in Whistler, and maybe to add to our trails instead,” said Davis.

According to the municipal Cycling Trails Master Plan, presented last fall, Whistler boasts more than 160 km of singletrack riding, and almost double that when you include doubletrack and valley trail. Not only do those trails form the backbone of a growing mountain bike tourism economy as Whistler’s international reputation grows, they also provide a starting point for the RMOW’s plans to link trails to destinations around the valley and to each other, and to add more beginner and intermediate trails to the inventory.

Recommendations in the Master Plan will start to be put into effect this summer, according to Whistler Cycling Committee chair Frank Savage.

“Basically we have a plan in place that was approved by council in December and now we’re full blown into the implementation,” he said, adding that it will take several years before the plan can be completed.

There are several parts to the Recreational Cycling Master Plan, including the construction of new sections of Valley Trail, continued work on the Sea to Sky Trail, and a trail strategy that includes dozens of news trails and connectors around the valley for all levels of riders.

Savage recognizes that some trails and sections of trails have been lost, but says the community will be compensated.

“Any development comes through the municipality, and we’re also involved in some that are not within the municipal boundaries. WORCA is also involved. And in cases when there is an application that would disturb a trail, some compensation is negotiated for that location or for elsewhere. It’s a very strong precedent that we will be consulted, and the developers seem to understand this,” he said.

In terms of singletrack, the RMOW will once again be focused on adding and upgrading trails in Lost Lake Park. The new section of White Gold Traverse will continue to be worked on and there is some possibility that the singletrack Zappa Trails will be extended around Lost Lake to the park.

Altogether there were 80 actions recommended in the Master Plan and trail strategy. Some actions recommend the construction of new trails — including a new section of A River Runs Through It, a trail up Blackcomb to connect with Comfortably Numb, a Tin Pants-style trail through the clearcut on Whistler, and a new singletrack trail to the Calcheak area — while others centre on issues like signage, mapping, and marketing and promoting the trails.

As of last year the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts also got more involved in trails, releasing a new strategy for bike and multi-use trails on Crown land. According to MOTSA, all trails will have to be built and maintained to a recognized standard, and maintained by tenure holders, local government or clubs like WORCA. In exchange, trails that meet those requirements will be protected from future development, and clubs that maintain the trails will be provided with funding and protected by insurance. However, if clubs cannot maintain those trails to the provincial standard, they will be decommissioned.

WORCA will post regular updates on the status of trails and trail maintenance days online at www.worca.com . As well, Savage says the RMOW will be providing news and maps via the web, possibly as soon as this summer.