August 6, 2009
Crashing shoulder first into a sturdy tree on Silverstar’s Double Dog the previous Sunday had me worried that I would be hiking at Fernie Alpine Resort, rather than biking. But, x-rays, ice and several ibuprofen’s later, Damien and I headed out Thursday from Kelowna to Fernie! The drive through the Kootenays was awesome - no deer on the roads and we made it through the intense roadblocks in place for Salmo’s Shambhala festival. If you ever find yourself in Rock Creek, the Petro Canada makes tasty big sandwiches.
We want to thank Bike Parks BC and Tourism Fernie so much for this experience! Upon arriving in Fernie after midnight mountain time (hard to get u
sed to that), we quickly found the Best Western Fernie Mountain Lodge. It was late, but the staff member at the front desk was friendly and helpful, and most importantly, we soon discovered that we were in the deluxe French-themed Jacuzzi Suite! Damien is French and was right at home. This was so much more than we were expecting - jacuzzi tub in the living room, the most comfy king-sized bed ever, and did I mention a jacuzzi in the living room? On the big bed we found 2 cases of Cliff bars, 2 pairs of Ryder sunglasses, 2 2-day passes for riding, ride and dine gift certificate for the Lost Boys Café, and - almost as exciting as the jacuzzi - nachos and a jug of kokanee at Kelsey’s in the village!
August 7, 2009
I had never really been to Fernie, so waking up in this mountain town was pretty spectacular. The long drive and king-sized bed resulted in a few hits to the snooze button, so breakfast was quick and dirty in the Mountain Café. We then bombed it up to the resort, which is a short 5 minutes from downtown Fernie. The mountain staff were great at getting us set for the day, including a quick trip to the patrol hut for a wrist tape job - another casualty of Silverstar (this one for Damien) - and some tips on must-ride trails. The Elk Chair was the place to be on Friday - lines seemed to be non-existent with the diversity of trails available and the liftees were fabulous!
We first hit up Top Gun, which seemed to be most recommended for its berms, doubles and big tables in the trees (my photo skills did not give this one justice and I resorted to taking a video of Damien on our 3.2 mega pixel canon powershot). This run has some good flow and you can easily hit the big tables and then switch over to Aggravated Assault and Hollow Tree for more roots, wooden skinnies, bridges, A-frames and drops. Allflight Pattern brought more wooden goodness. These trails seemed to have something for everyone - a lot of the big stunts had a smaller counterpart nearby that was great for my progression into the world of skinnies, and they were big enough that I could still feel like a superstar.
The Elk Chair also provides access to several other runs for all levels. Power Carve and Trac II led us down the hill to a discovery of Monorail, which was short, but sweet with a lot of pop and berms - what you would expect when riding the Monorail (s
inging like Homer Simpson). Tips from some 15-year old rippers on the chair led us to discover Playground and Phat Larry’s. These trails offer steeper pitches, tight berms and an assortment of structures integrated into the natural terrain. The setting of these trails and the resort in general is utterly amazing! We rode until last chair, fully satisfied with a hard day’s riding and ready to hit up Kelsey’s in the village for our NACHOS! While it was not super busy being a Friday afternoon, the village had a great vibe to it, lots of hikers and riders, and we were pumped to find a sunny spot on the patio. Guillaume from St. Anne, QC brought us a very tasty platter of fully loaded cheesy nacho goodness - with a pitcher of Kokanee to wash it down. We were also educated on the rules and regulations of a ski shot, and understand that a bike version is in the works.
August 8, 2009
Woke up early, loaded up the bikes and found an Organic Café for a delicious omelette and latte. Then it was off to explore the Timber Chair, which opens up a whole other trail network with sweeping views of Fernie, the mountains, steep single-track darting in and out of the forest, and a hint of how amazing it must be in the winter. We opted for a little Megasaurus, mixed with Rumplestumpskin, TNT and Bin Logdin throughout the day, heading back to the Elk Chair now and then for the trails we couldn’t get enough of the day before. The Timber Chair of the hill is definitely more technical, or at least the rocks and roots at the top require more concentration. The flow and structures keep coming as you head down. The Lost Boys Café at the top of the Timber Chair had the barbecue running, and we again had a fabulous lunch in an even more fabulous location. 
There is so much variety at this mountain, and we felt that we needed more time to explore - wish Fernie was closer! We actually had to check out the real estate when we got back to town, as this is definitely a scene we could get used to. Dinner was such a toss up between sushi and the Curry Bowl, but we went Curry Bowl and were not disappointed! A lot of talk about food, but biking all day makes a lady ravenous. The riding, food and friendly folks of Fernie, as well as the jacuzzi and king size bed, made this such a positive experience - we hope to come back soon.
Crashing shoulder first into a sturdy tree on Silverstar’s Double Dog the previous Sunday had me worried that I would be hiking at Fernie Alpine Resort, rather than biking. But, x-rays, ice and several ibuprofen’s later, Damien and I headed out Thursday from Kelowna to Fernie! The drive through the Kootenays was awesome - no deer on the roads and we made it through the intense roadblocks in place for Salmo’s Shambhala festival. If you ever find yourself in Rock Creek, the Petro Canada makes tasty big sandwiches.
We want to thank Bike Parks BC and Tourism Fernie so much for this experience! Upon arriving in Fernie after midnight mountain time (hard to get u
sed to that), we quickly found the Best Western Fernie Mountain Lodge. It was late, but the staff member at the front desk was friendly and helpful, and most importantly, we soon discovered that we were in the deluxe French-themed Jacuzzi Suite! Damien is French and was right at home. This was so much more than we were expecting - jacuzzi tub in the living room, the most comfy king-sized bed ever, and did I mention a jacuzzi in the living room? On the big bed we found 2 cases of Cliff bars, 2 pairs of Ryder sunglasses, 2 2-day passes for riding, ride and dine gift certificate for the Lost Boys Café, and - almost as exciting as the jacuzzi - nachos and a jug of kokanee at Kelsey’s in the village!August 7, 2009
I had never really been to Fernie, so waking up in this mountain town was pretty spectacular. The long drive and king-sized bed resulted in a few hits to the snooze button, so breakfast was quick and dirty in the Mountain Café. We then bombed it up to the resort, which is a short 5 minutes from downtown Fernie. The mountain staff were great at getting us set for the day, including a quick trip to the patrol hut for a wrist tape job - another casualty of Silverstar (this one for Damien) - and some tips on must-ride trails. The Elk Chair was the place to be on Friday - lines seemed to be non-existent with the diversity of trails available and the liftees were fabulous!
We first hit up Top Gun, which seemed to be most recommended for its berms, doubles and big tables in the trees (my photo skills did not give this one justice and I resorted to taking a video of Damien on our 3.2 mega pixel canon powershot). This run has some good flow and you can easily hit the big tables and then switch over to Aggravated Assault and Hollow Tree for more roots, wooden skinnies, bridges, A-frames and drops. Allflight Pattern brought more wooden goodness. These trails seemed to have something for everyone - a lot of the big stunts had a smaller counterpart nearby that was great for my progression into the world of skinnies, and they were big enough that I could still feel like a superstar.The Elk Chair also provides access to several other runs for all levels. Power Carve and Trac II led us down the hill to a discovery of Monorail, which was short, but sweet with a lot of pop and berms - what you would expect when riding the Monorail (s
inging like Homer Simpson). Tips from some 15-year old rippers on the chair led us to discover Playground and Phat Larry’s. These trails offer steeper pitches, tight berms and an assortment of structures integrated into the natural terrain. The setting of these trails and the resort in general is utterly amazing! We rode until last chair, fully satisfied with a hard day’s riding and ready to hit up Kelsey’s in the village for our NACHOS! While it was not super busy being a Friday afternoon, the village had a great vibe to it, lots of hikers and riders, and we were pumped to find a sunny spot on the patio. Guillaume from St. Anne, QC brought us a very tasty platter of fully loaded cheesy nacho goodness - with a pitcher of Kokanee to wash it down. We were also educated on the rules and regulations of a ski shot, and understand that a bike version is in the works.August 8, 2009
Woke up early, loaded up the bikes and found an Organic Café for a delicious omelette and latte. Then it was off to explore the Timber Chair, which opens up a whole other trail network with sweeping views of Fernie, the mountains, steep single-track darting in and out of the forest, and a hint of how amazing it must be in the winter. We opted for a little Megasaurus, mixed with Rumplestumpskin, TNT and Bin Logdin throughout the day, heading back to the Elk Chair now and then for the trails we couldn’t get enough of the day before. The Timber Chair of the hill is definitely more technical, or at least the rocks and roots at the top require more concentration. The flow and structures keep coming as you head down. The Lost Boys Café at the top of the Timber Chair had the barbecue running, and we again had a fabulous lunch in an even more fabulous location. 
There is so much variety at this mountain, and we felt that we needed more time to explore - wish Fernie was closer! We actually had to check out the real estate when we got back to town, as this is definitely a scene we could get used to. Dinner was such a toss up between sushi and the Curry Bowl, but we went Curry Bowl and were not disappointed! A lot of talk about food, but biking all day makes a lady ravenous. The riding, food and friendly folks of Fernie, as well as the jacuzzi and king size bed, made this such a positive experience - we hope to come back soon.
Thanks again!!!Dani and Damien
Sweet write up...Looks like Fernie is the place to be. Wish I was there too...you know, just to show Damien how to ride properly ;)
ReplyDeleteWell done again I see! The first URT was awesome and it is clear it just gets better every year! Glad to see someone carried on my tradition of bruises on bruises! Also nice to hear the breakfasts are still huge and the evenings are epic parties! Keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteJohn URT 1 (2007)