We started early again today, heading over to Deer Valley again to explore an area down by Snowpark. Shannon was still tired from Tuesday's ride, but she did well with the large amount of climbing we did. It was all uphill from Snowpark. We rode the Pipeline Trails, which took us up one of the smaller mountains near Jordanelle and gave us a great view of the Reservoir.
Climbing
Switchback
The sun popped out by the time we hit the Outlook trail
Riding Outlook
Nice view of the Jordanelle Reservoir from the Outlook trail
Following Shannon back down the mountain
Video: Highlights of our morning ride on the Pipeline Trails at Deer Valley
After the ride, we zipped back over to the campground to pack up the tent that had now dried in the sun. The plan for the afternoon was to hit the Canyons Resort and explore their bike park. The website said they were open from 1-5pm only. I was disappointed that I could only get in 4 hours since it was $27 for a day pass for the bike lift. We get there to find out that the hours were incorrect online. It was open 10am-4pm. Now I had less than 3 hours to ride! They told me I must have been on the wrong website. I checked it again when we got back to Gma's that night and they had changed the whole website over to prepare for the winter ski season so I had no proof for my argument. I did however notice that there was a 2-for-1 special for the bike lift passes. We initially intended to get Shannon a lift ticket, but after hearing the price, she decided just to hang out in the village while I rode. It would've been nice if they had told me about the special. We could have both ridden. I almost didn't buy myself a ticket because I was sort of ticked off, but Shannon went ahead and got me one. She said that I had talked about the bike park the entire drive out here to Utah and she was not about to let me miss out on it. One of the many reasons why I love my wife!
Needless to say, I was displeased with my initial interactions at Canyons. It was a long ride on the main lift to get up to the bike park area. Then I hopped onto another lift to take me to the top of the bike park where several obstacle-filled trails awaited. I could see several lines from the lift and it was clear that this bike park was for real. The most advanced trail, Rally Cat, was full of pro-level freeride features like 15 foot wall rides and 30+ foot gap jumps. I haven't done any serious freeriding on my Remedy in almost 2 years and I will admit that I was scared to death.
Riding the lift
Wall ride on Rally Cat
Some wood on Wild Mouse
I started with the intermediate-level trail, Wild Mouse. This trail was still sort of advanced for me, but it was a great confidence-builder. There were some big jumps, but they all had built-in fail-safes in case you came up short on the gap. The jumps were more like huge rollers with a lip on the face. There were some massive berms and a few wooden features to test your skills including a few drops and one wooden platform built around a giant boulder.
Big berm
Rider crossing over the boulder obstacle. Very cool idea.
Wooden obstacle in the distance
Since I only had 2 hours to ride, I spent all my time on Wild Mouse just getting the feel of hitting big jumps and drops. I ran the GoPro on my full-face helmet a few runs, but mostly just took the opportunity to enjoy some good quality freeriding. I was able to clear all the jumps by the end of the ride. I did miss out on at least one run after flatting from casing a gap jump. That took a few minutes to change, but then I was back in business.
Getting me bike from the friendly lift operator
After the lift closed, I played around in one of the skills areas for a while, hitting some big drops and tabletop jumps. Then I found a Holly's Trail that took the long way back down to the resort, heading downhill for much of the way. What started as a frustrating visit to Canyons turned into an awesome experience. I hope I get to go back really soon and spend a full day hitting all the freeride trails.
Wild Mouse
Big berms on the upper part of Wild Mouse
Video: Riding at Canyons Resort
After Canyons, we stopped by the Park City Dirt Jump Park before heading back to Gmas in West Jordan. The rain had soaked the sandy jump park, but a few lines were still rideable. There were two kids hanging out when we got there. They were hitting some pretty big jumps. I had fun watching them in between my runs. It was hard to get the momentum up on a big full-suspension, but after a few minutes I figured out how to pump efficiently and began to clear the jumps and get some height. It was the first time I have ever hit real, properly-shaped dirt jumps. I loved it! There were tons of lines in the park, including some unbelievable Pro lines that I'd love to see someone ride. Park City truly is bike heaven.
Park City Dirt Jump Park
One of the kids tearing up the jumps
Another little shredder
Throwing in a little look back as the confidence builds
My favorite pair of shadows
Video: Riding the Park City Dirt Jump Park
We ended the day back at Gmas where we washed clothes and bikes, and charged our electronics to prepare for a departure to Moab the next day. The desert awaits...
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