The Wayside
The Granite Tower in the Sky
Trail Building in the Remote BC Alpine
We extend our gratitude and respect for the Tla’amin First Nation (ɬaʔamɩn) and Klahoose First Nation (ƛoʔos), whose traditional and treaty territory is showcased throughout this story.
Post-Glacial Nirvana
Having long been aware of Flow State Guiding's new mountain biking tenure, It’s been on my radar to check out. All I knew is that it was an almost 100% granite playground somewhere between Powell River and Squamish, way up in the alpine. Heli access only.
When the serendipitous opportunity arose for a small group of us to go up and build and ride, I knew I had to jump on it. With short notice and quick calibration, we were two ferries and one helicopter flight closer to this post-glacial nirvana.
As soon as we got dropped on the giant rock, my brain short-circuited. Grippy granite slabs, in every angle, in every direction, as far as the eye can see. I felt tiny. I was quickly snapped out of it by our trail leader and guide, Ian. He had work for us to do. After setting up camp, we spent the rest of the day improving the ‘lunch loop’ circuit to make it more pedalable. After spending most of the day moving and organizing rock (my favorite type of trail building) we headed back to camp sore and tired, looking forward to the next day of riding.
The general flavor in this zone is akin to ski touring. There are ‘routes’ laid out where you can pedal, with the occasional push or carry along the way until you reach your high point.
Then it’s a three dimensional choose-your-own-adventure down a swath of carved out glaciated granite.
The next morning, we got the bikes ready and headed to our first objective. Some pedaling, some carrying, but nothing overly taxing. When we dropped into our first ‘run’ it was a little unnerving due to the vastness of it all. Once the brain got used to it, it was absolutely mind blowing. Picking lines, hopping off ledges, scooping into bowls. Riding creatively. And for kilometers at a time. We achieved the ‘Flow State’. Completely buzzing after the first zone, we continued into the day riding two more areas Ian wanted to show us. We returned to camp with little daylight to spare.
"The TRAIL Alpha Hoodie was the perfect do-it-all kit to spend time in the alpine, building, bivying, and biking."
Unfortunately the weather gods didn’t like that we were having so much fun, so we ended up being rained on for 16 hours straight. The next morning once the rain settled, we set out to do more rockwork to link up some more routes.
The final day was the 'ride out,' as Ian sold it to us. Loaded up with 60lb packs, we descended more than 1,000m of insane granite until things got interesting. This is where Ian told us clients would be heli lifted out on their final day - a bonus descent before heading home. He had more in store for us.
We were to drop another 1,000m of elevation down to the lake, where a friend would be waiting for us with a boat. There was not much in the form of riding — more a link up of some brushed routes, multiple rope down climbs, and an aldered-in FSR whipping us in the face for 8km. A solid sandbag from Ian. Chapeau!
It’s been a week now, and I can’t stop thinking about this place. It’s the most peaceful yet daunting terrain I’ve ever set tires on, and definitely the wildest place I’ve built trail.
Next time, which there definitely will be, I'll opt for helicopter access both ways to this granite tower in the sky.
Phil Szczepaniak has been been living in Squamish since 2014, and has been riding mountain bikes for over 30 years. Since moving to town, he has become more and more involved with volunteer trail building, including a handful of his own builds. "I love the creative and technical aspect mixed into one, and I just love being in the forest."
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