Jenny's Mountain Adventures: Revelstoke Long Weekend

When I think of Revelstoke, I usually think of skiing, but as I found out last August Long Weekend, there are plenty of summer activities also! For our second annual Revelstoke Long Weekend, we met up with David, KD and Tristan for a few days of biking and climbing. This was my first time riding in Revi and the trails were all time. We spent Saturday morning and Monday afternoon shuttling Boulder Mountain, and did a really long shuttle up Sale Mountain to ride the legendary Martha's Creek Trail on Sunday afternoon. Thanks to the unstable weather, we did a lot more biking than we had anticipated, because after all, who really wants to climb in the rain? The theme of the weekend was getting caught in thunderstorms and trying to squeeze activities in between monsoons.

Stoked to drop in at the top of Martha's Creek - Kyle Duran Photo

One highlight of the weekend was riding Martha's Creek, a really fun 10 km/1600m descent from the top of Sale Mountain. The upper section of trail was slow and technical, winding through alpine meadows with lots of sharp rocks and beautiful mountain view. It was really pretty but pedally. After that, we started to descend. Unfortunately this part of the trail was really wet and muddy and we felt pretty bad that we were riding it in that condition but it was a bit late to turn back. There were lots of ladder bridges and even more slimy roots. As we got lower the trail dried out and got really fast and flowy. It was a blast! By the bottom I could barely hold my bars and was exhausted. It took us almost an hour to ride the trail top to bottom and we were not moving slow!

Microwave Tower at the top of Sale Mountain

Great views of Revelstoke Lake from Sale Mountain

Bikes at the beach after riding Martha's Creek

Riding at Boulder was wicked. I haven't shuttled in ages and it was so fun to ride some true downhill trails. We rode most of the trails which ranged from fast single track to steep and techy to big wooden stunts and dirt tables, sometimes all in the same trail. Tristan and Kyle were pushing each other to try all the jumps and stunts while Kyle D and I watched in awe. The best part was that the trailer was parked at the bottom of the mountain so we could rip back down for a hot lunch.

Boondocker wallride

Kyle and Tristan on some of the Boondocker Stunts (click to play)

Lots of flowers and greenery this summer

We camped at the sled staging area, along with a big crew of kayakers who were in town for some sort of kayak festival. They were very friendly and didn't mind sharing the parking lot with some smelly bikers.

Dirtbag paradise - photo courtesy of Bryce Shaw

The climbing was a bit more sporadic than the riding. Every time we thought about heading out to a crag, it would start to rain. Eventually we just took a chance and drove to Begbie Bluffs, despite storm clouds all around the valley. Sure enough, as we arrived the rain started to fall. We did a few quick routes before darkness fell and the rocks got too slippery. We tried again on Sunday with a bit more success. This time we were able to climb three routes each before the rain started. It had been sunny and warm when we left camp so I was the only one with extra layers. When the wind picked up everyone got really cold and we were sharing my hoodie and raincoat between the three of us. Thankfully the wind blew away the awful bugs that tormented us all weekend and were capable of biting through jeans. Tristan was getting antsy because he wanted to climb hard stuff and we kept getting shut down by the weather. To appease Tristan, we got an earlier start Monday morning and returned to the crag. The weather was way better and Tristan finally got his chance to try the 5.12c route he had been eyeing up all weekend, Wascally Wabbit. He didn't send but gave it a good shot. I know what he will be training for this winter!