Looking for suggestions...

[Cirrus2000]

Hey all, I don't usually frequent the MTB area, cuz I don't do a whole lot of it. However, my brother and his son are thinking of a Utah trip this spring (late March). They are pretty serious North Shore and Whistler downhill bikers. (about 25 days riding the lifts at Whistler Mountain this summer.) My nephew, Cole, is 14 and very hardcore. Looking for real technical challenges and serious days of non-stop thrills. My brother merely wants to survive...

If you have any suggestions, I'd really appreciate either a reply here, or PM me. We are, in the meantime, perusing places like utahmountainbiking.com for info, but first-hand suggestions would be great.

Thanks in advance!!!

[theking648]

crazy stuff eh?

I seen this awhile ago but you would never see me on this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAqt141eJAU

[Sombeech]

crazy stuff eh?

I seen this awhile ago but you would never see me on this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAqt141eJAU

:eek2: Awesome.

Hey Kev, although there are several Ski Resorts that offer chair lift mountain biking, they'll probably be limited to southern Utah just because of the heavy winter we'll have.

If they're more into the downhill stuff, southern Utah doesn't have too much of it, although I've never been to Brian Head near Cedar City.

I would suggest the Green Valley Loop aka Bear Claw Poppy trail, this is real close to St George, and it has some cool drops on it. Here are some of my links to it:
http://www.bogley.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9224&highlight=poppy
http://www.bogley.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5257&highlight=poppy



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--bzqLHqGz4

And then of course there's the Redbull Rampage stuff near Virgin, but I don't have details on that.

Thunder Mountain is a classic too, although it won't have a bunch of crazy stuff, just great scenery.

http://www.bogley.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12398&highlight=thunder


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zi8818RcSk


So, like I said, you're looking at Northern Utah for the ski resort biking, but they'll probably still be in the Ski business in March.

[Cirrus2000]

Oops - sorry guys. Meant to say that the plan was for SW Utah - St. George to Zion area, possibly up to Thunder Mt. if the weather cooperates up higher that way.

Cole got a DVD of the Red Bull Rampage, discovered that Virgin was the place, and has a hankering to visit. So yeah, that's the area, and the stuff, he's after. They understand that it's not riding up on lifts and bombing down.

But - when the time does come, the resorts up north do the lift thing in summer for the bikes? They'll be interested in that in future...

Thanks, Beech - passing that stuff along to them.

Once again, sorry about the missing info. Cheers!

[accadacca]

I would be sure to have Gooseberry Mesa on the list. They will want to get there nice and early so they can do the full loop. You can see pictures and video of our previous rides on this trail on the trip report page: http://www.bogley.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=651

[REDFOX]

The video of spineology was of the Virgin, Ut area. This is the same place that the Redbull Rampages have been held. The entire area is for hardcore advanced riders. Within 2 miles of the Virgin area is Grafton, UT. There is 1 extreme downhill trail there. Some of the magazine shots of Kyle Strait and road gaps have been shot in this area. If the guys have not broken themselves or their bikes, they should definitely ride the southern loop of the gooseberry mesa. For further details on good shuttle routes in the Virgin area, contact anyone at GO-RIDE.com. There are not specific signs showing the bike trails in the Virgin area.

[theking648]

i was going to say what redfox said.

but brian head is no. it will still have tons of snow in march. the first of june end of may is when it will be rideable.

i'm going to do bunker creek in june but the summit will still have some snow patches.

[drboudreaux]

If the guys are from Whistler/North Shore, they will be sorely disappointed with the resort riding here. I would NOT recommend sending them to Deer Valley, Sundance, or any of the other resorts here. They are fun for Utah, but pale in comparison to Whistler. Trust me.

SW Utah, where they are planning to ride, is the best place in the state for them to check out. It has terrain unlike anything else in N. America (arguably) and there are already lines cut everywhere down there. The original rampage venue is stacked with the goods, as are the trails. Sorry Beech, you need to come ride the real southern Utah. There are some epic downhill spots down there. :nod:

The first segment of the spineology video above, lunch line, is located in the old red bull rampage venue. The second is a trail, King Kong, which is a line off of Flying Monkey. Large line requiring large balls. LARGE. Flying Monkey is super techy and fun, as is Grafton Mesa. PM me for details on Grafton and some of the other trails in the area. I can likely get them in touch with the right peeps down there to show them around, or if not, I can point them in the right direction.

So, in sum:

Red Bull venue is a stellar playground.
Flying Monkey - extremely technical trail, very steep in parts - very fun.
King Kong - crazy line off of Flying Monkey.
Grafton - watered down version of Flying Monkey with some secret lines.
Nephi's Twist - super fun, scalpel ridge line trail descending into La Verkin.
Barrel trail - St. George specialty with hucks to sniper landings (not the Barrel trail listed on utanmountainbiking.com)
I would stay away from Green Valley Loop unless they are simply beat. It is fun, but I wouldn't in any way compare it to the Shore or Whistler as far as technical riding is concerned.

Others. When the date gets closer, PM me. I can help them out if needed.

Mike

[bbennett]

That first segment looks like a blast. I'm fairly confident that I would come away from King Kong covered in blood and urine if I were to attempt that one, though :eek2: . I've got to get down south. This whole no riding crap is killing me.

[accadacca]

They are pretty serious North Shore and Whistler downhill bikers.
I guess I missed this part. They wont want to ride Gooseberry Mesa with heavy downhill bikes. :lol8: