Looking to do a little Alpine Riding

cove rider · Apr 18, 2006

Most of those in the washington state are of the hush hush type

cove rider · Apr 18, 2006

slcpunk21 said:
.There is also a ride I want to do that I saw in BIKE magazine, but they left out all the info so you can't find it, maybe some PNW natives can help me with that too.

Could you scan the article in so i can take a look? i might know where its at but i would have to read it

Borneo · Apr 18, 2006

I don't know what he's talking about. There's tons of above treeline riding in WA. The article you probably saw was about Mount St. Helens.
The kicker is that with the heavy snowpack this year, you won't be getting anywhere near the treeline in a month and a half. It will be from July to late September this year.

Go over to the WA page on mtbr.com. That crowd likes to climb a lot more than the folks on RM and there's more above treeline ride reports over there than you'll be able to do in the next 10 years.

Here's a start to some rides that are all above treeline:
Crystal Mountain
Mount St. Helens (Plains of Abraham)
Klone Peak
Duncan Hill
Esmeralda
Miller Peak
Basalt Peak
Juniper Ridge
Icicle Ridge

Start training, they are all a lot bigger than the walk up at SST.....

BTW: Your best bet from Bellingham is Cuttthroat Pass just over the North Cascades Highway. Top of the world type stuff. Simply amazing. And, not a bad climb. There's pictures someplace on the BBTC photo archive at www.bbtc.org

cove rider · Apr 18, 2006

Borneo said:
I don't know what he's talking about. There's tons of above treeline riding in WA. The article you probably saw was about Mount St. Helens.
The kicker is that with the heavy snowpack this year, you won't be getting anywhere near the treeline in a month and a half. It will be from July to late September this year.

Go over to the WA page on mtbr.com. That crowd likes to climb a lot more than the folks on RM and there's more above treeline ride reports over there than you'll be able to do in the next 10 years.

Here's a start to some rides that are all above treeline:
Crystal Mountain
Mount St. Helens (Plains of Abraham)
Klone Peak
Duncan Hill
Esmeralda
Miller Peak
Basalt Peak
Juniper Ridge
Icicle Ridge

Start training, they are all a lot bigger than the walk up at SST.....

BTW: Your best bet from Bellingham is Cuttthroat Pass just over the North Cascades Highway. Top of the world type stuff. Simply amazing. And, not a bad climb. There's pictures someplace on the BBTC photo archive at www.bbtc.org

Naw those are lame im talkin about the good freeride stuff! mtbr has all the cross country if thats what yer into

slcpunk21 said:
Look at that, not all people from Duvall are bad.neaky: ( I go to school with a guy from down there) and thanks for the info! I gotta get my butt in shape to pedal my 43lb bike up all those places you have told me about. Oh and I don't walk up to SST or any trails on galbraith, I ride... no matter how slow I am!

I have some info on a place to ride now in BC too, it was in the Collective, and a budy is takin me up there this summer!

If yer lookin for the freeride type stuff in the secretive locations yer best bet is to find somebody in your area and go with them and have them show you the trails seems how explaining getting there and all that its kinda of confusing

Borneo · Apr 19, 2006

"Lame" is calling epic mountain rides just that....

SLC asked for above tree line rides and that's what he got. The "rides" you're speaking of all all below treeline. Thus, not actually part of this thread.

There are no above treeline "freeride" or DH trails in Washington that I know of. Unless you'd call some of those "lame" above tree line XC rides through gnarly ass rock gardens "freeride"....

Skookum · Apr 19, 2006

Since you're up north you're really limited to real mountain riding since they've practically made the whole area up there Wilderness or National Park. Cutthroat is probably the closest to you, and it's pretty short for packing the big bike up. Down in Winthrop there are a few more trails like Lightning Creek and Blue Buck that you can shuttle if you get the maps, and it's a loooong shuttle....

Seems like alot of the prime XC on the Cascades that you can shuttle is more on the South side.... But alot of those North trails are really prime if you can pedal to them.... i haven't done Cutthroat yet, but i'd really like to some day.

oly · Apr 19, 2006

XC is ultramegalame. Unless you can do backflip 720's off of 1" wide ladder bridges 80 feet in the air you are a commie.

ps, listen to Borneo and Skookum if you want to go ride the most epic trails ever. Sure you have to climb and or hike alot, but the terrain is killer.

DBR X6 RIDER · Apr 19, 2006

No mention of Ranger Creek? Palisades?? Kachess Ridge?!? I can't wait until July.

Borneo · Apr 19, 2006

No mention because as much as it's hard to believe, they are all below tree line rides.... Just barely, but below.....

The others are much, much higher up. These would be great training rides for the others....

Unfortunately(IMHO), all three are accessable by those less inclined to pedal up their ascents and thus not in the same shape as the other rides mentioned. (But, that's a whole 'nuther inflammatory thread...)

From Bellingham, without a doubt Cuttthroat Pass is the ticket. As Skooks said, Starvation is cool too. But, even at 7K, still at treeline for that area.

The kicker about most all these bigger rides is that you often get "Garbanzo" quality gnarl in the decents and since you're out in the middle of BF No-where, getting hurt adds a big risk factor.

cove rider · Apr 19, 2006

slcpunk21 said:
I completely understand that, I went up and rode Gargamel (it was in the collective) anyways, there were some things I didn't ride but rode almost everything, but being out in the middle of no where the only option for getting out was a flight out, no thanks. I have nothing to prove... I'd rather be able to keep riding.

Are there directions on how to get to Cut Throat on that site? I found the pics you were talking about, now I just have to figure out how to get there, so when the snow does melt I am ready to ride it!

Doesnt gargamel end at some guys house though?

Borneo · Apr 19, 2006

Here you go:
http://trails.mtbr.com/cat/united-states-trails/trails-washington/trail/PRD_170869_4586crx.aspx

Some friends of ours did Gargamel last summer on the day we did the Kill Me Thrill Me/Comfortably Numb loop. Both groups had great stories around the dinner table that night.

geargrrl · Apr 19, 2006

seven summits, Rossland BC. Could be under snow for a while, still.

Skookum · Apr 19, 2006

DBR X6 RIDER said:
No mention of Ranger Creek? Palisades?? Kachess Ridge?!? I can't wait until July.

SLC is in Bellingham so those are kinda far. Kachesse is ok but the only reason it's so popular is because it's real close to get to.

Andy you need to do Deep Creek, Christoff (Greenwater) Deroux/Boulder (Cle Elum). They can be shuttled and they are the goods.... Actually Scotty knows the Greenwater ones....

But yah true alpine is almost non-existant for bikeys because most of the trails are in Wilderness.... It's eerie to be that HIGH!!!!

slcpunk21 said:
Are there directions on how to get to Cut Throat on that site? I found the pics you were talking about, now I just have to figure out how to get there, so when the snow does melt I am ready to ride it!

It should be pretty straight forward i have a map of it if you think you need a copy. But i think if you can find yourself to the trailhead it should be ride up/ride down simple....
Also this year is crazy with the snow, simply put enjoy the high country mountain rides if you want to do them, because it will be a short season this year.

cove rider · Apr 19, 2006

slcpunk21 said:
It did... when the movie was made. It doesn't anymore. The trail has changed a ton! It is worked... not smooth at all like the movie, just straight NAR!

To get to the top is pretty rough too! Then when you get to the top, you have to continue to hike sections and get around alot of marsh type stuff.

O I C! So do you think its better or worse than the movie?

joelsman · Apr 19, 2006

cut throat pass is easy to get to, go just past the top of hwy20 and take the first left, cutthroat creek.

cove rider · Apr 20, 2006

slcpunk21 said:
That trail ROCKED! I couldn't stop talking about it for weeks! I got back to the shop and kept watching the collective to see how it compared. When the video was made, it looked easier to keep speed up because it looked alot smoother. But I think when I rode it, it ruled because of all the gnar and added difficutly. Hope to make it back again this year.

Of course things were decidedly bigger in real life than they were in the movie. Everything took growing a set before you'd actually hit it. There wasn't much stuff that I'd roll up to and just go, had to look it over first. If you get a chance deffinately go ride it! (summer time when it's dry... it'll be hell if it's wet)

It was way longer than I expected! It was an all day event, no riding afterwards. I could go on and on about it, but I'll stop here.

But I'll leave you with a few images

NICE!! cool pics too! ya this summer there are a bunch of rides im wanting to do and that one just got added to my list

Looking to do a little Alpine Riding

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bikey's is cool

skin cooker for the hive

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BS is not a bitch.

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BS is not a bitch.

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bikey's is cool

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