[Instigatr]

Another vote to run alpine from the top. A nice thing to watch on the lift up. " We're all showoffs anyway".

The best part of the first few years of diablo was that every other week when you came to the mountain, there was a whole new trail.
This year had nothing new after the start of the year (after tempest and -anthem-?)

 

[Timekiller]

Another vote to run alpine from the top. A nice thing to watch on the lift up. " We're all showoffs anyway".

The best part of the first few years of diablo was that every other week when you came to the mountain, there was a whole new trail.
This year had nothing new after the start of the year (after tempest and -anthem-?)

So I guess Victory isn't considered a trail?

 

[demo 9]

i think that diablo should try to talk whistler into trading mountains, im sure with enough alchaol it would be possible.

 

[Stiff]

Ideas to make a good place better:

- More everything: trails, especially trails, rocks, jumps, drops, chutes, finishings, starts. Diversity is the spice of life.

- More big wall rides on Alpine so there's a chain of 4 instead of 2.

- More big wall rides anywhere - bottom of Flume drop for example.

- More step-ups.

- Open to 6 pm instead of 4 on Saturdays at least.

- Nighttime Alpine races?

- A new trail section somewhere, somehow, that allows DH bikes to pedal along and shallowly uphill toward Tempest and all that.

- Remove the anti-erosion logs that really just exacerbate instead of alleviate the problem. Whistler has none of these. You can use rubber gates set 20-35 degrees into the trailbed. These are better and cheaper and faster to put in. The worst place is the log staircase just after Dom's Denial drop and before the USO right hand sweeper. Logs are a backcountry solution for hiking trails, and do not really respond to the needs of a modern freeride park. You can also use flexible hose/tube to improve water mgt.

- Family and non-DH options: I know this isn't really Diablo's trail crew's responsibility, but if there were things for citizens to do, older riders could justify more trips to the mtn and all riders could bring non-DH friends more often. Maybe things like a proper XC trail and rentals would help? A diaper changing station would help all too - y'all who are moaning about too many rocks, too many jumps, too many waah waah waah could use that.

- Better food and any beer. Can't someone bring up a stand from NYC? It would be great to drink beer on phantom, yes? Income diversification, always good.

- And, more trails, even if you have to finish around the corner from the lift.

 

[Polish Rambo]

how is a rubber gate, that you have to buy, cheaper than a log? as far as making the erosion problem worse... wrong. ask anyone who was at diablo last season how many times trails like upper/lower dominion and alpine were closed due to rain, and how many times these trails were closed this season. and in the comparison to whistler's techniques, they close whole sections of the mountain throughout the season to rework the trail network. imagine how many people would bitch on this forum if diablo closed a single trail for more than a weekend. beer on phantom= no insurance to operate park

 

[runnin12s]

I agree with the no-beer at diablo. I remember back in the day when the beer companies used to have programs set up at the local ski resorts. You would pay $1. take a pass down the slalom hill and get timed and at the bottom you would be given a mug with the name of the beer company filled with their own brew. Damn now that I look back at it skiiing was kinda tricky after the 10th pass down the slalom course. Could you imagine 100 drunk bikers flying down the hills? BUT, I have always imagined the phantom drop being utilized as a outside italian cafe style thingy. Set up a little barbaque shack next to it, mild landscaping and some cleanup, and utilize upper and lower flours (sorry it's misspelled don't want to offend anyone), floors on both sides of the drop with little tables to have a snack at. Imagine being in the bottom side with a little "cafe" setup watching the bikes drop off the roof. That would be great, and a draw for people who just want to hang out for a coffee or sandwich.

 

[Stiff]

how is a rubber gate, that you have to buy, cheaper than a log?

cost of labor, rubber strip is cheap

as far as making the erosion problem worse... wrong. ask anyone who was at diablo last season how many times trails like upper/lower dominion and alpine were closed due to rain, and how many times these trails were closed this season.

The eastern US has had low rainfall this year. By the way I've had season's passes at Diablo for the past two yrs and this year have probably ridden more at Whistler than at Diablo although I've also visited Diablo quite a bit. And have been to Whistler many times in years past, as well as many other resorts around the world and in the US and Canada. I build trails and have a master's in trail mgt, so I'm trying to be constructive here.

and in the comparison to whistler's techniques, they close whole sections of the mountain throughout the season to rework the trail network. imagine how many people would bitch on this forum if diablo closed a single trail for more than a weekend.

You mean like BMW was closed? Whistler gets loads more traffic than Diablo trails. I forget the numbers but A-line alone supports a staggering amount of runs. And I've ridden A-line, Dirt Merchant, etc in the pouring rain. Without logs.

beer on phantom= no insurance to operate park

Sure, it was a joke. But speaking of litigation, wait til some kid breaks his neck on the log staircase and his Dad finds out on the internets that the logs are not the best approach to control soil erosion on downhill specific bike trails.

 

[pinkshirtphotos]

- A new trail section somewhere, somehow, that allows DH bikes to pedal along and shallowly uphill toward Tempest and all that.

when i was riding i never had a problem riding up the hill to temepest. i have a 36t cr and a road cassette. you must just suck at riding.

 

[Diablo_Freeride]

No offense, but unless you've built trails at Diablo, with soil types and consistencies from Diablo and conditions prevalent at Diablo, its very difficult to offer 'constructive' trail erosion 'tips' and make assumptions that will work 'better'. The logs serve and assist water divertion, speed control and are more durable then rubber devices. Rubber "strips" simply do not hold up to the abuse, excess skidding and wear and tear that DH bikes put forth on a daily basis. Perhaps these methods work for you on XC type trails but certainly not DH trails with high traffic.

Like them, or not, our erosion contol methods this season have leaps and bounds corrected major erosion issues and greatly improved trail quality on many sections of the mountain. In addition, these methods have decreased trail closures tremendously, decreases injury rates largely due to erosion issues and have allowed our existing labor force to focus on maintaining the entire mountain instead of repairing the same sections week-after-week.

 

[Electric_City]

FIX THE OUTSIDE CAMBER SECTION BETWEEN THE 2 WALL RIDES ON ALPINE BEFORE SOMEONE GETS "TICKLED"!!!




I know it's in caps lock

 

[Polish Rambo]

for my own personal knowledge, who offers a masters in trail management? I would really like to know this as its something I would be interested in finding out more (not being a smartass, i really would like to know...)

I've read a good bit of the literature out there about building trails, and there is an extensive amount of information about proper techniques for building XC trails, where log use is discouraged. this pertains mostly to using logs to outline trails, which traps water, using logs to build obstacles, which tend to erode and create movable hazards for riders, or creating "dams" to slow water moving downhill. The groups that publish this info (IMBA, Nature Conservancy, etc..) advise against these techniques because they advise against building downhill trails. Instead, they promote building trails that traverse a slope at a perpendicular, and that have less than a 10% gradient, where benching is more useful than logs. finally, logs are free and natural, where rubber, while coming from a natural extract, is far from natural as a finished product. hosing and pipes would be extremely expensive and time-consuming to be done properly, and a half-assed job wouldn't make it a full season.

the point is, waterbars work at ski resorts, and they work in downhill biking applications. the issue here with logs has nothing to do with erosion and more to do with the fact that some riders do not like them. personally I think the logs on alpine and at the end of tempest add to the fun of the trails. the "stairs" are no more dangerous than any other feature on the mountain. an attack on the logs comes up every few weeks, and its always the same... suggestions are always welcome, but let go of the logs. my guess is they are staying.

 

[Iridemtb]

- More step-ups.
- Nighttime Alpine races?
The worst place is the log staircase just after Dom's Denial drop and before the USO right hand sweeper. QUOTE]

Alpine races at night would be sweet!!!!! But expensive to buy lighting, and perhaps insurance would'nt cover it, but it would be awesome. Those steps after Dom's Denial Drop would be nice if they could go.

And more step ups and step downs would be sweet. Like what if in the middle of a trail, you could have an option like a triple. It would be like 30 feet long, and you could either jump it like a double, or you could hit up the whole thing and hit it like a triple.

One more idea, but I don't know if or where diablo could implement this, a berm to a berm jump! It would be sweet, you could jump from one turn to another and skip a section if you choose to, but of course, it would be more of an advanced feature.

 

[yuroshek]

One more idea, but I don't know if or where diablo could implement this, a berm to a berm jump! It would be sweet, you could jump from one turn to another and skip a section if you choose to, but of course, it would be more of an advanced feature.

i tried doin this in practice for the second race at the end of utah and waffled my front wheel haha.

but yea that would be pretty cool. maybe in upper breakout after that small table top followed by the berm.

 

[Huck Banzai]

The steps after Doms D should be a non issue if you

A> Go fast - have you never ridden stairs? Your bike likely has 7-10" of suspension travel - why do you dislike bumps? B> You can also carve down the left side of it where the ladder stops (although that may be a go around that will be addressed? I dont mean the leftmost line that berms down to the speed drop/finish line)

I'd prefer that they werent there, but I also prefer the trails stay open so I treat them as a technical obstacle.

IN FACT - I have taken to using the logs after the tree table leading into the SRAM berm as a mini-gap -- carry loads of speed from the jump and lip off the first, landing past the second -- I wouldnt advise casing tho!!

 

[pinkshirtphotos]

The steps after Doms D should be a non issue if you

A> Go fast - have you never ridden stairs? Your bike likely has 7-10" of suspension travel

not to be a dick or anything but i know first hand, and have heard PROFESSIONAL racers and riders say they dont like them. the wood logs for water control have helped. i remember days the trail crews would spend no more then an hour on alpine and it was a perfect trail, the bars also make you ride better. stairs are just unnecessary.

 

[DownhillR3]

One more idea, but I don't know if or where diablo could implement this, a berm to a berm jump! It would be sweet, you could jump from one turn to another and skip a section if you choose to, but of course, it would be more of an advanced feature.

Actually that used to be possible back when Alpine didn't have the wallrides. Mick Hannah gapped from berm to berm. Proof...if you have Hypnosis, watch Mick Hannah's part before the USOPEN.

 

[Huck Banzai]

The steps after Doms D should be a non issue if you

A> Go fast - have you never ridden stairs? Your bike likely has 7-10" of suspension travel

not to be a dick or anything but i know first hand, and have heard PROFESSIONAL racers and riders say they dont like them. the wood logs for water control have helped. i remember days the trail crews would spend no more then an hour on alpine and it was a perfect trail, the bars also make you ride better. stairs are just unnecessary.

Thats not 'dick-ish' at all! What pro racers even run that line? When the race course is up, you dont touch that section at all so. Im not super worldly, but do know a couple of East Coast pro's as well as seasoned experts that have 'been doin it since way back'. - all taken in stride.

I would prefer they weren't there, and in prediction of DFR response -- "Tough Noogies".

I am an experienced and capable rider, but there are loads of people I would describe as faster or better in one way or another, and that section is a non issue for me! If you can ride Ripper without complaint, then some water bars/steps shouldnt be a problem.

Yes, they suck - but - too bad, they're staying. Do you recall how nasty, loose and rutted that area would get prior to the steps? It killed the high speed carve back through the little wood section after. Not any more!

The days when they spent an hour fixing alpine -- I dont recall, but it has always been a high impact trail that, combined with dominion, sees significantly more traffic than any other trails on the mountain! they have had to close it for days in the past.

 

[demo 9]

true that, although i hate the stairs, i saw 3 riders out of 4 loose their pedals on openeing day to them stairs. but i am sure clipless would be fine

 

[jbogner]

Funny how riders in the city SEEK OUT stairs to ride and gap...

 

[Huck Banzai]

Funny how riders in the city SEEK OUT stairs to ride and gap...

And on hardtails usually.

Stair gaps - how gauche! ROFL

 

[deadatbirth]

true that, although i hate the stairs, i saw 3 riders out of 4 loose their pedals on openeing day to them stairs. but i am sure clipless would be fine

loose their pedals? u mean like slipping a pedal or just having them come off? if its the latter, then they deserve it to happen to them if they dont tighten em.

 

[demo 9]

no they just slowly bounce off the front, its happened to me a few times too, in my case each stair puts my feet half an inch farthur foward until they fall off and i eat poop. i hate them but thats what the outer berm thing is for

 

[Squeegee]

would definately agree that there needs to be a couple of newbie trails to entice new people into the sport. the attitude at diablo seems to be a bit elitist, seriously no offensense to anyone, it's just makes the place a bit intimidating when every trail is upper-end riding with no place for the new guy...not saying reduce what's already there...just a trail or two that are a bit more "forgiving"

 

[!!!HUCK YOU!!!]

thouse of us from nyc who freeride steps are part of the sport
the steps are so small!! if you dont like the steps ... gap it!!

 

[deadatbirth]

no they just slowly bounce off the front, its happened to me a few times too, in my case each stair puts my feet half an inch farthur foward until they fall off and i eat poop. i hate them but thats what the outer berm thing is for

get better pedals and better shoes...or just ride clipless...those bumps arent really that bad.
then again, it is called bike control

 

[Huck Banzai]

no they just slowly bounce off the front, its happened to me a few times too, in my case each stair puts my feet half an inch farthur foward until they fall off and i eat poop. i hate them but thats what the outer berm thing is for

Pump it! Tilt your heels down, pull back on the bars a teency and beast through it ROOOOOOOOAR!

 

[demo 9]

well i am not the best rider on the mountain for sure but i think its a problem if half the people i see go down them loose the pedals, and i do spend lots of time in clipless, i am not complaining for me neccessarily but i saw somebody on a morewood eat it pretty bad one time, looked like he lost the pedals

 

[deadatbirth]

but i saw somebody on a morewood eat it pretty bad one time, looked like he lost the pedals

does a Morewood mean he is good?

 

[Iridemtb]

Ok, just get rid of the steps, I mean, you could throw a step down there with a little bit of work, how sweet would that be? Powering around the berm after a turn or after hitting dom's denial and just slamming a speed jump or even boosting it a little if you want...

Sounds fun.......

 

[necody]

i think there should be some sort of slopestyle contest or at least a course, there is always pics of them but none on the east coast

 

[demo 9]

does a Morewood mean he is good?

nope, but it gives a description, sorry, *a caucasian male riding a bicycle on rugged terrain with a fullface helmet

 

[runnin12s]

I have to agree with most everyone here (imagine that) I too have "lost the pedals" heading down the steps after Dom's. I did it twice the first week they were installed and the first time my as$ hit the back tire and the second I just grabbed the seat with my thighs (my wife taught me that trick). After that I just run to the left of the stairs, or if I get a great run off the berm I gap the stairs and land back tire on the last step or so, not a problem, but I think it is nearly impossible for ANYONE to ride down the stairs at full speed without getting bounced off the pedals, it's just the distance that they are spaced. On a regular set of stairs your tires bounce off each step alternately, on these particular stairs they are spaced so that your front and rear tires hit a stair each at the same time. Only my 2 cents, but leave them there is my vote I like clearing them and leaving other riders behind trying to go around or riding down them.

 

[deadatbirth]

you people should learn how to ride more better....hell, if you keep f-ing up there, keep hiking the section till you get it and can ride it.

 

[SVPPB]

Can you guys get a cannon big enough to shoot a 200lb man out of?
I've always wanted to be shot from a cannon, so this would be a big addition to Diablo for me.

And more thong clad NJ hunnies wouldn't be bad either, just so long as they're 70 or more pounds lighter then I.

 

[deadatbirth]

Can you guys get a cannon big enough to shoot a 200lb man out of?
I've always wanted to be shot from a cannon, so this would be a big addition to Diablo for me.

And more thong clad NJ hunnies wouldn't be bad either, just so long as they're 70 or more pounds lighter then I.

i second the cannon idea.

and wait till summer to see mexican chicas in bikinis...if that floats your boat

 

[SVPPB]

I'm going to head down to SD next year I think. Hot girls, small clothes.

Or maybe the NW. Very pale, tattooed hotties.

Now just how to get them to races is sort of beyond me.


Maybe fireworks when you jump the pro-jump? Exploding flares under you, would make for a hell of a photo.

 

[deadatbirth]

Now just how to get them to races is sort of beyond me.

tell them theres free drinks

 

[yuroshek]

I'm going to head down to SD next year I think. Hot girls, small clothes.

Or maybe the NW. Very pale, tattooed hotties.

Now just how to get them to races is sort of beyond me.


Maybe fireworks when you jump the pro-jump? Exploding flares under you, would make for a hell of a photo.

i can do the fireworks, me and a buddy do shows for towns and such.

 

[SVPPB]

Wonder how we could get Dia-blo to go for it...

 

[dirttastesgood]

i think there should be some sort of slopestyle contest or at least a course, there is always pics of them but none on the east coast

if this is the cody i think it is thats about the 100000020343940 time i've heard you say that. and i agree with it