Mountain biking in Whistler had been happening for many years before the Bike Park opened in 1998. As early as the 1980s, and perhaps even the seventies (the original riders are either lost to history or too stoned remember the exact dates) riders were challenging themselves and exploring the mountains in summertime before mountain bikes were mountain bikes. Small crews of ski–bums looking for thrills would pedal touring bikes up the dusty, rocky summer access roads then bomb back down, chased by the smell of burning rubber brakes pads.

Singletrack was being cut back in the early 1980s when trials riders Bill Epplet and Jon Anderson started to rally lines around Lorimer Road – which eventually evolved into River Runs Through It – and the rocky play area were Cut Yer Bars now curls. The motorbike trials background of many early trail builders was supplemented by the tastes of the valley’s skiers who found themselves with not much to do during the long warm summers other than get aggressive melanomas on the Glacier, construct rafts to float drunkenly down the River of Golden Dreams, or put hammer to nail constructing the rapidly developing resort in order to earn enough crust so that the next winter would be a true ski–bum’s existence of powder days and liquor nights. Trails started to pop up higher on the flank of Sproat and Rainbow mountains on the west side of the valley. These rides gave these early pioneers a good slog up old logging skidder roads followed by hairy steep, rocky, loamy descents which would in some ways imitate the feeling of winter turns in Khyber’s or Spanky’s. Dan Swanstrom was the most prolific builder of the time building classics like Ride Don’t Slide, the No Flow, Danimal, Industrial Disease, Beaver Pass and River Runs Through It. Even to this day these trails deserve respect, not just for their history, but for the level of commitment and skill required to clean them.

Other highly notable builders followed suit such as Binty, who was responsible for some of the high marking trials routes and steep trails on the Upper Westside, and Boyd McTavish who built legal multi use trails around Blackcomb and the Flank for the resort municipality. Eric Barry, who for 12 years has added to the network by crafting the remarkable Zappa trails which make up the municipality sanctioned and supported Lost Lake riding area. He also dabbled with building rogue trails like Cheap Thrills. Chris Markle, who with insanely determined work ethic and tenacity began work on his grand vision for an epic of a trail: Comfortably Numb. This mammoth of a mamba trail took years of secret slaving and was built in many sections where he would camp out for days and perhaps weeks on end in order to avoid the arduous commute through the bush. In these days and nights of solitude he had communes with cougars and bears, but his tireless perseverance was rewarded when the municipality sanctioned and deeded Comfortably Numb legal for life as well as receiving IMBA Epic Trail status.

But most of Whistler’s remarkable trails were built rogue and only a select few have actually been officially recognized by the local municipal provincial government. Most of the trails exist on crown land (land owned by the Queen in Right Of Canada and administered by federal or provincial governments. The tenure land use is responsible for much of BC’s profits from natural resources like forestry) and despite amendments in the Forest Practices Code, which require approval from the land manager for any ground disturbance, clearing of vegetation or construction of structures, trail builders in Whistler have traditionally not feared retribution. The biggest concern has usually been trail builders infringing on private land, the inherent risk of mountain biking could open up landowners to liability if a rider was to hurt themselves on their land.>>