Wasatch Dirt Thread

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Originally Posted by ripvw

Lot at PCMR looking like a mid winter pow day this morning.

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All about when and where you ride, but I think it's fairly easy to avoid the crowds in the PC area and certainly in the Wasatch.

Saturday, started at 6:30 pm, saw as many moose/deer as I did bikers (3 moose, 1 deer, 4 bikers). Got close enough to slap this guys' ass as I came around a blind hairpin and startled each other. He ran down the trail a bit, turned around fronting before he decided it wasn't worth stomping me into the dirt.

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Sunday, started around 9am, rode a 9k-mid mountain loop and it was crowded, but it really doesn't matter to me too much about crowds on the trails. Everyone was courteous and smiling, and it's not like the conditions change with traffic like snow on a powder day. There's enough moon dust for everyone! Overall, I think having more people on bikes using trails is a good thing. Gives mountain bikers a louder voice at the table like with the SLC foothills master plan battle, injects more money into the sport which results in more trail building.

Father's day bike ride with my dad was a good one this year. Flowers are peaking in PC too

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Mojave and Silver Queen are DH only.

Tommy's Two Step is UH only.

Riders regularly break these "rules" on Mojave and 2-step.

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Originally Posted by SJG

Riders regularly break these "rules" on Mojave and 2-step.

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I saw 2 ebikes and 1 full face bro coming down Tommy on Sunday. The e-bikers seemed to know they were in the wrong and pulled over into the brush even though the spot was really wide. I didn't say anything to them but full face bro went above and beyond and I called his shit out. He was really moving on the long straight section below the lift and scared the shit out of 2 hikers then rolled down to me giving no indication he'd yield. I planted myself in the middle of the trail and asked him if everything was OK in case he had an invisible mechanical. Dude proceeded to angrily tell me he'd been riding PC for eons and T2S had always been bidirectional. I remarked that I hadn't said anything about his sorry ass riding the wrong way but since he had brought it up he should consider fucking right off the trail. He declined and angrily pedaled away while I shouted terrible thing about his dumb face, his fat ass, his mom, etc...
I checked the sign at the top, completely impossible to miss. Fucking twat.

Armstrong is also popular downhill these days, ran into 2 ladies who told me they didn't want to ride MM all the way to Spiro so they'd go back down to HAM. OK then...

LOL. I'd handle it similarly, but might include something about "cunting up the resort".......

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Originally Posted by Boissal

I remarked that I hadn't said anything about his sorry ass riding the wrong way but since he had brought it up he should consider fucking right off the trail.

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[QUOTE=Boissal;634143

Armstrong is also popular downhill these days, ran into 2 ladies who told me they didn't want to ride MM all the way to Spiro so they'd go back down to HAM. OK then...[/QUOTE]
About 50% of the time on Armstrong I see a down hill rider. Half of those are bloody from a crash. I don’t think anyone cares about someone who is hurt getting down however they have to. The irony in your circumstance is I think it would actually be easier to just turn around and take one of the options back on the resort. But as you’ve said, the only time I say anything any more is when they get close enough to scare me. Break s rule, okay. Hit me, I’m going to sound off on you.

I rode Armstrong downhill once, it's a fantastic descent. I ran into dozens of people going up which was awkward.

(I broke my chain before reaching the HAM cutoff)

And it's good to hear I'm not going insane: Mojave is still DH only. They just need a sign at the bottom saying so. The guy I turned around going up was super nice about it, but I wasn't rude either...I think he wanted to stick to MM and got lost so he didn't even want to go up it.

Oh I agree that rules go out the window in case of injury or mechanical, nobody's making me push my bike to the top of Armstrong without a chain or riding an extra 3 miles of shite to get to Spiro if I'm oozing blood. My gripe is with people who don't give 2 shits about the rules because they're inconvenient. Fuck them and their ilk deserve a baguette into their spokes.

I remember the first time I did a full Crest loop and decided to ride MM back from the Canyons to PCMR. I ran out of water 3 miles into the traverse and bonked super hard. Every time I crossed a paved road going to some Mc Mansion I shed a tear and remembered the sign that said "ALL THIS LAND IS PRIVATE AND OWNED BY RICH PEOPLE WHO HATE YOU AND YOUR KIND - YOU FILTHY PEASANTS SHALL NOT CROSS OUR PROPERTY AND MUST RIDE ALL THE WAY TO SPIRO TO DROP DOWN". The Iron Mtn section almost did me in and when I got to Armstrong I thought long and hard about riding it down and enduring the shit people would (deservedly) throw my way. Then I rode to Spiro because poor planning and dumb decision making don't qualify as a valid reason to act like a twat.

I was in a similar situation but Armstrong didn't exist yet, I was dying after my buddy decided to ride us up Gold finger on the way back from a self pedaled crest.
We had accessed crest Via Spiro-eagle-cmg-apex-keystone-shadow lake. Doing that the morning after bottle service at the down stairs and limited food was.....awful.

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Originally Posted by muted reborn

I rode Armstrong downhill once, it's a fantastic descent.

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Everything's legal at night.

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Originally Posted by Boissal

Oh I agree that rules go out the window in case of injury or mechanical, nobody's making me push my bike to the top of Armstrong without a chain or riding an extra 3 miles of shite to get to Spiro if I'm oozing blood. My gripe is with people who don't give 2 shits about the rules because they're inconvenient. Fuck them and their ilk deserve a baguette into their spokes.

I remember the first time I did a full Crest loop and decided to ride MM back from the Canyons to PCMR. I ran out of water 3 miles into the traverse and bonked super hard. Every time I crossed a paved road going to some Mc Mansion I shed a tear and remembered the sign that said "ALL THIS LAND IS PRIVATE AND OWNED BY RICH PEOPLE WHO HATE YOU AND YOUR KIND - YOU FILTHY PEASANTS SHALL NOT CROSS OUR PROPERTY AND MUST RIDE ALL THE WAY TO SPIRO TO DROP DOWN". The Iron Mtn section almost did me in and when I got to Armstrong I thought long and hard about riding it down and enduring the shit people would (deservedly) throw my way. Then I rode to Spiro because poor planning and dumb decision making don't qualify as a valid reason to act like a twat.

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Honestly, if you're courteous, apologetic, and yield I couldn't give less of shit if you're riding down uphill-only routes (obviously, this doesn't apply to the douche bro getting gnar on Tommy's). People riding up DH-only routes, however, should be told to fuck right off the trail, with prejudice, because it's goddamn dangerous and could easily result in severe injury or death for themselves and others.

It is completely ridiculous that 1) there isn't single way to get off of MM between Spiro and Holly's; and 2) none of the trail development in PC in the last decade has paid the slightest lick of attention to getting people back down to town.

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Originally Posted by Dantheman

It is completely ridiculous that 1) there isn't single way to get off of MM between Spiro and Holly's; and 2) none of the trail development in PC in the last decade has paid the slightest lick of attention to getting people back down to town.

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Agreed. The Colony and it's billions of $$ of real estate will ensure that it will never change though. It's a major bummer, there's so much cool terrain back there. Every time I'm on Pinecone I look into the bowl below Scott's and wish for a new trail in there. Or on the E side of Peak 10009. Or down from Silver Benchmark, or pretty much anywhere down from Crest on the E side. Not to mention the options below MM, that's steep forested terrain that could make for some all time trails.
For #2, it's indeed weird that there are only 2 or 3 ways to get off the mountain on PCMR given the density of the spaghetti bowl higher up. They're doing work on lower CMG right now but there's not enough lipstick in the world to make that pig look good.

There are a multitude of ways down. I ride them most days and no one ever says a word. Seriously, the guard house is on an automatic trigger for people exiting. The only way you would ever have an issue is if you caused one. Just stay off ogusthorpe’s place.

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Originally Posted by Canada1

There are a multitude of ways down. I ride them most days and no one ever says a word. Seriously, the guard house is on an automatic trigger for people exiting. The only way you would ever have an issue is if you caused one. Just stay off ogusthorpe’s place.

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There are no "legal" ways down though. And no chance of getting any new ones. In a pinch I'll ride pavement out of there but that's not exactly something I'd be psyched to do over and over.

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Originally Posted by Boissal

Agreed. The Colony and it's billions of $$ of real estate will ensure that it will never change though. It's a major bummer, there's so much cool terrain back there. Every time I'm on Pinecone I look into the bowl below Scott's and wish for a new trail in there. Or on the E side of Peak 10009. Or down from Silver Benchmark, or pretty much anywhere down from Crest on the E side. Not to mention the options below MM, that's steep forested terrain that could make for some all time trails.
For #2, it's indeed weird that there are only 2 or 3 ways to get off the mountain on PCMR given the density of the spaghetti bowl higher up. They're doing work on lower CMG right now but there's not enough lipstick in the world to make that pig look good.

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Bitching about there not being a trail down the colonies seems like a pointless battle. There's 500+ miles in the PC trail system and it's well signed what you're getting into on both sides of Mid-mountain. Would i like trails in there? sure, but ya gotta pick yer battles. Plus all those mentioned areas are private property I believe. it would be cool if the colonies had a private trail system I could poach tho like another neighborhood in PC :biggrin:

I agree about Dantheman's second point. It would be cool if there would be more options down into town, but where are you going to put them that's there's not already a trail or private property conflicts? Seems like there's a good amount of trails, legal and illegal, but I do think it's a bummer that all the main trails like Spiro just get hammered to the point that I avoid them when possible. wasn't jenni's built in the last decade? though I've admittedly never ridden jenni's down.

Maybe a trail near sweeney's and the town lift runs? Though my dad wants them to re-do sweeney's to make it more friendly and I think that would be a travesty. So you can't please em all

I do sometimes wish mountain trails would focus less on building new trails and focus more on maintaining some of the existing trails. More of a nitpicking request as I think they do a great job overall. But at some point, the area is going to reach capacity for trails. Definitely feel like the animals in the area are getting squeezed out of habitat, mainly by second homes, but trails add pressure to wildlife too.

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Originally Posted by brutah

Bitching about there not being a trail down the colonies seems like a pointless battle.

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I'm not bitching, just lamenting. Whenever I look at that giant hole in the map east of the Crest all I can think is #sad.

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Originally Posted by brutah

but where are you going to put them that's there's not already a trail or private property conflicts?

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Trails are narrow and there's a lot more space available than the map suggests. Talisker/Vail owns everything in the PCMR area and there isn't a giant development like The Colony getting in the way. It is nice that they ignore the unsanctioned trails, but that may not last forever.

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Originally Posted by brutah

wasn't jenni's built in the last decade? though I've admittedly never ridden jenni's down.

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It was. But, down Jenni's? Gross.

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Originally Posted by brutah

Though my dad wants them to re-do sweeney's to make it more friendly

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NO!

:D

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Originally Posted by brutah

Though my dad wants them to re-do sweeney's to make it more friendly

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Typical e-biker sentiment ;)

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Originally Posted by Phall

Typical e-biker sentiment ;)

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hahaha ya he is old af and so are his opinions. But at 73 years old, he's a bad ass whether he uses an e-bike or not.

The lack of entries and exits between Holly’s and Spiro is one reason why that section of MM remains decent to ride. It’s great. Mountain biking is hard.


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Originally Posted by joetron

The lack of entries and exits between Holly’s and Spiro is one reason why that section of MM remains decent to ride. It’s great. Mountain biking is hard.

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Great with the exception of the frontside of Iron Mountain which is just a pile of pointy rocks trying to eat your rims. The downhill on the backside is a hoot though...

Iron Mtn is fucking awesome in both directions! I prefer climbing up the south end, but that’s also fun for an out and back for some loose rock smashing. The backside descent is one of the best trail segments in PC


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Originally Posted by joetron

Iron Mtn is fucking awesome in both directions! I prefer climbing up the south end, but that’s also fun for an out and back for some loose rock smashing. The backside descent is one of the best trail segments in PC


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A little taste of what mid mountain was before mountain trails gave it away to the colonies. Man, I just can’t let that one go.

It's likely I just suck but all of those embedded rocks on the 9K trail near the skree field are tough and tiring to pedal through.

Tour de suds > 9k > shadow lake/keystone/3 candles/silver queen > MM is a bigger loop than I'd imagined. The downhill not a huge payoff for all the pedaling you do getting there and back. Anyone do that loop yet in reverse direction? Wondering if it would be more fun to take most of 9k down (towards empire pass), and then down corvair or something.

I’ve been in the hard tail a lot lately, and 9k is one of the staples. It certainly isn’t fast flow, but it isn’t as rough as alot of the options up there. Sometimes when I’m in the mood I just climb gaurdsman to Scott’s. It’s smooth.

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Originally Posted by jtran10

It's likely I just suck but all of those embedded rocks on the 9K trail near the skree field are tough and tiring to pedal through.

Tour de suds > 9k > shadow lake/keystone/3 candles/silver queen > MM is a bigger loop than I'd imagined. The downhill not a huge payoff for all the pedaling you do getting there and back. Anyone do that loop yet in reverse direction? Wondering if it would be more fun to take most of 9k down (towards empire pass), and then down corvair or something.

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I did 3candles/keystone/fat lip to McConkeys road, then 9k to Payroll Sunday. No complaints. Great peaceful view going down 9k to empire. Then go MM to empire link, cross Dalys and up to MM and go to your car, or Undertow to finish. Take the bus up to your car.

edit: i mean payroll, not corvair

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Originally Posted by jtran10

It's likely I just suck but all of those embedded rocks on the 9K trail near the skree field are tough and tiring to pedal through.

Tour de suds > 9k > shadow lake/keystone/3 candles/silver queen > MM is a bigger loop than I'd imagined. The downhill not a huge payoff for all the pedaling you do getting there and back. Anyone do that loop yet in reverse direction? Wondering if it would be more fun to take most of 9k down (towards empire pass), and then down corvair or something.

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I've done the reverse loop a couple times, getting to the top of 9k via Armstrong>Pinecone or Jenny's/John's > T2S > 3C > Shadow version. 9k flows better going toward Empire but it's definitely not smooth or fast until you hit the halfway point and the payoff at the end (Corvair, TG, Payroll) doesn't necessarily justify the slog to get there. The last time I rode that loop I dropped off 9k at Black Forest, took MM over to Team Big Bear and climbed back up. It skips the smoother section of 9k but it's hard to pass on Black Forest, even in its current state.
I hope there's a crop of new trails in the making that drop off 9k down to MM because 9k itself isn't something I'm going to be psyched about riding over and over...

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Originally Posted by jtran10

It's likely I just suck but all of those embedded rocks on the 9K trail near the skree field are tough and tiring to pedal through.

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id argue there is very little good about 9K.

If parking at its lot, try riding up Guardsman to the top of Jupiter Chair and dropping Shadow Ridge to Keystone, Dead Tree to Apex, or go over and ride Empire to Black Forrest.

Dead Tree to apex being the least technical and fastest overall speeds. Shadow Ridge is slow speed steep tech and Empire/BF is medium/fast-speed, medium-pitch, semi-tech.

All are PC classics, and call me a grump, but riding that area on bad trail just seems silly, when literally
every other trail in the area is really
good.