Trailblaizers

Now that biking season is well and truly here I’m constantly amazed at the extensive network of trails that surely makes Fernie one of the best mountain bike destinations in the world.

Every time I climb a trail I have plenty of time to wonder, “How did these trails get here?” and “How come they look so good?” - the answer to that is, of course, a whole community of unsung heroes.

There are far too many heroes to mention in one article, but rest assured that the trails we ride and love were carved out of the mountain by local bikers with a pick axe and chainsaw. Yup, guys and girls who just got off their bikes, picked up some tools and made it their mission to clear the trail for us all to enjoy.

Pat Gilmar, of Fernie Trails and Ski Touring Club, said they’ve been trail building since the early 80’s:

“When we started cutting trails people didn’t have mountain bikes. There wasn’t a mountain bike in the valley! The club started out developing the Fairy Creek, 3 Sisters and Fernie Mountain trails and it grew from there.”

After years of trailblazing there’s now an extensive network of approximately 160 named trails, covering 300km in the valley. 200km of trail is maintained every year by an army of volunteers and a small trail maintenance crew.

The Fernie Mountain Bike Club (FMBC) started in the 90’s and their motto is: ‘Build – Maintain – Ride’. It is a collective of bikers working hard to keep the current trails open. In the last couple of years Kurt Adams, President of the FMBC, has been working hard to raise funds to maintain our trails.

“There’s an unwritten rule of trail building that if you build it you maintain it,” explained Kurt. “Now there is such a huge network of trails we need a coordinated approach to maintenance, both with volunteer efforts and through fundraising to pay a trail maintenance crew to keep these trails open.”

That doesn’t mean we don’t still need volunteers, because we do. It takes 2000 man-hours to keep our trails open and, talking to Pat and Kurt, it’s clear that it is an ongoing battle against the elements.

“As soon as the snow clears we start maintaining trails. Luke and Henry of ‘Backcountry Trail Experts’ are contracted to carry out work and we were out clearing trails with our weekly volunteer nights in June.

This year has been a particular challenge, with the rain proving to be perfect growing weather! No sooner have we cleared back new growth from a trail then it needs clearing again. It’s an ongoing battle.

Our maintenance budget is $10,000 a year, but we could easily spend more” explains Kurt, “Deadfall, rain erosion, old bridges in need of repair and trails in need of re-routing are yearly maintenance issues, requiring time and money.”

These two clubs have recently joined with the Nordic Society and Hiking Club to form a new umbrella group called ‘Fernie Trails Alliance’ [FTA] to ensure that current trails are maintained and future trails are developed properly.

A Board of Directors, made up of representatives of all the clubs, get together to come up with a yearly plan of what to build and maintain every summer.

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve rounded a corner and run into Luke and Henry out on trail maintenance and have been inspired to add a folding saw (available from the Fernie Mountain Bike Club) to my riding pack. Now, when I see a trail in need of a bit of a trim I can do my bit.

How can you help?
- VOLUNTEER! We all have the potential to be a trail hero, so if you’re out there and see something that needs fixing take 30 seconds to stop and do it!
- Bring a folding handsaw biking and use it!
- Report things you can’t fix to FMBC
- No time? Buy a membership to the FMBC ($20) or make a cash donation for trail maintenance.
- If you want to build a new trail, talk to the FTA first.

www.fernietrails.com
www.bikefernie.ca
www.fernietrailsalliance.com

For more on the history of Mountain Biking in Fernie please visit the Fernie Museum ‘Spoke-Lore’ exhibition on 2nd Ave.