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NEWS | BLAZING TRAILS
FIRSTTRACKS
BLAZING TRAILS
This summer watch for a new bike park at Bolton Valley and new trails and MTB events around the state.
Zimmer Hayes launches Waterfall, one of the rowdier trails that has helped Bolton Valley earn its reputation.
Long before mountain bike parks were really a thing, some of the best riders in the state were cutting trails at Bolton Valley Resort. “Most of us knew each other,” says Zimmer Hayes, “and the trails were pretty sick.” At the time, he was ski racing for University of Vermont and spending summers honing his skills as a downhill bike racer.
Bolton Valley was owned at the time by the DesLauriers family. But after they sold the resort, the trails were not maintained. Lifts stopped running for mountain biking 15 years ago and many riders moved on to the new networks around the state.
Now Bolton Valley is back with liftserved mountain biking starting July 1 and plans in place for a full-on bike park. Many of the old trails have been refreshed.
“They are really fun, some are superhard, and old-school. They are sort of to mountain biking what Mad River Glen’s terrain is to skiing: rough, natural terrain that’s super challenging,” says Hayes.
The trails are so good that Hayes, now in his 40s, drives from his home in Stowe to ride them. Hayes expect to compete in the Maxxis Eastern States Cup downhill and enduro event which comes to Bolton Valley Resort on August 1.
Right now, many of the trails are for advanced riders and make use of the natural terrain. There are plans for more than 7 miles of new trails to be built in partnership with trail designers Gravity Logic. The new trails will be aimed at all ability levels and work will start once state permits are secured.
“We want to add in more flow trails, jump lines and beginner trails,” says Bolton Valley president Lindsay DesLauriers.
Bolton will also offer mountain bike camps, lessons and rentals this summer and options to buy either a season pass with lift access ($280) or without, if you plan to pedal up ($100).
Season passes are limited but a lift and day pass is just $40, if you buy online. —L.L.
Velomont Breaks New Ground
Imagine a hut and trail system connecting the trail networks around the state. That is the plan for the Velomont Trail . This summer, a critical portion of the trail will be built to connect the Green Mountain Trails with the Rochester area trails. Velomont is the vision of the Rochester/Randolph Sports Trails Alliance founders Angus McCusker and Zac Freeman —the same two who spearheaded the Brandon Gap glades. Soon, you will be able to ride the trail from Killington to Shrek’s Cabin in Pittsfield to the Chittenden Brook Hut and, eventually, the length of the state, staying at huts along the way.
A NEW MTB FEST
In the 1990s, Vermont was home to one of the early mountain bike festivals. It was sponsored by Pedro’s and held in a field in Randolph. Since then, festivals such as the New England Mountain Bike Festival at Kingdom Trails and the Vermont Mountain Bike Festival, put on by the Vermont Mountain Bike Association, have come and gone. This summer, the folks at Mountain Flyer magazine (headquartered in Jeffersonville, Vt. —and that’s editorial director Tyler Cohen in the photo above) are partnering with Ascutney Trails to bring a new festival, Flow State, to the 30-plus miles of trails at Mt. Ascutney and adjacent 20 miles of trails on private land. Tickets to the three-day event are $50, or $75 with camping. flowstatemtbfestival.com
RED BULL’S RAW DUAL SLALOM
Red Bull athlete Aaron Chase is known for doing some wild-ass things on a mountain bike. Last fall he tested out a made-for-spectating dual slalom bike course at Killington with huge man-made berms and mandatory jumps. This July 17, the Red Bull Raw Dual Slalom will pit riders head to head on a course at Killington Chase helped to design. The event is as much about style as it is speed so watch for huge airs, tail whips and more. If we are lucky, Chase may compete, too.
