2016
Stages 1 & 2: Fernie
Thule Stage 1 Date: July 23rd, 2016
The Location: Fernie, British Columbia
For the first time, Singletrack 6 will visit the mountain biking hot-spot of Fernie in 2016. However, for those familiar with the history of our events, you may recall that the TransRockies Challenge either started or finished in Fernie every year for 12 years. The community has one of the biggest and best singletrack trail networks anywhere, thanks to years of volunteer effort and community organization.
The Plan: Roll into Fernie on July 22nd or early, get checked-in, set up your ride and rest up for the big race!
The Stage: The 2016 Singletrack 6 will kick off with Stage 1 on the southeast side of town in the Castle and Ridgemont networks. The stage will start with our traditional downtown roll-out before tackling the classic Hyperventilation climb and the timed descent on Hyperextension. From there it’s on to some more great new trails: Kush, Kushier, and Kushiest. Then it’s back on the classic and fun Coal Discovery trail, and one more climb up through Sidewinder, Eric’s and Kid’s Stuff. We finish up with a challenging run down Hessian and Broken Hip into the finish at the Fernie Aquatic Centre.
Distance: 33 km
Elevation Gain: 1500m*
Timed Descent: 3km, 440m descending
Aid/CP: 13.5km, 20.0 km, 26.5km
Santa Cruz Stage 2 Date: July 24th, 2016
The Plan: After a relaxing night of recovery in Fernie, rise and shine and head over to Fernie Alpine Resort, location of the start and finish.
The Stage: Moving to the west side of the valley, Stage 2 highlights mostly classic, and some new singletrack in and around Fernie Alpine Resort, Island Lake Lodge and Mount Fernie Provincial Park. While some trails had been used for the TransRockies Challenge as recently as 2013, the overall layout is new for Singletrack 6 and focuses on the best mix of trails. Fernie riding is characteristically steep, so expect some lung and leg busting climbs followed by fast, sustained descents. Stage 2 will both challenge and delight most riders.
The stage starts in the plaza at Fernie Alpine Resort and climbs access roads up the face of the ski hill for the first 4 km, climbing 200 m. Then riders drop into the Lizard Creek valley via ‘Snakebite’ trail before starting to climb once again, fording Lizard Creek. A moderate but bumpy climb up the old ‘rail trail’ and a short steep pitch will bring you up to the new ‘Lazy Lizard’ trail. Built and maintained by Island Lake Lodge, Lazy Lizard is a new multi-directional trail that promises big smiles as riders cruise down the valley en route to the third major climb.
Perhaps the biggest climb of the day, riders will head up the slopes of Mount Fernie to the ‘Project 9’ trail; a namesake of Fernie Brewing Company’s Project 9 Pilsner. The grade steepens as the trail reaches the summit, challenging riders to keep the pedals turning. From the top of the Project 9 trail, riders will enter the timed descent portion of the day, dropping over 200 meters in 2.5 km. This is a classic sustained Fernie descent full of berms and small drops, with multiple line choices.
From the bottom of P9, riders will hang a sharp left back onto “Lazy Lizard” and a brand new section of trail leading to the next climb, up the ‘Stove’ trail. Moderate climbing on singletrack will again ascend over 200 meters, and then descends on ‘Dem Bones’ to once again cross Lizard Creek, this time via a bridge. From there, riders will start the final climb back through the old growth forest towards the ski area. A final descent on Fernie Alpine Resort singletrack will bring riders back to the finish line in the plaza.
Distance: 33.8 km
Elevation Gain: 1,600 m*
Timed Descent: 2.4km 300m descending
Aid/CP: 10km, 25km
Local Partners:
Stage 3: Cranbrook
Garneau Stage 3 Date: July 25th, 2016
New to the Singletrack 6, stage 3 will be hosted in the City of Cranbrook! After waking up in Fernie, riders will be transported approximately 1 hour to the city of Cranbrook. Surrounded by majestic peaks on all sides, Cranbrook is emerging as the newest hot spot in the region for great mountain biking, after years of relative anonymity. The active local cycling community has agreed to let a few of the secrets out of the bag so we can show you some of these outstanding trails.
The Cranbrook Community Forest has hosted the “Six in the Stix” mountain bike relay for a number of years, and the Wildhorse Cycling Club is actively working with the Cranbrook Community Forest Society and local landowners to sustainable develop and maintain outstanding mountain biking opportunities in the city.
The Plan: The Cranbrook stage will start and finish at the College of the Rockies, Cranbrook Campus, just minutes from downtown Cranbrook. This is the largest city we will visit once the event is underway, so it is a great chance to stock up on supplies. Following the stage, riders will travel approx. half an hour to Kimberley for the evening.
The Stage: Stage 3 consists of two loops, although each loop is completely unique. Starting with the inner loop and rolling out from Community College the route climbs gently on road, allowing you to find your legs. Once on loggers lane, you will be on wide singletrack, which gradually narrows as the low angle climbing continues. Eventually, you will get into the narrower singletrack that is characteristic of the hand built trails in the Community Forest, and the flowy trail will give way to some tighter climbs and descents over the “bumps” and the high point of the day. This pattern of short climbs followed by rewarding descents will take you a number of entertaining trails to Checkpoint 1 at Kettle Lake. Some flat and gentle cruising will bring you to the end of the first loop where you will cross over the day’s first climb.
Beginning the second major climb of the day, you will again be on gently climbing singletrack, giving way to steeper sections of climbing and more technical riding on “Hobgoblin”. After some high-speed, sometimes grassy descents on Migor, you will tackle the final significant climb on Bonehead. From this point, you only have a couple short climbs followed by fast and fun descents. The final high speed descent on Roller Coaster will leave you smiling as you roll back into the finish at College of the Rockies.
Note: Stage 3 will utilize “wave starts”. Please refer to the start list for your wave number and start time.
Distance: 42 km
Elevation Gain: 1200 m*
Timed Descent: 2km, 100m descending
Aid/CP: 17.5km, 26.5km
Local Partners:
Stage 4: Kimberley
Planet Foods Stage 4 Date: July 26th, 2016
The Location:
For the first time, Singletrack 6 heads to Kimberley, BC in 2016! Two nights of race accommodation will be hosted in Kimberley, home to Kimberley Alpine Resort and Trickle Creek Golf Club. An authentic mountain community, Kimberley is an annual host of the Round the Mountain Festival and the Kootenay Rockies Enduro Series.
The Plan: The Kimberley stage will start and finish at the town Platzl in the heart of Kimberley, surrounded by shops, restaurants and ambiance.
The Stage: Riders will head up the road to the ski area, providing ample opportunity to spread out and warm-up before hitting the dirt, as well as getting the biggest climb of the day out of the way early! A little bit more climbing on the ski area and the course enters Kimberley’s extensive singletrack trail network with a challenging bit of rocky climbing through Moe’s Canyon, before hitting the dirt with the handcrafted Magic Line singletrack.
After a series of fun descents and climbs, riders will find themselves at the top of the timed descent. With over 300 m of descending over 5km, this descent promises to be one of the longest and funnest timed descents of the week. Starting off with the signature “Thunder Turkey” and leading into “Shapeshifter” and “Hoodoo View”, riders will hit the lowest point on the course, requiring a hard effort on the 2nd biggest climb of the day to repay the gravity gods for the fun of the 300m descent. From there another moderate descent and climb will take the riders onto the town pathway system, and back into the town for a Platzl finish.
Distance: 36 km
Elevation Gain: 1250m*
Timed Descent: 6km, 400m descending
Aid/CP: 14.5km, 27.5km
Local Partners:
Stages 5 & 6: Golden
Dates: July 27th – 28th, 2016
The Location:
Golden, BC, located in the heart of what is known as Kicking Horse Country, serves as an access point to no less than 6 National Parks (Banff, Glacier, Kootenay, Jasper, Mt. Revelstoke and Yoho). With the support of local government and the Golden Cycling Club trail builders, this town of 4500 is mad for mountain biking, skiing, hiking and anything outdoors.
The Plan: After a night in Kimberley we’ll hop on HWY 95 for a 235 km shuttle north to Golden. You’ll mount up in Downtown Golden for an epic day in the saddle on trails expertly built and maintained by the Golden Cycling Club.
Smith Stage 5 – Mtn. Shadows
We’ll kick off Stage 5 in Golden by showcasing the Mtn. Shadows trail network. The stage starts in the Town Centre at Spirit Square, and after some road climbing to spread the group out, riders will be treated to the “Grand Opening” on the Schacher Trail, a brand new machine built singletrack climb up the slopes of Mount 7. A major effort for the Golden Cycling Club for years, This professionally built trail is a major new asset to the town’s inventory of mountain bike trails.
From there, it’s onto the Mount 7 DH trail for the timed descent, a fast and steep bomb down to the main Mountain Shadows network. Be sure to hone your skills for this one as we’ll be featuring technical rocky trails like Cliff Side and Rock About. We’ll end the day back in Golden with a finish in Spirit Square on the banks of the Kicking Horse River. All routes are subject to change at any time to allow for quality control, safety of the riders and wildlife.
Distance: 31 km
Elevation Gain: 1200m*
Timed Descent: 1.7 km, 300m descending
Aid/CP: 11km, 24km
Tinhorn Creek Stage 6 – Moonrakers & CBT
After a night of well deserved rest you’ll be ready to switch gears on the Moonrakers and CBT trail systems. Fast and flowy best describe this day. You’ll be grinning ear-to-ear while gliding through lush forests and flying down trails like CBT Mainline, Canyon Creek and Gold Rush.
While parts of this stage resemble the route we used last time we were through Golden in 2014, much of the stage has been overhauled including new trails like Hemiptera, Odanata, and a higher entry to the stunning Canyon Creek Trail.
There are over 150km of trail in this system and we’ve hand picked the best to ensure this is a day you’ll never forget. All routes are subject to change at any time to allow for quality control, safety of the riders and wildlife.
Please note that due to a sensitive goat habitat spectators are not permitted on the Canyon Creek portion of this stage.
Distance: 57km
Elevation Gain: 1650m*
Timed Descent: 3km, 300m descending
Aid/CP: 16km, 31km, 44km
Local Partners:
*Elevation data may be highly variable by device or mapping platform, as different software may use various data sources and calculation methods. Our total elevation gain for the stage is a middle estimate based on readings from multiple devices.