Behind the Scenes at the Bike Park
Beginning in early April, the Mt. Bachelor Trail Crew shifts their focus to summer and begins the enormous, nearly 3-month task of digging out our bike trails. Work starts on Little Pine, and using snow cats and excavators, the crew cuts through a winter's-worth of snow, exposing our lower mountain flow trails. Although we are still open for skiing and riding through the end of May, this early spring work is crucial to ensuring we meet our target for summer Opening Day.
As the last pond skimmer skips across on Closing Day, attention moves from the lower mountain trails to uncovering the nearly 13 miles accessed off of Pine Marten Express. Again, the full-sized snow cats and excavators are called in, creating banks of snow that can reach over 20 feet, as they dig down to dirt. All these trails are then manicured by hand to remove debris or rocks and create a safe riding surface.
A lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes to get the Bike Park ready to rip, check out this video for an inside look at the Mt. Bachelor Trail Crew's work. You might already recognize Alex and Tyler from the "Just Northwest of Normal" video series this winter. If you see either of them or any Trail Crew member on the mountain this summer, give them a high-five and a thank you for all their work!
Get dialed for summer on the trails! Save on Bike Park tickets when you buy in advance, or grab a Bike Park Season Pass for unlimited dirt laps during summer operations!