Full Nelson Party!

Possibly one of the most anticipated events of the spring since its announcement, the opening of Squamish’s Full Nelson trail drew a huge crowd of riders, racers, and bike companies to the base of the trail.

Anthill Films’ Strength in Numbers along with Red Bull helped to get the trail extension off the ground, supporting builder Ted Tempany and the Dream Wizards in lengthening the popular jumps and berms trail, Half Nelson.

  The crowds were huge – a pile of local companies brought out their demo fleets, pros hung out and shot the shit, and everyone had a huge smile on their face.

  Crowds also gathered at the top of the new trail, where we were to be rewarded for our slog up the steep fire road. Rumours of a shuttle day on the new trail were displaced by the reality of a good hike.

  While Full Nelson wasn’t completely bedded in and there were some sloppy sections, it was rad to ride a new section of huge berms and jumps through the woods in Squamish.

  Little ripper Brodie Ducklow was killing it with only one brake. It’s no wonder the kids of today grow up to be even better riders than we can imagine…

  Wade Simmons had a nice little dirt streak on his face, at the very least a sign of good times.

  Steve Mitchell of Devinci and Chromag was in high spirits, but wouldn’t let me take Stevie Smith’s personal DH-build Dixon for a rip.

  Mitchell did, however, let us take the Surly Moonlander for a lap of Full Nelson. 4.7″ tires should make up for a lack of suspension, right?

  Jason Fuller gladly passed off his Bandit 29 for a chance at the Moonlander. We made him climb all the tough sections of the soupy access road to justify it.

  If you’re gonna land on the moon, you have to take off first. Welcome to Full Nelson.

  Garrett Thibault was running laps all day on his freshly-built Specialized Enduro. Even the DH shredders are going AM this year.

  I was happy with my choice of steed, the Scott Voltage FR in short travel mode. We were a bit surprised to find out that Full Nelson was not actually an extension to the top of Half Nelson, but an alternate option for the top half of the descent that leads into Half Nelson just under Angry Midget. If you happen to have GPS tracks for the trails, hit me up.

  MOUSEOVER to activate a little gif action of Garrett ripping the big berm…

  Jason lands on the moon.

  The iconic bridge and Red Bull sign, as seen in Strength in Numbers – Brandon Semenuk and huge stepdown conspicuously missing.

The party at Full Nelson was an awesome event, and once the trail beds in, it will be a hell of a lot of fun. Thanks to Dream Wizards for their work on the trail, and to everyone who came out and  made the opening a fun time!

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Did you make it up to the opening of Full Nelson? If so, what did you think? Stoked to hit it again?