This August long weekend, we packed a few bags with dusty armour, some coolers full of "sports drinks" and put the bikes on the roof and pointed our sleds to head east out of Vancouver. This year, the destination for the weekend was NSMB.com's BroCard partner, Silver Star Resort in Vernon, BC. The mission: a few hot dry days in the park to pick up where we left off last summer on the NSMB Team trip.

At Silver Star Resort, located just under five hours away from Vancouver, and approximately eight hours from our friends in Calgary, Alberta, lies 1,600 vertical feet of single track, berms, jumps and some kick-ass woodwork. The hill is serviced by a line-up free six-man high speed quad that will get you back to the top in seven and a half minutes to do it all over again. Silver Star has been around as a bike destination for years, having offered varying levels of lift-accessed riding since 1991. I've been fortunate enough to have ridden the mountain throughout its growth, suffering in a few cross country 24 hour races that they have hosted, and riding the bike park since they began to really step up their lift-accessed offerings. Silver Star has been one of the hills that has embraced mountain biking in almost every form and has continued to grow with the sport over the years.

Unidentified flying grom at the Vault || Photo courtesy Silver Star

Last summer, the team of dedicated builders laid a really solid foundation for a top-notch and modern bike park. When we sat down with them last year, through keen smiles and fired up eyes, they promised that 2006 was going to be even better. We held them to their word and were stoked to follow up on their progress. This year, we had a more diverse crew, with skill levels that varied from intermediate riders right up to some more seasoned veterans. It was a good spread to get a well-rounded opinion of how things rode. Instead of coming from a team of experts, this time the experience was to be from a more reasonable sample of most of the people who are out there on the trails. So...what did we think?

The good
We crossed paths with head trail builder Cam Sorenson first thing on Saturday morning to get the low-down on what was new. He pointed us down Superstar to warm up and get a taste of some serious buffing the crew had just completed, with the help of a bit of rain to pack things down. Unlike most other bike parks, at Silver Star you start by riding down to the lift, so we started our day by ripping down Blast Off, a tight piece of trail loaded with sharp, bermed corners that made us work just hard enough to get a feel for how 'hydrated' we were the night before. The short high-speed traverse after Blast Off was enough to shake off the cobwebs and get us to the bottom of the lift and on our way.

Stuart "The Doc" Kernaghan kicking it old school on Double Dog. || Photo: Corey Anderson

Superstar is a long, flowing trail that makes the most out of the size of the park. It is loaded with bermed corners, smaller tabletops and enough rollers to put a smile on any level of rider's face. The fresh maintenance had it in top shape and running fast, and quickly reminded us of how much fun we had the previous year.

Dan the Man dropping in off the people-eating teeter. || Photo: Denny Byrne

One of the most impressive things about Superstar is how it caters to varying skill levels. It's a perfect trail for riders who are ready to begin experimenting with their rubber leaving the ground and who want to get a better feel for bermed corners. At the same time, more experienced riders can give it a little more gas to see how much of it they can ride without grabbing handfuls of brake. Every bike park needs one of these trails.

There was one stunt that was built last season that burned a special place into the mind of each of the riders that were returning this summer. We made that run number two. World Cup Downhill is host to one of the longest built-up wall rides I think I've ever seen. This giant yellow and red structure comes out of nowhere as the trail dips off of open road back into the trees, carrying riders on a never-ending NASCAR style corner into the trees that gets riders up by the coping a good 10 feet off the forest floor and gets near vertical at the apex of the corner.

The feeling is almost indescribable; the compression sticks your tires to the wall like Velcro and the g-forces shoot you out onto the trail like a rocket. The sound of your tires zipping across the plywood will stay with you forever. Definitely the highlight of the trail for this crew, and something we pushed back up for time and time again. For riders looking to try something new, this is it. It has been built to cater to varying levels of commitment; riders can hit it low and bail off early, and they can also work their way up to the top with more speed and stay on it for the whole ride. Brilliant.

The Doc riding the coping on World Cup, NASCAR style. || Photo: Denny Byrne

The bad(ass)
While we probably could have sessioned World Cup for the majority of the day, we had new trails that we wanted to check out. The talk was that Double Dog had to be checked out. This trail drops in right off the backside of the lift and provides a pretty fat variety of built stunts and room to really pin it. Double Dog quickly became the top pick on Saturday, providing elements that kept every skill level in the group itching to get back on it.

The type of things being built on this trail show that the builders are in tune with how riding is progressing, and how the types of stunts that are getting riders pumped are changing, too. They maintain some of the North Shore's classic stunts like teeter-totters and log rides, but they step forward a bit by offering stunts like "The Movie Screen," a pretty hefty looking wall ride that requires riders to hit a built wooden jump, hip in the air a bit, and then plant their tires on a near-vertical wall to ride it out. The skid marks on the wall indicated some tricky air traffic control, and discouraged the riders in our crew from manning up on this one. We've since seen some shots from some of the younger rubber-boned types who have proven it is indeed possible to clean this one with style.

The author sticking it to the Three bears. || Photo: Stuart Kernaghan

The "Three Bears" was another slick one, stacking three elevated bridges in a row that had riders drop off each one onto the next, and end it with a nice drop to a carpeted transition. No, I'm not talking about furniture; I did mean carpet on the landing. In dry conditions, this is an easy fix to prevent bomb-holes on the landings, and it works well. Further down the trail was a nameless structure that put you up into the trees, and sailing off the backside onto a solid wood transition, right into a high-speed left hand berm.

Towards the end of the trail, a large bridge has been built high over the paved walking path, and then drops on a seriously steep ramp dropping down the hill into the trees into a huge left-hander. It's a nice way to show the hikers and such what we are up to on the hill, and a great way to separate foot and bike traffic while keeping things fun. Speaking of fun, hats off to the rider who hits that when it is wet. When we were up, the 2x4 wood slats were bare, but when they're wet would present a pretty serious carnage factor given the speed you pick up and have to take into the corner. It would be a good idea to throw some grip tape or shingles down on these, or build a small triage centre on the backside of the berm to house the victims on wet days.

Unknown ripper with proof that the Movie Screen is working. || Photo courtesy Silver Star

Pipe Dream is another brand new trail for 2006. The weather-gods had something against this one, and didn't give the guys enough time to get it completed top to bottom. But since they were so close, the crew found a way to keep about 80% of it running and let riders get a taste for what will be complete first thing next season. Pipe Dream was built to be the next step up from their existing jump trail, Rock Star.

We were warned to take it easy the first time down, which was a good thing - the steep and sometimes lengthy faces on the jumps take some getting used to. On the first few runs, entry speed feels way too fast, but braking scrubs your speed and makes lift off difficult. Definitely a trail that demands a bit of respect and getting used to. It offers good variety in the size of jumps, and the style of jumps range from large tabletops, step-ups and hips. Pipe Dream also has something I have yet to see at a bike park, a ramp that travels through a start-gate hut for a ski race course, where you blast right though the middle of it and off a nice drop out the other side. For those that like to fly, this is your trail to earn you wings.

Monica Anderson showing the guys how it's done on Double Dog. || Photo: Denny Byrne

The skills area and jump park has also been improved and renamed after a new title sponsor, the Oakley Vault. The Vault is home to practice skinnies, dirt jumps and some built-up wood launches. This is the place to come and hone your skills without having to think about any traffic behind you, and to kill a few hours working on the moves you want to bring to the trail to make your riding pals jealous.

One particularly important point regarding the growth of the park goes back to the trails that are back from last year. Not a single inch of these trails have been forgotten in the excitement of new trails and new features, and the classics that we loved last year were in top form and ready to rock this year. Dag's Downhill, Rockstar and Flow were examples of just that and were rolling better than ever. It's nice to see the attention to detail being paid to all of the trails in regards to maintenance and development, and a healthy sign of what is to come in the future.

Getting two days in at the park was perfect. After day one, we all got comfortable and in the groove, and pumped for more riding. There were a few stunts that left a few of the ladies in the group itching to push themselves a little harder and put some new riding under their belt. It took some après ride lakeside planning on the dock to get them fired up for another look at things on Sunday, but they were convinced to give it a shot. The game faces were on for Sunday morning, and the ladies were not about to leave without kicking some ass. We went straight into Double Dog and straight for the features that were slated for completion.

"You mean you want me to ride that?" Some pre-game coaching. || Photo: Stuart Kernaghan

A little trailside analysis had them ready and within a few minutes, two riders rode away with a handful of new stunts under their belts. This was one of the highlights for me, watching other riders get challenged, and then seeing them rise to that challenge.

A young gun with style that puts many to shame. || Photo: Stuart Kernaghan

That really brought home for me why we are out here in the first place. It's the "me against myself and the forest" that makes bikes so much fun for us, and it doesn't get much better than being there when your friends are winning that battle. It was also a testament to the style of building going on here. Riders of any age and skill level can come and ride here and find something in their groove. The trail crew is catering to a wide variety of riding levels. Intermediate riders have lots to choose from that's exciting and challenging, and the consequences of a mistake under control to keep it encouraging, but the rippers can still go big and fast if that's your thing.

The ugly
Rome wasn't built in a day. Like cities, bike parks take time to iron out all the kinks, and to learn what is working and what could use a little more attention. The crew at Silver Star listens to riders, and they make changes based on rider feedback. It was great to see the changes made to both the lips and lengths of the tabletops at the end of the World Cup Downhill, which were a result of rider feedback. Take offs got mellowed down a bit, and jumps got lengthened, and the result is they work better than they did last year.

A little modulation can go a long way. Nose wheelie-friendly ramps are a good thing. || Photo: Stuart Kernaghan

Every rider has a different opinion of what they feel is dialled and what needs a bit of help, but the crew agreed on a few things. Dag's Downhill has a newer bridge launch that I was glad we stopped to look at rather than just launching. It pops up on a loose, exposed piece of trail that drops down the fall line. The drop in question requires you to either trickle off the end or send it big, because anything in the middle is going to get you hurt as there is no discernable landing. It was the only drop on the mountain that stood out as something that needs a landing cut in, which is a good sign.

We also came away from trails like Rock Star and Pipe Dream pretty stoked, but thinking that some of the tables could benefit from some tuning. A little less height and lip and some lengthening would speed things up considerably, and put you on a more predictable flight path. The layout of those trails is dialled, but a little more tweaking would take them to the next level and really help you flow the run.

What's on the horizon?
There are more good things in the pipe for Silver Star. Cam "Lord of the Trail" Sorenson gave us the inside scoop. Pipe Dream is slated for completion. There is a new Dual Slalom course on the to-do list, along with a re-route and expansion on lower Blast Off that will give you more corners and more use of the fall line. The Vault is getting some revamped dirt jumps and some new transfer lines, along with more skinnies to practice on. Double Dog is going to continue to be built up and will have more new features ready for next season. Paradise Bridge is going to be re-decked; losing the industrial feel in place of a look that matches the grace of the creek below it. And, in an effort to continue to keep newer riders on top of their game, Challenger will be seeing more braided lines of blue trails running off it to offer more difficult lines for less-experienced riders.

The Oakley Vault is getting bigger and badder. || Photo courtesy Silver Star

Who should go?
You should, and you should go pretty quickly. The season on two wheels wraps at Silver Star wraps up on September 4, so put together a last-minute trip and hit the road. Riders looking for technical terrain, a variety of stunts and a place to open it up will love what this hill has to offer.

Grab an NSMB.com BroCard to get 10% off your lift passes and 15% off accommodations. The Bike Park is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from June 29th to September 4th. If you can't pull a trip together by the end of this season, be sure to put this place on your list of must-rides for 2007.

Ride Hard and Prosper.

Corey Anderson