Fall Lines Pt. II

This is the second installment of Mason, Mark, and Cal’s three-part trip around BC digging and riding big mountain lines. Stay tuned later this week for Part III where the boys will finish up at yet another epic spot, and we’ll unleash the video from the trip. If you missed Part I, catch that here. As for Part II, I’ll leave it to Mark below…

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Our eight-day journey though the province included two major builds, so time was tight for finishing these projects. In a perfect world the weather gods would have worked on our side; unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. We witnessed the most badass sunsets during our builds, and when it came time to film them we were a day late. These challenges just made the shots we got that much more rewarding.

  Wishing we were 5 hours ahead of time.

  Mason keeping the vibes happy with this smiley face dirt throw. Photo: Callum Jelley

The first thing I noticed when we started scoping out lines in Spence’s Bridge was the contrast from building conditions I’m used to. Being from the coast, I’ve never worked in such an arid zone – it’s a whole different game! The ground consists of dusty clay with zero rocks or roots. This material stacks amazingly fast considering half your shovel load gets blown into dust clouds when waves of wind roll through.

  Mark backlit in the dust cloud.

  Half of the shovel load blew away.

  Cal throwing a load of dirt on Mason’s iphone for the shot.

Mason pointed out a location in mind for a potential hip. We checked it out and decided the best spot to build the takeoff would be atop a ridgeline overlooking the Thompson River. The backdrop made for an amazing view; evening sunsets were banger, but we got a little unlucky with timing and ended up shooting it in less than ideal light.

  Cal and Mark checking out the LZ on their way up.

  Cal takes a crack at the hip step down.

  Mark gets into a table over the Thompson.

  Cal shows signs of content in his dirt moustache.

After an early morning session here it was time to get back on the road towards Vernon. 

We arrived in Vernon and got straight to work. The digging process here was intense. We powered through two full days and made a speed gap to hip that split into two different line options, only to get shut down by the bylaw officers. So as you can imagine, calling our final morning in Vernon anticlimactic would be an understatement.

  Mark tests out the high-speed long and low.

  Killing time on the shores of Lake Okanagan.

  We decided that rallying a few corners at the Star was a better use of our time.

  Fall colours on Silver Star.

Our 48-hour mission was extended and the decision made to go clock some laps in Silver Star Bike Park for the day. 
We returned to our spot just after 5pm and after testing out the line realized that the step-up option off the hip wasn’t going to work as planned, so everything built after it was a write-off. Despite these issues, the main jump turned out sick and Vernon was ticked off the checklist!

  Camera one.

  Camera two. iPhone photo shot simultaneously in Mason’s other hand.

  Mark getting boosty.

  Mason takes advantage of the twilight to finish the day with a skimboard session before heading North.

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Part II was all about the hard work that goes into getting the shots… stay tuned for Part III later this week where Cal, Mark, and Mason will unleash more great shots and the much-anticipated video from the trip.