Some might say the Moonraker Trails in Golden are sooo 2005 but I’ve always liked me a bit of retro and, honestly, I can’t even call those gems-of-trails old school. So, without further ado, here are my top 5 reasons to run in the moon(rakers).
When winter comes knocking at the door the only sensible thing to do is to head to the Rocky Mountains, where adventure is waiting for you around every curve of the skin track. The snow is sugary powder, the ice is blue and the mountains are beautiful, big and in your face. The area surrounding Golden is the perfect winter playground where you can ice climb one day, ski big backcountry mountain lines the next and then head for a fun day at the ski resort.
Golden is a very dog-friendly town so it’s a little surprising that taking your dog for ski is not easy. This is mostly because our primary cross country ski area, Dawn Mountain, only has a 250 m long trail that is dog-friendly.
I accidently rescued a puppy (named Moberly) in June and have been trying to figure out the best place to ski with him, as skiing is my favourite form of winter exercise.
Gazing out the windows of the Bluebird Café in Golden BC always seems to inspire an adventure regardless of the season. The ski runs craved into the mountainside of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort stare back at me, and next to them lay the untouched goods of the seemly endless Dogtooth Mountain Range. Both bekcon me to ski them, but today the backcountry wins.
With the first powder turns of the year made this week, I can’t help to wonder if the bike season in Golden is truly over. Only in the last few days has the transition from fall to winter started to happen. While the snowpack in the alpine has started to provide some excellent skiing, the trails in the valley remained in great shape. Spring and Fall are my two favourite seasons around here when I can ski, bike, and kayak all in the same day.
The Now and the Future
Golden is sandwiched between two impressive mountain ranges, so there’s no doubt that amazing Alpine trail running is a “thing...” and only getting better.
The current alpine running options are primarily focused in the Purcell Mountains, to the west of Golden and based from Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. The resort does not currently permit “uphill traffic” during summer operations on the resort trails for safety reasons (downhill mountain bikers and a grizzly bear refuge) so you can access the alpine with a quick gondola ride.
Trail running just got even better!
While there are literally hundreds of kilometers of every possible trail running option in Golden, we also have a secret weapon... six national parks located within an hour of our little mountain mecca: Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, Yoho, Glacier and Mt. Revelstoke.
This last week, I shifted gears back to Enduro racing, with the BC Enduro Series coming back to Golden. A week of heavy rain made for challenging conditions to get out and pre ride the stages. An epic day of racing was planned with the classic alpine ride from T4 down LSD to Canyon Creek. Unfortunately, the rain never let up, and the alternative racecourse had to be used to preserve the sensitive trails on the original route. Despite the change in plans, it was still a great day of racing up at the Kicking Hors
At the end of my first Single Track 6, two years ago, I swore that I would train differently for the next time. I would start earlier, spend more time on the road bike, do more winter spinning, eat less bacon, drink less beer. But, of course life gets in the way and bacon remains irresistible. Ski season this year didn’t end for me until the end of May, so I find myself cramming in the training once again.
Ich weiß nicht, wie es Ihnen geht, aber wenn die Sonne scheint, gibt es für mich nur einen Ort, an dem ich sein möchte: irgendwo auf einer Terrasse. Deshalb werde ich alle Terrassen in der Stadt für alle Tageszeiten vorstellen, aber hoffentlich bin ich vor Ihnen da!