If you’re looking to get your fill of trail kilometers, Golden is a great place to set up your base camp.  Golden is perfectly situated near 6 national parks with a plethora of trails in its own right, so you can’t really go wrong, unless you’re really bad with maps and directions.

Here are my favourite 30+ km runs to hit in the Golden area are:

It ain’t no secret that there’s a new trail in Golden.  The Schacher Trail (pronounced 'Shocker') has been more than four years and half a million dollars in the making and it’s finally complete.

Mt 7 has been a destination for extreme adventure seekers for decades in Golden. Pilots launch their hang gliders and paragliders from four different launch sites on the mountainside and downhill mountain bikers also launch themselves down the mountain on a network of trails made famous by the Psychosis DH race. 

It’s amazing how quickly spring comes to our valley!  Not too long ago it seemed like we had to skate along sections of the rotary trails and now we’re able to cruise all of the singletrack trails with barely a puddle to dodge.

Spring is in the air! Well, it’s more like summer with the high 20s temps and light until 10 but that’s just Golden. We do everything to the max. Spring usually starts rearing its sun-bleached head late March and by early May the only thing telling you it’s not August is the snow-capped mountains in the distance. Yes, a fresh start. Comfortable temps, blue skies, no bugs. What to do? Everything. The answer is do everything.

It’s mid-April and the lifts just stopped spinning. You look up at the blanket of white stuck from tip to toe to the mountain you love so, wearing moguls like spring goosebumps under a perfect sun and two and a half metres of snow, “How could this be over?” you ask yourself. Someone passing by whispers that it doesn’t have to be, winking coyly at the touring skis in their car.

The most important things to bring while snowboarding with a snowmobile in Golden, BC

Or skiing, if you’re into that kinda thing.

Going snowboarding with a sled in the backcountry requires a little more preparation than heading to the ski hill. It might be a good idea to make a list of things to bring with you.

Things you won’t find in the backcountry:

Une couche fraîche de terre de la route forestière s'épaissit sur le tableau de bord de mon camion alors que je bondis à travers la Blaeberry. L'air frais produit par le grondement de la rivière nous accueille, deux amis et moi, alors que nous installons notre campement près de l'eau, à l'endroit où la route forestière se termine. Des dizaines de pics imposants cachent le soleil plus tôt que prévu et la nuit tombe en même temps, il fait frais pour une nuit de fin juillet. Le glacier Mummery étant au programme du lendemain, nous réduisons nos lampes frontales et nous installons dans nos tentes au fin fond de la vallée de Blaeberry.

D'une manière ou d'une autre, je me retrouve dans des situations amusantes grâce aux "idées géniales" que mes amis me lancent. Le dernier grand projet en date consistait à courir depuis le sommet de la télécabine du Kicking Horse Resort jusqu'au lac Gorman. Il s'agit d'un itinéraire très connu à Golden, qui traverse la chaîne Dogtooth, alors inutile de dire que j'étais enthousiaste ! Voici quelques informations que j'aurais aimé connaître avant d'enfiler mes chaussures pour cette journée d'aventure...

S'up, zones humides de Columbia.

J'ai toujours été curieux de savoir pourquoi SUP est l'abréviation de stand-up paddle boarding et non pas SUP-B. Je veux dire que c'est plus accrocheur et tout, mais y a-t-il un risque que quelqu'un essaie de faire du SUP sur un kayak ou un canoë ? C'est peut-être la version extrême de ce sport pour l'avenir.

A weekend is fast approaching and all you know is that Golden, BC is a mountain biking mecca and you want to be there. What are the networks? Where do you bike? Where is the best food? Worry not, fellow mountain biker, I’ll show you the way.