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Crowsnest Pass
Vol. 92 No. 25
Herald
June 22, 2022 $1.00
Serving our communities since 1930
United Riders of Crowsnest Hosts Enduro Downhill Trials Trail network puts Pass on map of mountain biking destinations DAVID THOMAS Pass Herald Reporter When Coleman’s Darcy Neniska stepped to the winners’ podium Sunday afternoon, it was a triumph for the visionaries whose money and sweat made mountain biking a defining brand of Crowsnest Pass. Neniska, as a past president of United Riders of Crowsnest (UROC) is himself one of those visionaries. The organizers of the 2022 Norco Canadian Enduro series chose Crowsnest Pass for its second round of extreme downhill trials because of the quality of 80-km trail network built over 14 years by UROC and its funders. It all started back in 2008 with a Community Futures grant to built a mountain biking skills park at the foot of the town’s Pass Powderkeg skiing centre. The big boost was a $100,000 cheque in 2012 from Teck Resources to start construction of the now world-class network of single-track mountain biking trails. Then, in 2017, the celebration of Canada’s 150th year included a $150,000 federal grant to expand the network, followed this year by a $75,000 grant from the non-profit Alberta
Cody Shimizu, Norco Canadian Enduro
Darcy Nenisko of Coleman catches air charging down Spare Change Saturday in second of six Enduro stages. Nenisko earned first place in 40-49 year-old class with total time of 29 minutes, 20 seconds
Recreation and Parks Association which allowed the engagement of full-time trails coordinator, Amanda Goodhue. “It would cost $1 million to duplicate what we now have just at the ski hill,” said John Redekopp just before the first batch of riders pedalled through the Canadian Enduro arch on their way to the top of the mountain shortly after noon on Saturday. Redekopp, also a UROC past president and now a retired real estate agent, said mountain biking has become a driver of the property market as Crowsnest Pass builds a reputation for active outdoor recreation. Still simmering is a proposal by Castle Provincial Park to build an “Epic Trail”
certified by the International Mountain Bicycling Association. That plan was iced by the government of Jason Kenny and could be thawed by a new government after next years provincial election. All UROC trails are open to hikers as well as cyclists, including those riding pedal-assisted ebikes. The network is mapped in detail within the Trailforks app for both IOS, Android and Macintosh M1 desktop devices. Trailforks maps are downloadable for free off-line use in the user’s home region. For all desktop devices, the maps are available at www.trailforks.com. Page 2 for more Enduro news and photos
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