Today’s Poll

North Slocan Trails Society hosts IMBA trail care crew

Nelson Daily Staff
By Nelson Daily Staff
November 18th, 2011

A collective of local and visiting trail builders and advocates gathered to learn trail building techniques from the IMBA (International Mountain Bicycling Association) Trail Care Crew on Saturday, Oct. 29 in New Denver.

Chad and Deanne, who have been crisscrossing Canada since March of this year as the IMBA TCC, have logged nearly 50,000 kilometres of travel and many hours of trail work with various  clubs, trail organizations and land managers of all levels of government across the country.  Their standard of trail building is recognized as the benchmark for sustainable recreational trails. IMBA has 35,000 members worldwide.

The day started with an indoor classroom session at the Hidden Garden Gallery where techniques such as water runoff management, rock armouring, sustainable grades and switchbacks were discussed.

After lunch, the participants headed to the Three Forks trailhead of the K&S for an afternoon of hands on trail work. Here the volunteers split into two groups with one travelling up trail to reroute a switchback which was severely eroded.

They rerouted the trail to a more manageable grade and built a new switchback which incorporated a mini berm. Meanwhile the second group worked at the trailhead to rock armour the steep trail entrance at the sign and also fortified the tread on another steep section 60 metres up the trail.

Energy was positive and the enthusiasm was high among the group.

“I learned a lot about how to plan, design and build good trails,” said participant and avid mountain biker, Nadine Raynolds. “It was wonderful to have a group of riders and runners together, and I think we all went away feeling inspired and motivated to work on our local trail network.”

The North Slocan Trails Society is planning future trail initiatives for 2012 and will be seeking members and volunteers.

  • If you would like to get involved, contact Mike Koolen at 358-2680.

Public Domain Image by Jim Semlor via Wikipedia

Categories: Uncategorized

Other News Stories

Opinion