COMFORTABLY

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Canadian mountain bikers are

spoilt. They have huge

mountains, endless natural trails

to explore, and the best trail

builders in the world. Take Chris Markle.

Well, you can’t actually take him, cos

he’s a local legend in Whistler, and you’d

you’ll have a thousand mountain bikers

banging on your door, but he and his

band of trail builders created a 24km

length of singletrack at Whistler called

Comfortably Numb. And I don’t mean

they did some spade work and then got

the diggers in. There’s no fi reroad access

to this trail for JCBs. They built every

metre of this heaven and hell singletrack

with their bare hands, and any trees they

chopped down they utilised for

boardwalk sections.

Comfortably Numb has nothing to do

with Pink Floyd – or Scissor Sisters for

that matter – but it has everything to do

with getting your fl ow on. You can tell

Comfortably Numb has been cunningly

created, from the fi rst steep, root-fi lled

clamber to the last slab rock-infested »

NUMBWhether freeride-friendly bike parks or hardcore XC, Canada

knows how to make the best tough trails in the world and

there is none tougher than Whistler’s signature epic,

Comfortably Numb. Is this the hardest 24km in the world?

Words Pete Travers Pics Stephen Wilde

KILLER TRAIL

Mountain Biking UK 145

KILLER TRAIL

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downhill section. This is a tough trail

built by tough mountain bikers for

tough mountain bikers.

More than just a trailBut it’s only 24km, I hear you say. Well,

yes. But this is not just a trail. This is a

Canadian black diamond XC trail with

more than 4,000ft of climbing. Super

technical singletrack from start to fi nish

with section after section that requires

pretty much all your effort to heave and

haul your way up huge roots, rocky

steps and stupidly steep bits of trail.

The singletrack is relentless and the

smoother sections only feel easier and

more fl owy because they’re fl at in

places or just not as steep. And it’s

slow going as well – you should allow

three hours for pro XCers, six or seven

hours for experienced enduro riders

and if you’ve only ridden for around

three hours on UK trails, you could take

eight hours to get round. Weaker riders

have spent the night out here. You have

been warned.

If this Canadian epic wasn’t scary

enough, when I arrived in Whistler

there had recently been a cougar attack

on a lone rider on Comfortably Numb.

Hmm. Ignorance and the fact that I’d

be riding with British boys Jonny and

Mark from Whistler-based Bear Back

Biking (www.bearbackbiking.com)

and Canadian Michael from West Coast

Freeride Guides (www.freerideguides.

com) and their two pointer dogs helped

to ease my nerves. But only slightly.

Uncomfortable bumSo the Whistler XC epic began. Straight

away I was faced with a super steep

trail littered with massive roots and

rocky steps on top of soft, loamy

singletrack. And it just went on and up.

Two hours in and – I’ll be honest now –

it sucked. However hard I pedalled

I couldn’t get my fl ow going and I had

Cougar attacks are serious and can be fatal so don’t take stories about these small but fi erce big cats lightly. They silently stalk their prey and strike from behind and, unlike when you spot a bear, the fi rst you’ll know about a cougar is when it attacks you.

So never ride alone, watch your backs, don’t stop for too long in secluded areas, don’t stray off the beaten path and make lots of noise - I was told to whoop and hollar down the descent where a cougar attack had apparently taken place to scare them off rather than surprising them. I felt daft, but after a while it’s fun to shout your head off as you descend, plus you can hear where fellow riders are for added reassurance. We saw cougar poo (it’s got small bones in it) on the trail but didn’t hang around to sniff it. We’d suggest you do the same. Oh, and Doddy’s suggestion to “wear a book down the back of your shorts cos cougars attacks the rear” was inspired yet impractical advice.

(At the time of going to press we have since heard a cougar has be shot dead on Comfortably Numb. But that could’ve just made all the other cougars more angry, and more hungry…)

BEWARE OF THE CAT

COUGAR’S RUN

»

BE COMFORTABLE, NOT NUMB

� A full sus XC bike to grip on the ups and flex on the downs – Jonny and Mark rode lightweight Scott Sparks, Michael and I were on Ransoms, Stephen was on a Giant Reign. � Enough food and drink for at least six hours’ riding – three rounds of sandwiches, energy bars, gels and your biggest CamelBak bladder. � Lots of layers, but only wear one because although it felt cool in June it’s really sweaty work in the dense, windless forest. Packa spare layer and a waterproof – mountain climates can change without warning.� Mobile phone – although you won’t have a signal for the 2-3 hour 10km middle section of the ride, plus there are no roads in or out and nowhere for helicopters to land if you did get a call through. So take it easy, ride smart and remember there’s no shame in getting off and walking a tough section.� All the usual spares, pump, tubes and tools that you’d take for a long epic ride.

WHAT TO TAKE

Whistler’s signature epic was entirely hand-built

by Whistler locals

There’s more than 4,000ft of climbing on Comfortably Numb

– it’s not for the faint-hearted

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At last! A section of downhill and a break from all that climbing

KILLER TRAIL

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WHY ARE WE STANDING AROUND WHEN WE’VE

GOT A DESCENT TO RIDE?

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to get off and hike over obstacles to

fi nd a less-than-vertical section to get

riding again. Race-fi t Jonny and Mark

ahead seemed to be chatting and riding

with little effort on their lightweight

Scott Sparks, the two dogs happily

roaming around, while Michael, already

suffering with a numb bum, made the

most of the fun and rocky, but short

and steep descents on his Scott Ransom

in-between the climbing. I was

struggling, sweating and frustrated, and

I knew we had hours to go. Why would

anyone design a trail that seemed so

damn unrideable?

I had a quiet word with myself and

relaxed. Slowly but surely I started to

get a feel for this trail. The trick was to

put effort in when necessary, muscling

up the steep, technical bits and then

simply spinning and pumping my Scott

Ransom through the comparatively

easier undulations, taking a breather

and rolling any little descents and

beautifully crafted boardwalks, while

enjoying the silence of the lush green

Canadian forest. And continuing to

ignore thoughts of cougars.

Pushing on and upWe delved deeper and higher into

the forest for another 10km. Now we

really were alone. Two, three, four

hours passed yet the km still ticked

by painfully slowly in their own

uncompromising way. It was around

the four-hour mark that we reached the

halfway marker. “Halfway?” I said

slumped over my bars as Jonny and

Mark grinned. “Is that all?”

Michael and I exchanged glances

and both knew we didn’t need to say

anything. We needed to save our breath

and keep on riding. “It gets easier from

here, more fl owly and faster. We’re

halfway distance-wise, but two-thirds

time-wise,” said Mark, ever the

optimist. I just munched on another

energy bar, gritted my teeth and carried

on. Comfortably Numb? Uncomfortably

Dumb more like.

But you know what? It did get

easier. But then this mother of all

monsters couldn’t get any tougher. Or

perhaps I’d fi nally got used to what the

Canadians called ‘fun’. Either way, we

speeded up, I fl owed and even started

smiling, Michael’s arse didn’t moan as

much, and we put the hammer down

in an attempt to catch up the

irrepressible Mark and Jonny.

Compulsary funAfter fi ve long, sweaty hours we

eventually reached the ‘highest point’

sign and I knew the proper fun was

about to begin. But the local cougars

still wanted to remind us this remote

trail and mountain was theirs. “Did you

see the cougar crap back there with the

bones in?” said Mark, smiling

nervously. “Er, no. But if you did, why

the hell are we standing around here

when we’ve got a descent to ride?”

I said with what breath I had left.

Mark and Jonny and Michael chased

each other down the mountain as I let

the adrenaline do its work and enjoyed

not pedalling for a change, letting

gravity do its work and pull me down,

round and over the rocks and slabs that

line the way. It was steep, scary and

sketchy but it beat climbing so I braked

as little as I dared, hung off the back

and careered my way around the tight

switchbacks. It felt fantastic.

1 River Runs Through ItAn ideal starting point to Whistler’s XC. Fairly flat so

fairly pedally but with lots of rooty obstacles and lots of ladder and log structures to try out and polish North Shore riding techniques. Watch out for the bridge that’s about 10-12ft above the river.

THREE OF THE BEST MORE TOP WHISTLER XC TRAILS

2 Cut Yer BarsRocks and roots all the way up, around and down, with

a large slice of slick rock for kicks. Challenging and fun.

3 Kill Me, Thrill MeSo named because, like Comfortably Numb, this is

another tough trail. Rolling, rocky and rooty singletrack gets more technical as it ascends in short, steep sections, with pieces of North Shore, rock gardens and fast-as-you-can-go singletrack.

»

Don’t relax for too long, the cougars are on the prowl

Four hours in and they’ve only just reached

the halfway mark…

Time to let gravity do its work…

The beautifully crafted boardwalk weaves through the lush forest greenery

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We reached the bottom an hour later

near Lost Lake back in Whistler village

with throbbing forearms. But there wasn’t

so much a feeling of elation at reaching

the fi nish, more a weird emptiness. We’d

been riding freakin’ hard for six hours.

Michael was relieved and spent,

photographer Stephen was totally

knackered and had a look of wonder that

asked ‘Why?’, Jonny was quiet, resting on

his bars, and Mark was nursing his

wounds after crashing on the fi nal

descent. Even the pointer dogs had

collapsed in a heap. One of them was

snoring – I’d never heard a dog snore

before. And me? I was so beat that I

didn’t know how or what I felt. I guess I

really had become Comfortably Numb.

The battle is overBut then it sunk in that we’d done it.

We’d ridden BC’s most epic trail and

possibly the world’s toughest 24km in

one. Plus the cougar hadn’t eaten us.

I started to experience this bizarre

natural high as I pedalled with ease –

something we hadn’t done for the past

six or seven hours – back into Whistler

and a surge of energy rattled around my

body as we actually sprinted out of the

saddle to nearest bar for a keg of beer

and plates of burgers and fries.

Whether Comfortably Dumb or

Uncomfortably Won, this trail has to

be experienced. Just don’t ask me

to come with you! »

This is a tough trail built by tough mountain bikers for tough mountain bikers

So why do they call it Uncomfortably Numb?

It’s hard to get your flow going, but power through, it’s worth it

This trail really does take all your effort

to get to the end

The peaceful scenery is a welcome backdrop

to the gruelling trail

150 Mountain Biking UK

I WAS FACED WITH A SUPER STEEP TRAIL LITTERED WITH

ROOTS AND ROCKY STEPS

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GETTING THERE AND WHERE TO STAY

Fly direct in 10 hours to Vancouver from London on one of many airlines such as Air Canada (www.aircanada.com) BA (www.ba.com) for comfortable but expensive fl ights or to Zoom Airlines (www.fl yzoom.com) for more affordable economy class.

I stayed with the excellent British-run Bear Back Biking (www.bearbackbiking.com) who will collect/drop you off at Vancouver airport, put you up in a very plush chalet and provide you with top home-cooked breakfasts and the odd evening meal, plus of course some top quality MTB

guiding and shuttles on all of Whistler’s XC trails – and riding in the bike park if you fancy some of the world’s best DH action. See their site for prices and more details.

Like us you will probably be in need of a good massage the day after riding Comfortably Numb – go to Solarice (www.solarice.com) based in Whistler village for a great, relaxing and affordable deep tissue massage.

Also check out www.BritishColumbia.travel for more information on all things BC to get the most of your stay in Canada. c

Head to Vancouver

and let your guides

do the rest…

THE SMOOTHER SECTIONS ONLY FEEL EASIER & MORE FLOWY BECAUSE THEY’RE JUST NOT AS STEEP

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