One of those experiences that sticks

It's been a few weeks now since i've returned from the Yukon, one of Canada's three northern Territories. I'd had several close friends who had been and some who'd even lived up there for a few summers. I'd heard good things, but I didn't go up expecting too much. Now that i'm home though and i've had some time to recover and reflect...it was a trip that i won't soon forget. I hope that you enjoy this video and I hope that you consider flying up to Whitehorse next summer to join Ray on a great trip. I'll be up there again in 2010....

Midnight Sun: Yukon Territory with Big Mountain from big mountain on Vimeo.

kluane

we decided not to ride the Cottonwood trail yesterday which was probably a smart idea but it was still a tough one. it just means that we'll have to come back. cottonwood is a 12+ hour truly remote adventure in a zone with the highest concentrations of grizzlies in the world...in a gorgeous national park, kluane. our crew is a little punched from the many days of riding so we thought that it'd be best to not attempt this big ride. instead we rode another great and much shorter route and ended up tipping back our first martini around 430pm in a cool cabin with no electricity and in the middle of nowhere. ah...how nice it is to be up here...and the riding rocks!

larger than life

cruising on a sunny afternoon along the Yukon river. very beautiful.


Paul and the horns of a sheep that he took down on a local mountain, and carried out himself. Kona is licking his lips...

big. wide open. the Yukon. day 3 here and i feel like it's been a few weeks. i was told that the riding was good, but i did not expect this. the singletrack is unreal - from man-made mountain bike specific singletrack that makes you howl outloud to high alpine remote action with staggering views of remote northern Canadian landscape. internet is sporadic here so i won't go into too much detail. one thing for sure, if your looking for a great xc trip next summer (august 2010) on barely-ridden trails then keep in touch. more to come soon...

Riding bikes and UFO's in Yukon Territory...

So we're heading up to the Great White North in a few days to explore some new trails in the Yukon Territory and get our Yukon Gold trip finally up and running for 2010. As journalist Dave Smith writes on Twitter, "Whitehorse weather report calls for a 30% chance of rain and 40% chance of grizzly bear mauling." The grizzlies are one thing, but how about the UFOs? Turns out that we'll be riding Montana Mountain which just happens to be where a solid UFO sighting occurred from a geologist in 1988. Here is a spine tingling excerpt from his diary on that fateful night...get the full scoop on the UFO BC website.. Check back here for updates on this adventure...

EXCERPT FROM DIARY OF DES CLARK:

Tuesday 15 March, 1988

"Cabin very hot from cooking stew and wood stove – went for walk @ 2430 hrs. Had experience of a lifetime! Coming back and almost to cabin, aircraft came over south ridge very slowly lost altitude and hovered around sta’s 26-1 à 26-2. Craft was so called UFO – blueish aura on periphery of inverted bowl – very low pulsing hum; no wind so everything quiet except for barely discernable humming noise. Cannot describe blue/grey light – didn’t seem to have any specific source – just all over edge and upper overt. Craft was below the ridge to the west of cabin so distance easy to determine due to our survey grid lines – large diameter – noticed blueish light or glow on my hands and clothing – dog and I are being observed I’m sure of it as the craft sideslipped to within 150-200 meters horizontal and possibly 30 meters above us – damn! Could almost touch the bloody thing – when craft slipped in, dog started barking and ran behind the wood pile at the cabin – first impulse was run to cabin and get shotgun – stupid – just stayed there – not frightened somehow – cannot determine if any control surfaces – seemed omni-directional – no port, starboard, nose or tail – movements were smooth and I sense very deliberate. Christ! I’ve been at this cabin 3 weeks and even as I write I know some will think I’ve gone crackers. I’m bloody sure we (dog and I) were being observed but so overwhelmed did not notice ports, windows or such. Seemed like forever that craft in the valley. The machine left in a tight 180 degree turn to the NE quadrant; through east and up through the south – gained altitude with tremendous acceleration although no propulsion noise except humming and no sound of air displacement -- the latter I found strange as it defies physical law! Will not call this UFO because it isn’t – it’s a bloody flying machine – true and simple. Although not frightened when all was happening; went into cabin and it took me 4 matches to light the propane stove – noticed that dog wasn’t around – went back outside to call him – no dog – back into cabin – had to hold my cup of tea with both hands to keep from slopping it all over. The time is 0222 hrs of the 16th March and it has taken me and hour and a half to stop shaking enough to put this to paper – dog isn’t outside – he just crawled out from beneath the bunk – he has been hiding under the bed all this time! As I write this the impact of the experience is coming home – I know I’ll never be the same again and why wasn’t there someone else here to witness it also – if only dogs could talk!"

Yukon

posted by Nathalie

I've spent the past week exploring Canada's rugged and remote Yukon Territory as a possible new destination for Big Mountain Bike Adventures.

Before this trip, my knowledge of the Yukon was admittedly quite limited. I've eaten a lot of Yukon Gold potatoes (which turns out are not actually grown in the Yukon), I knew that it's located somewhere between / around British Columbia, Alaska and the North Pole, that Jack London's "Call of the Wild" was set in this region, that the Klondike Gold Rush took place here in the nineteenth century, and that its capital is Whitehorse (well... ok... fine...I didn't really KNOW that for sure. But I had it narrowed down to probably either Whitehorse or Yellowknife. And even 10 time returning Jeopardy champions get stumped by Canadian geograpy).
But I had read a trip account by Big Mountain guide Andreas Hestler in Mountain Bike UK wherein he described the riding on Whitehorse's Grey Mountain as one of the "top 10 rides of his life". And I had spoken to Ray Warner, who lives in Whitehorse and joined Big Mountain on the Swiss Cloudraker trip last summer. Ray told me that the variety and amount of riding in the Yukon rivals the Alps. And I'm always up for an adventure and a chance to explore a new region so here I am.

Below is a brief summary of some of the new things about the Yukon that I've discovered so far:

31,608. Population of people in the entire Territory which, parenthetically, is larger than the state of California.

185,000. Population of caribou in the Territory (including the one in the "caribou casserole" that we ate for dinner last night).

26. degrees celcius (79 fahrenheit). Average daytime high this past week.

7. Number of fleece jackets and / or sweaters that remained in unpacked in my suitcase. Would have been helpful to have known the previous fact before packing for the trip

18 hours. 12 mins. 36 seconds - average amount of daily daylight during the month of May. Which is still not enough to explore the approximate 750 kilometres of singletrack accessible from the doorstep of our hotel. The second photo was taken at 11:45pm.

Yukon may have more abundant, diverse and unspoiled riding options than anywhere else in North America. Northern explorers, aboriginal fur traders, and Klondike Gold Rush prospectors created thousands of kilometres of trails and doubletrack. In addition to endless fast flowy singletrack and challenging technical trails, Yukon offers stunning panoramic views, pristine wilderness, unique terrain and landscapes, majestic peaks and glaciers, and some of the warmest most welcoming people imaginable (special thanks to our hosts and guides Elaine Maisonneuve and Ray Warner).

Big Mountain Bike Adventures will be offering a 10 day trip to this mountain bike vacation paradise next July 2009. Check back at www.ridebig.com later this summer for details. My advice for now - plan on packing some eyeshades/sleepmask. And tank tops.