Just thought I would pass this along. Me and two buds went riding up in Duragon for a few days. The last day we were in debate on what to hit on the way out. It is not very often that you make it to that corner of the state with a bike and the list was getting longer with each beer.
I figured I'd mention that Silverton had some chairs running and it would be fun to go check it out and get some free DH after 3 days of XC riding.
It was a stelar day, the views were incredible, the people were cool and our bikes weren't even close to being able to handle what Silverton had. It had rained the day before so only the southern trails were open, which included some cool stunts, decent size drops, wet roots and muddy corners.
The top half was a blast, really tight singletrack winding through the woods down to the cut off for the North side. With only one way down we pushed on. Well the corners got tighter and wetter, even with the seats low, 2.1 XC tires were not cutting it. We were crashing our way down the mtn. I am not afraid to say I was way out of my league. I've done some Keystone with my XC bike and been able to get by. But without armor and some serious skills, this is a place that makes you honest about your place on the mtn bike food chain.
At least we saw plenty of other DH guys wiping out in the same places we were. So its not that bad, but the wet weather was reaking havoc with traction on XC bikes, roots and ruts were taking us out. A few stunts were attempted, one or more cleared, but most ended in a wimpering bail out, followed by manical laughter of me and or my friends.
One of our group took a nasty header. He came around a tight right hand corner, got slightly off trail, hit a rock, and supermaned OTB and collieded head first with a down tree. Luckily he escaped with minor cuts, a bruised calf and a headache. We were men enough to admit that we were not equipt for these trails.
There were some trails at the bottom with some wicked drops, big gaps, and yes a 45' creek gap. There were some sweet rollers with small doubles and a few kickers that we sessioned at the bottom after our first run. A step back and honest assesment of our situation was that we needed to be happy that we made it down in one piece and chalk it up to experience. I hate when something gets the better of me like that, but I walked away still learning a lot.
I have a few pics at home, that i will put up tomorrow, but my camera crapped out before we got down into the good stuff. The north side opened up just as we were getting the bikes loaded, so maybe next time when i get out there with a bigger bike and some more skills.
If you plan on going to Silverton, man-up, take your armor and your balls.
