Breaking Down Our 2022 Trips: Destinations, Details and More
We’re super stoked to announce our 2022 trip calendar with one new destination, longer trips, and more epic riding! If you’re thinking about booking a trip for next year- and honestly, why wouldn’t you- then you’ll want to check out the information below. We’re breaking down the trip locations, the riding, and who each location is best for. Let’s get it started!
New for 2022: Longer Trips with More Riding!
Yep, you read that right… we heard your feedback and for 2022, we’ve lengthened all of our standard trips from four days to five! Each trip (with the exception of Revelstoke, which is still 7 days) will now be 5 days and 4 nights, with four full days of riding included. This has allowed us to add more riding to the itinerary, now adding a full day on Day 1 to up the “epic”. We’ve created all new ride itineraries to maximize the amazing riding in each destination. Additionally, we’re also adding an extra night of lodging, more meals, and more complimentary inclusions as well (more shuttles, etc). Each trip is now structured to maximize the riding, minimize the downtime, and bring you the goods.
We’ve catered each trip schedule to your travel plans too: we won’t meet on the first day until 5-6pm, which will give you plenty of time to fly that morning/afternoon before meeting for our introduction, bike setups, welcome dinner and drinks before getting started the next morning. No additional vacation days needed for more epic! The last day’s ride will typically last until 1-2pm, which should give you plenty of time to drive home, or catch a flight from the local airport. We’ve included all of the planning and logistics information you’ll need in our new 2022 trip packet, which you’ll get once you place your deposit.
Location: Fruita, CO (with 1 day in Moab)
Category: Desert Tech
Difficulty: Physical (Intermediate+), Technical (Intermediate-Advanced)
Big Ride: 20+ miles, 2500′ of climbing
Typical Weather: Low 70’s
Spring in the desert is as good as it gets for technical riding, and we’ve put this combination trip of Fruita and Moab together to maximize the fun. We’ll base ourselves in Fruita and ride three days in the area, and on Day 4, we’ll head to Moab to ride the Whole Enchilada. The itinerary for this ride is all about the tech for the first three days, and then we’ll bring in a side of flow on the last day on 18 Road. Between Lunch Loops, Kokopelli Loops, and the Whole Enchilada, trust us- you’ll love the flowy trails of 18 Road on the last day as a welcome respite.
This trip is for riders who want to experience incredible desert riding early in the season, and want to progress their technical skills to a new level. We’ll build in multiple shuttles and point-to-point rides on this trip, but there’s still a fair amount of technical climbing each day so make sure you come prepared!
Location: Squamish, BC
Category: Big Mountain Enduro
Difficulty: Physical (Intermediate+), Technical (Advanced-Expert)
Big Ride: 20+ miles, 3000′ of climbing
Typical Weather: 60’s with some rain
Squamish is new to the Chasing Epic lineup, and we couldn’t be more excited: this trip allows us to offer a skills progression for our more advanced riders, as this trip is going to be TOUGH! Squamish is like the Disneyland of mountain biking, with so many features and incredible trails, you’ll feel like a kid again! Of course we’ll add a shuttle or two, but most of the riding in Squamish is done as “laps”, with mostly-mellow climbs up and then descending on your choice of trails. We’ll hit slabs, steep tech, flow, and some features you couldn’t even imagine in your wildest dreams.
This trip is definitely for our advanced-expert riders looking for something new and challenging; if you’ve been on one of our trips before and struggled with the terrain, then this probably isn’t for you. We’ll push your technical limits- in a good way- that will have you riding lines you never thought possible, and coming away with a new set of skills that will progress your abilities as a mountain biker.
Location: Sun Valley, Idaho
Category: High Country Epics
Difficulty: Technical (Intermediate+), Physical (Intermediate-Advanced)
Big Ride: 24 miles, 3500 feet
Typical Weather: Highs in the 70s
Late spring in Sun Valley is absolutely incredible: green mountainsides as far as you can see, wildflowers everywhere, and just about perfect dirt. The riding in Sun Valley can best be described as “high country flow”, but don’t let that fool you: there’s a distinct “back country” feel as we get WAY out there, and some of the trails we’ll ride can still be quite rugged. Sun Valley sits at an elevation of 6,000 feet so the altitude is still definitely a factor for those of you coming from sea level, but it’s not quite as difficult to acclimatize as a place like Crested Butte. The climbs here aren’t quite as steep, but they’re still long and we’ll likely get up close to 9,000 feet on this trip so be sure to arrive in shape with plenty of training miles under your belt. We always do our best to work in a shuttle or two, to add some descending to the day or to make a killer point-to-point ride.
This trip is for those looking to experience high country epic riding, with maybe a little less tech than a place like Crested Butte. Each day is going to be big (20+ miles) though, so you’ll definitely want to be in killer shape when you arrive in late June. This is one of our favorite trips of the summer, we can’t wait to head back!
Location: Revelstoke, British Columbia
Category: Big Mountain Enduro
Difficulty: Technical (Advanced-Expert), Physical (Intermediate+)
Big Ride: 20 miles, 2500 feet (7000 descending)
Typical Weather: Highs in the 70-80s
Our Revelstoke trip is aimed at riders looking to push the limits of their abilities, and it’s recommended for our advanced/expert riders only. There’s no downplaying this one, Revelstoke is steep and extremely difficult. This trip is part of our Big Mountain Enduro series, so it’s all about the descents. Sure, we’ll have a few big climbs mixed in, but we’re focusing on the steep big mountain terrain that Revelstoke is famous for; almost every day, we’ll have a shuttle built in (or multiple shuttles, or a heli drop!) to bring you more descents!
Speaking of descents, they will be a mix of steep, rooty, rocky, rowdy, and will have some man-made features thrown in for good measure. For 6 riding days, we’ll explore the best of the area (that includes a day at the Revelstoke bike park, included with the trip) and will push the limits of how much we can ride in a day. Bring your A-game for this one, you’re going to need it.
Location: Salida, Colorado
Category: Big Mountain Enduro
Difficulty: Technical (Advanced), Physical (Advanced)
Big Ride: 29 miles, 1500 feet (8000 descent)
Typical Weather: Highs in the 70s
The Monarch Crest Enduro was our Wildcard trip the previous two years, and due to popular demand it’s back for 2022 as one of our standard trips; in all honesty, we don’t see this trip going anywhere for a long time as it’s SO much fun, and it’s the perfect Big Mountain Enduro trip that pushes our clients in all the right ways. For our US-based trips, this one is as burly as it gets.
For this trip, you better bring your A-game… advanced riders only here. This trip is quintessential “enduro”, as it’s all about the long, rowdy descents as we explore some of the best downhills in the state of Colorado. We’ll be based in Salida with most of our rides focused on the world-famous Monarch Crest area, plus a “pedal day” at Canyon Creek that will push even the fittest of mountain bikers. The technical terrain here is a step up from our regular trips, so please come prepared. Expect steep, rocky, rowdy, technical descents that last for miles, along with lots of riding above 10,000 feet.
Location: Crested Butte, Colorado
Category: High Country Epics
Difficulty: Technical (Intermediate-Advanced), Physical (Advanced)
Big Ride: 24 miles, 2800 feet (5300 descent)
Typical Weather: Highs in the 60s
Ahhh…. Crested Butte in the fall. If you’re looking for the perfect “epic” mountain bike trip, this one is it: dynamic weather, huge rides, long descents, and a little bit of suffering thrown in for good measure. Nothing about Crested Butte is easy, but it’s all totally worth it in the end: this is some of the best high country riding available in the world, hands down. Most of the rides on this trip will be pedal days, but we do always build in a shuttle or two in order to maximize the fun. Expect long days in the saddle, but those days will be so damn good.
Like we mentioned above, this trip will push most riders to their limits: the climbs are long and tough, there’s enough technical terrain to keep you on your toes, the altitude is very real (we’ll get above 11,000 feet), and the weather can be “interesting”. All that said, if you train and put in the miles before your trip, you’ll absolutely love it. In fact, Crested Butte sees the most repeat clients of any trip we run, as our riders want to come back again and again. Trails like Teocalli Ridge and Doctor Park are world-famous for a reason, and we hope you’ll join us to find out for yourselves.
Location: Brevard, North Carolina
Category: Big Mountain Enduro
Difficulty: Technical (Advanced), Physical (Intermediate+)
Big Ride: 21 miles, 3000 feet
Typical Weather: Highs in the 60-70s
Brevard is currently our only east coast destination, and we absolutely love making the trip every fall! The riding in Pisgah is as rowdy as it gets, and is very different from what we have out west. On this trip, expect three days of our riding in Pisgah National Forest on steep, rooty, loamy trails that can push our best riders to the limit. Most of the climbs here are on fire/logging roads so they tend to be pretty mellow, but once the singletrack makes an appearance it gets steep and tough!
In the past we’ve done a day or two in Dupont to add an element of flow to this trip, but we’re heading in a new direction with Brevard from now on…. we’ve partnered with Kanuga Bike Park for the last day of each trip, so you can ride to your heart’s content before departing. Like always, we’ll build in a shuttle or two, but make sure you’ve put in the miles over the spring and summer because the riding in Brevard is sneaky tough. Fall weather in Brevard can be interesting, but we’ve found that it adds to the mystique of riding here… leafy descents, wet roots, and a little bit of mud are part of the charm. Bring it on!
