New Destination Announcement: Squamish, BC

If you’ve been following us on social media the last two weeks, then this will come as no surprise… but starting in the spring of 2022, we’re adding Squamish, British Columbia to our list of destinations!  To us, Squamish is like an adult Disneyland for advanced mountain bikers, and it fits into the Chasing Epic ecosystem perfectly: if you’re looking to push your limits, advance your skills, and ride some of the most technical trails anywhere in North America, we can’t think of a better place.  Pairing up with Revelstoke on the eastern side of BC, these two destinations will test even the best of our Chasing Epic riders.

Squamish sits along the Squamish River in a big river valley just 45 minutes north of Vancouver, and is one of the most drastic and beautiful landscapes we’ve seen.  The weather can be quite moody (when we scouted last week, it rained for 3 days straight but we rode every day) but trust us, the dirt and granite rock slabs are just as grippy when they’re wet.  The roots, not so much!  There are multiple trail systems along the eastern side of the valley that offer everything from man-made flow trails, long rock slabs, steep rock slabs, and more technical riding than you’ve ever seen.  The purpose-built mountain bike trails here are mind-blowing, and something every rider should experience.

What Can You Expect?

First off, for this trip we recommend that you’re advanced or expert rider with solid technical skills.  The trails are next-level in Squamish, and most black trails in the area have features that most riders will have to check out and potentially walk the first time.  Or maybe every time.  Typically, our rides will consist of several “laps” throughout the day, where we climb for a bit (no huge climbs here) and then check out various downhill trails throughout the day.  The downhills are STEEP, so the mileage tends to be a little lower; over the course of a full day ride, you can expect to do 18-20 miles with 2500-3000′ of climbing and descending.  No major shuttles here, although we’ll do our best to build in a couple “bumps” and point-to-point rides into each itinerary.

When it comes to the trails themselves, you can expect just about everything to be thrown at you: long flow trails with jumps, tables, and berms made from heaven.  Super steep trails that will burn through brake pads.  Technical rock and root sections like you’ve never seen before.  And slabs.  Did we mention the slabs?  Butt-puckering, but oh so much damn fun.

Trip Details

Our new Squamish trips will be put together just like all of the other Chasing Epic trips (with the exception of Revelstoke), which starting in 2022 will be 5 days, 4 nights with 4 days of riding.  More info to come on that in a little bit.

• 5 days, 4 nights with all meals included starting with dinner on Day 1 and ending with lunch on the last day.  Starting in 2022, we’ll be making our trips a little bit longer in order to maximize ride time, and eliminate any previous downtime.  We’ll meet on the first day for introductions, bike fitting, and a welcome dinner/beer, and then it’s game on: four days of riding that will leave you sore, beaten, and wanting more!
• We heard your requests, and we’re working to make airport transportation available for this trip: that’s right, no car rental needed.  We’ll have more details soon, but we’re trying to make it as easy as possible for you to show up, ride bikes, have fun, and then head home.
• The ride itinerary for Squamish will change every trip, but overall you can expect three days on the “local” trail systems (those closer to town) and one day spent high in the backcountry, away from it all.
• For 2022, we’re also reducing trip size to improve the trip experience: we’ll max each trip out (aside from private groups) at 10 riders.
• This is NOT a trip for everyone, and we understand that.  To be 100% honest, there’s a fairly small sub-set of our clients who can handle- and enjoy- terrain like Squamish.  That said, we also want to provide a progression for our riders when it comes to trip choices, and Squamish is most definitely something to work towards.

Trip Dates

We’re still in the process of finalizing details, but it looks like we’ll have two trips on the books for Squamish in 2022: May 19-23 and September 8-12.  Look for an official 2022 Trip Calendar release in the coming week or two.