Physical Exertion: Intermediate – Advanced / Technical Ability: Intermediate+
Durango
Are you looking for a big backcountry adventure with killer descents and views that don’t stop? Sitting in the southwest corner of Colorado and right in the heart of the San Juans, Durango is all about big high-country riding with incredible views, singletrack that goes forever, and some of the best descents in Colorado. In the summer, the San Juan mountains are absolutely breathtaking, bursting with wildflowers, flowing creeks and cascading waterfalls. And the riding? It’s a perfect match for Chasing Epic, with epic backcountry rides for all levels.
Airport Options: Durango (45 minutes) – Montrose (90 minutes) – Albuquerque (4+ hours)
INTERACTIVE DURANGO TRAIL MAP
DETAILS AND EXAMPLE ITINERARY
Each trip is custom designed and every one will be different – you’ll receive the exact routes and trails with your official trip itinerary, which will be emailed to you about a week before the trip. For our three full-day rides (long option), you can expect an average of 20 miles, 2500′ of climbing and around 4,000’+ of descending while the shorter rides will be closer to 15 miles, 1500′ of climbing and 3000′ of descent.
Day 1: Plan on arriving around 5:30 in Durango, where we’ll have everyone check in, unpack and get our demo bikes set up. After that we’ll have a welcome dinner and drinks before getting a rundown of trip basics along with the first day’s ride options.
Day 2: After a home-cooked breakfast in our main townhome, this morning we’ll head up to Bolam Pass (it’s quite the drive!) to start our first ride deep in the San Juans. After a mostly mellow climb on the Colorado Trail, things get a bit spicy for the last 500 feet up to Blackhawk Pass. However, from there it’s almost downhill on truly epic singletrack down the Colorado Trail and Stagecoach, eventually spitting us out down in the Hermosa Creek drainage behind Purgatory Ski Resort. (shorter option will be 12 miles with 1000′ of climbing and 3000′ of descent)
Day 3: Another Colorado Trail-based high country epic, today’s ride starts off Coal Bank Pass, a 2000′ shuttle bump. A nice slow pace up the first climb will go a long ways towards the rest of the day, as we have a few good efforts interspersed throughout today’s ride. That said, all the efforts are rewarded with some great descents and trails that are truly incredible. The last descent down Graysill and Cascade Creek is one you’ll remember for a long time. (shorter ride option will be 13 miles with 1400′ of climbing and 3500′ of descending)
Day 4: Today we start at Molas Pass, which is the last place the Colorado Trail sees civilization before ending in Durango 80+ miles later. We’ll be on the CT for the first 10-12 miles of our ride, which has a mix of traversing and shorter climbs/descents. The “big” climb of the day is up to Engineer Pass and gets pretty stiff in spots, but the effort pays off with steep and technical downhill. From there, we climb back up a bit to the final Engineer Mountain descent, which is one of my personal favorites anywhere in Colorado. (shorter ride is 16 miles with 2000′ of climbing and 3500′ of descent)
Day 5: It’s the last day of our trip, but that doesn’t mean we’re done riding! Today we’re tackling Engine Creek, which is likely the most technical and fun descent of the trip. We’ll duplicate our climb from Day 3, but after that we split off to hit Engine Creek, an enduro-style downhill with chunk, steeps and tech that will keep you on your toes. You’ll definitely want to save some energy for this one! (shorter ride is 10 miles with 1200′ of climbing and 3400′ of descending)
