Traditionally trails were designed to go from A to B with the least effort. This should not be the goal of a mountain bike trail. Although many trails are now designed with "fun" in mind, the design and building techniques seem to be stuck in traditional A to B thought. A properly designed mountain bike trail should flow with the land, be very low-impact, self-maintain and cost less then traditional trails.
A Copastetic trail is designed walking the land, not on a topographic map. This allows me to use the terrain to my advantage and have the least amount of impact on land, environment and animals. There is no need to cut down trees, remove rocks or use any explosives. The trail is built by hand with minimal use of power tools. The result is a trail with the least possible impact on the surrounding environment and the least cost.
By using natural barriers we can eliminate the forming of renegade shortcuts and guide the rider to the next turn in a smooth, skid-free manner. Through proper trail design skidding and trail deterioration can be, almost completely, eliminated. The up and down flow of the trail will control speed naturally with little need for braking or skidding. The result being a trail with less dust, less washboards, less ruts, less maintenance and fewer crashes then traditional trails.
I have been developing and implementing these techniques for over three years on private land and have produced four miles of the most self maintaining, and arguably most exciting, trails in Routt county.
Aryeh Copa
P.O. Box 881033
Steamboat Springs, CO 80488
Phone: 970-870-9224
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PROPOSAL TO BUILD Problems and Solutions It is my intention to design and build a "downhill specific" mountain bike trail on the Steamboat Ski Area. I believe that, through proper design, I can address the problems and concerns of the Steamboat Ski and Resort Corporation, the Forest Service and the riding public, while creating a bike trail unlike anything seen as of yet. The problems of: liability, renegade trails, erosion, maintenance, cost and users of various riding abilities, can all be solved through proper trail design. The liability issue is obvious. Downhill mountain bikers of varying abilities sharing trails with hikers and uphill riders is an accident waiting to happen. Determining the most dangerous riders, is difficult if not impossible. Is an experienced rider on their own downhill bike with disk brakes more dangerous than a less experienced rider on a rental bike? The solution is to build a downhill specific mountain bike trail with options for beginner riders to avoid the more technical sections which also gives faster riders a chance to safely pass. Riders building trails on their own (renegade trails) on the ski area is another problem. Some say this is a result of the lack of any downhill mountain bike trails that are challenging to an experienced rider. To an experienced rider, a trail that is wide enough to accommodate a four wheeler is not a mountain bike trail but a multi-use trail. The fact that the people building these renegade trails do not understand erosion and maintenance issues exacerbates the problem. Again the solution should be to build a downhill specific trail that is challenging and justifies the purchase of downhill mountain bikes and lift tickets. A properly designed trail would discourage the creation of renegade trails, eliminate erosion issues and actually improve with mass numbers of riders. I believe it would be easy to win the public relations battle and effectively prevent the building of renegade trails once an alternative is available. This can be achieved through articles in: The Local, The Today and Pilot newspapers that state the privilege of lift-access downhilling and written by respected members of the mountain bike community. The chance of losing downhilling privileges has already been expressed by Ski Corp and felt by the downhilling community. The educated would then pressure and educate the public to prevent future loss of such privileges. Although mountain bike ticket sales may be small now, adding trails that are exciting and challenging would encourage the sale of more lift tickets and season passes. It would be nearsighted not to recognize the growing popularity of lift-access mountain biking as possibly the largest single summer revenue source for ski areas in the near future. Some ski areas are banning downhilling while others are embracing it. There are even mountain bike downhill and freeride parks opening up around the world. The areas that embrace downhilling now will be the pioneers and first beneficiaries of this rapidly growing sport. I would like to build a trail using the Heavenly Daze ski run and the woods between the Daze and Valley View that would feed into Yoo-hoo the first season. By creating easy options around technical sections, I will build a trail that is user friendly to mountain bikers of all abilities and could be used for downhill races as well as every day public use.
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