GIRDWOOD -- For the fifth summer in a row, Alyeska Resort has turned its mountain slopes into a lift-assisted bike park for the few months skiers and snowboarders aren't cutting turns in powder.
Three lifts provide 2,500 vertical feet of downhill biking on Mount Alyeska, filling in for a lack of Southcentral trails where it's legal to push your bike up and then ride back down. Chugach State Park bans bicycling on its half-million acres, except for a dozen exceptions noted in the park's administrative code.
Many riders seem thrilled about the park.
"It's really cool that they're offering lift access," said Daniel Frentzle, a mechanic at Anchorage's Paramount Cycles, who's been mountain biking since he was 9 or 10. "They do a good job of offering a range of beginner-to-expert trails, and they're continuing to improve and get better each year."
Greg Matyas, owner of Speedway Cycles, agreed.
"Alyeska is a blast to ride," he said in an email. "Trails are technical enough to keep faster riders on their toes but not so hard to scare anyone away."
That said, beginners would do well to stick to easier trails around the Bear Cub Quad until they've mastered the basics of hurtling downhill on two wheels. Trails reached from the other two lifts -- Ted's Express and the Glacier Bowl Express -- are more suitable for intermediate and advanced riders. Lifts run Friday through Sundays, noon-5 p.m.
Speaking of which, you might want to rent those wheels, particularly if you're new to downhill riding.
Beginner lessons for extra $5
Although you can bring your own bike, the resort rentals are kitted out with the frame geometry, full-travel suspension and hydraulic disc brakes that allow riders to safely and comfortably navigate steep, sustained downhills – downhills that can cause other brake types to fail, or make a bike with a worn suspension hard to control.
Add $5 to the $130 combined cost for a lift ticket, bike rental, full-face helmet, and knee and elbow pads, and you can also get a beginner lesson on navigating the trails. That's where newbie bikers learn the rules that keep everybody safe:
• How not to become a hazard to others by stopping where you obstruct trails;
• Avoiding zipping onto the wrong trails, or;
• Forgetting to yield to other trail users.
Here's another reason to rent: No matter your skill level, the bike is going to take a beating.
"In the grand scheme of things, $100 for the bike and the protective gear you get (when you rent) is well worth it," said Kevin Murphy, a mechanic at Backcountry Bike & Ski in Palmer, who races in a variety of mountain bike disciplines and helps set race courses at Alyeska. The mountain is rough enough, you could damage a wheel or a tire, cook a set of brake pads, warp a rotor..." With prices for a new downhill bike starting around $3,000, it makes sense to let the rental equipment take a thrashing while you decide if downhill riding is for you.
Price of safety
Your bike isn't the only thing that's in for a hard ride. Crashes are expected. In fact, it's not so much a question of if you'll eat dirt, but when and how often. From the mandatory helmets (full-face style strongly recommended) to rigid motocross-style torso protectors, to flexible, foam-padded pressure suits and neck braces to prevent excessive compression or flexion of your cervical vertebrae, experienced riders armor up as an insurance policy against (hopefully rare) crashes. Beginners are advised to follow suit, especially on a mountain that's steep enough to be dangerous to the unwary.
"In downhill, things happen really fast, and rocks, roots, debris get kicked up off the wheel," Murphy said. "Our mountain in particular is pretty steep all the way around; it's not a really mellow mountain by any stretch of the word."
He recounted a memorable incident: Taking off the torso protector he typically wears, he rode down a trail he'd been on a hundred times but nevertheless was "ejected" from the bike. He came down on a rock that, lucky for him, was flat. More than a year later, he still experiences some soreness. "Who's to say that wearing [the protector] would have changed anything," he said. "But once you hit the ground, if you're wearing it, you'll probably be thankful. It just takes once."
If you want to armor up, almost any bike shop in town can order body armor and get you set up with a downhill bike.
Paying several thousand dollars for a bike and several hundred more for a full-face helmet and body armor is a hefty investment, but also a sign of how popular the bike park is becoming. Although he declined to provide exact visitor or revenue numbers, Brian Burnett, mountain services manager for Alyeska Resort, estimated ridership at more than 100 on busy days -- about 2,000 riders in a summer. It's growing, he said, as more and more riders become so committed to downhill riding that they invest in their own gear.
Going up
Once you have your body armor, bike and a little know-how, there's just one more obstacle between you and all the adrenaline-pumping downhill glory you can handle: lifts. But the learning curve on how to load up is short and easy, with lift attendants happy to help you out the first few times. Every other chair on the lift has been replaced with a roll-on bike holder. Here's the drill:
• Wait for the holder to pass;
• Roll your bike confidently into place; and
• Stand and wait for the following chair to approach from behind.
Lift attendants unload your bike at the top, and from there it's bombs away -- or bikers away, at least -- as you bullet down the trails.
Part of the fun is that you're in for an experience totally unlike anything you'll find on other Southcentral bike trails. "The standard advice I always give people is to approach it with an open mind as to what mountain biking can be like," Murphy said. "[The trails] are going to be different to what you're used to in town."
And, of course, that's the point.
Anchorage freelance writer Lisa Maloney like going uphill too. Reach her at lisa@maloneywrites.com
Upcoming bike park events
Whether you like to ride or prefer to watch, don't miss:
• Alyeska Mountain Bike Festival: The third annual festival runs Sept. 4–7. Expect live music, demonstrations, workshops, zany events like a chainless downhill race and a tight-rope ride. Of course, there will be plenty of chances to ride the trails yourself.
• The Alyeska Cup, a series of timed downhill runs; entry is free with purchase of a day lift ticket or season pass. Remaining installments will take place Aug. 30 and Sept. 6.
And finally, ladies, if you want your very own downhill biking workshop, it's coming Aug. 23.