Stevens Pass Bike Park
Coming to the Leavenworth Area in Summer 2011!

 

See the Stevens Pass Official Information page at

http://www.stevenspass.com/Stevens/the-mountain/future-plans.aspx

 

Some current June 2010 news at http://www.wenatcheeworld.com

 

June 21, 2010: The next step will be an official decision regarding the appeals to the Finding Of No Significant Impact (FONSI), coming from the USFS in Portland.

 

Stevens Pass Mountain Bike Park Recent News

The Forest Service has issued a "finding of no significant impact" which should let construction begin this summer of 2010.  The first phase of construction will be on Hogs Back.  Two of five trails need to be built before opening to the public.  The first two trails will be excavated jump lines, one for advanced riders and one for intermediate riders.  While the park was initially set to open in June of 2010, snow and the environmental impact process put the park behind a year.  After the initial two trails are built, the second phase of the project will include building twenty additional trails.

 

Stevens Pass Bike Park Master Development Plan

In 2007 Stevens Pass submitted its Master Development Plan (MDP) to the Mt Baker - Snoqualmie National Forest, the resort's landlord. The plan is intended as a blueprint and overall vision for improvements at Stevens Pass over the next 10 - 15 years and is a requirement of the resort's Special Use Permit with the US Forest Service. The Forest Service has begun their initial review of the proposal.  See the PDF of the plan here.

Downhill Mountain Biking at Stevens Pass

From the Stevens Pass Summer Plan

 

The growth of mountain biking has been explosive over the past decade.  Comparable
to skiing and snowboarding, the technology behind mountain biking equipment has
evolved more recently and in greater leaps.  Riding focus and desire have changed; as a
result, the sport itself has progressed.  A recent industry trend has been the development
of lift accessed mountain bike terrain that utilizes a similar footprint as a ski area, but
on a more limited scale.  Stevens pass believes there is a need for a managed downhill
mountain bike area that services western and north central Washington.  This will
provide the growing industry an area to come ride lift accessed, downhill mountain
bikes.  A downhill mountain bike park at Stevens Pass will be a good complement to
the growing mountain bike demand currently on National Forest Land.

Conceived in 1999, the lift accessed mountain biking concept has been implemented
with great success at Whistler/Blackcomb in British Columbia, helping to advance the
sport to the point it is today.  Like a ski visit, a mountain bike visit entails the purchase
of a lift pass where the rider then travels with his/her bike up a chairlift outfitted
with special bike racks, and then descends down a series of skill rated, mountain bike
specific trails.

The sport is proving to be very popular and the growth potential appears to be
significant.  As a result, a variety of resorts throughout North America have created
similar mountain bike parks by following Whistler/Blackcomb’s lead.  Although there
are not currently many studies chronicling specific statistics, the response to recent
mountain bike conferences and workshops has been impressive.  (For example, an
International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) Conference in July 2006 attracted
over 400 delegates from 17 nations).  None of the Seattle market-centered, Pacific
Northwest ski areas have, to this point, developed noteworthy mountain biking facilities.
Further, an analysis of the visits to Whistler/Blackcomb found that approximately 9%
of their paid mountain bike park visits originated from Washington State.  Therefore,
it is reasonable to assume that there is considerable un-serviced demand that Stevens
Pass could satisfy.

 

Stages of Development for the Bike Park

From the Stevens Pass Summer Plan

Initially, the Hogsback Express Chairlift would be the uphill conveyance for mountain
bikers.  The estimated capacity of Hogsback is approximately 1,200 mountain bikers
per day.  As illustrated in Figure 4 a series of trails would be designed and built to offer
a range of choices for the full spectrum of downhill mountain biking skills (beginner,
intermediate and expert).

The intent would be to develop three primary, machine built downhill trails from
the top of Hogsback.  They will be built to match the anticipated market demand (1
beginner, 1 intermediate, 1 advanced). These trails are generally located within similarly
sloped terrain (8-25% avg.) and accessed from Hogsback chairlift. The trails would
average between 10% to 15% grade.  The difference in skill class ratings would largely
result from the degree of difficulty, the number of jumps and stunts, the technical trail
features and the unavoidable obstacles found on each trail. Complementing this, there
would be a collection of downhill single-track trails developed in sections as accessed
from the machine built trails.

Consideration has been given to connecting some of these trails to the existing winter
terrain park area.  The intent would be to incorporate these disturbed lands into a
mountain bike terrain park.  This terrain park would consist of a biker cross course,
jump farm, several tabletop jumps and other trail features (teeter totters, wall rides,
boxes, drop offs, etc.) Doubling up this terrain should provide operational efficiencies
since summer dirt features can remain as a base for winter snow features instead of
being leveled and recreated each season.  This should also allow winter terrain park
features to be built with greater ease, with less snow required than before.  The concept
would be to incrementally expand the terrain park as demand requires.

Skills centers would also be developed throughout the mountain bike park to promote
technical skill development, teaching and learning opportunities, and progressions.
Three centers (beginner, intermediate and advanced) would be developed at various
locations.
 

 

Design of the Bike Park

From the Stevens Pass Summer Plan

A well-designed mountain biking facility must plan to cater to the full spectrum of
users, (beginners, intermediates and experts) while having minimal environmental and
low maintenance costs.  A balanced approach to the development of trails is key to
the success of the bike park.  A clear understanding of carrying capacity is critical
to determining the staging needs, support facilities (restaurants, rental, retail, patrol,
restrooms, parking etc.), staffing and operational requirements necessary to deliver an
exceptional guest experience.

Any successful mountain bike facility must pay careful attention to the layout and
design of the trails.  Many of the trails will need to be machine built, designed to
accommodate a basic skill class of beginner, intermediate or expert bikers. Many of
these trails would also have “stunts” built into them, again tied to varying degrees of
difficulty.  Complementing the trails, a skills park for training and instruction, a jump
park and biker-cross course, along with various obstacles and features to provide a
variety of experiences.

All mountain bike trails on the preliminary plan have been designed with approximately
10 to 15% average grade over the length of the trail. The ‘10% guideline’ was developed
by the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) to ensure that trail concepts
will result in a sustainable trail that will resist erosion and damage.  The 10% guideline
works with most soil types, minimizes erosion, allows detailed design flexibility, and
accommodates undulations in the terrain. As it is the average grade, some trail segments
would be either greater or less than 10%, based on detailed design.

The proposed general trail locations have been identified on the Summer Plan (Figure
4).  Further field surveys will identify positive and negative “control points” in order
to refine trail locations and incorporate positive flow and transition between sections.
Control points identify specific areas along the trail that should be connected (positive –
scenic vistas, turning platforms, unique terrain etc.) or avoided (negative - watercourses,
soil considerations, wetlands, wildlife habitat etc.

The preliminary trail network consists of the following trail types.

Downhill mountain bike trails (5-8ft width) – unidirectional, machine
graded with berms, jumps, stunts, features etc. designed for the freeride/
downhill mountain bike user within the mountain bike park. These trails
would incorporate storm water drainage into their design.

Downhill single track mountain bike trails (1-3 ft width) – unidirectional
trail designed for freeride, downhill users. Hikers and other users would
be prevented from using these trails due to safety and flow issues.

 

 

Lift Assisted Sightseeing at Stevens Pass

From the Stevens Pass Summer Plan

Sightseeing at Stevens Pass has the potential to become a “must do” regional attraction,
providing a unique alpine experience to the approximately 2.75 million potential guests
traveling Highway 2 from the Seattle area to and from Leavenworth and eastern
Washington.  Providing this service would require base area staging amenities (ticket
stations, rest-rooms, restaurant/snack bar) to be available, a landscaping program to
improve the summer look of the amenities, a mountain top restaurant, the development
of short walking/hiking trails and the hiring of employees to staff the lifts and facilities.
A mountain top interpretive program and various environmental and artist oriented
talks could also be incorporated.

Lift serviced sightseeing provides pedestrian lift access to high elevations.  This type of
sightseeing is a relatively passive activity catering to all ages and abilities.  Interpretive
trails, scenic vistas, restaurant facilities and educational activities would offer various
attractions on the upper mountain.  A typical experience would allow guest access to
the top of the mountain, enjoy lunch or dinner in the restaurant there, take short hikes,
photograph the scenery and then ride a chairlift or hike down to the base area.

The Skyline chairlift would provide the best sightseeing opportunity.  The proposed on-mountain lodge (The Solitude Lodge), with spectacular views of Glacier Peak and the
North Cascades, would present an attractive terminus to these guests with its outdoor
patio, food and beverage services.  In addition, short interpretive hikes promoting
environmental education and awareness could be offered from the Solitude Lodge.