SUMMER OF SCOUTING PART 2 - NIPIKA MOUNTAIN RESORT
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After a successful first scouting trip of the 2020 Summer of Scouting, the family was keen to head out for another weekend of camping and biking. This weekend’s destination would be Nipika Mountain Resort located at the confluence of the Cross and Kootenay Rivers just outside of Kootenay National Park. We would be joined this weekend by a member of the TransRockies advisory board, Rob Savin and his daughter, Avery. Also joining us would be our old friend Keith, who had so much fun last weekend in Crowsnest Pass that he convinced his wife Leslie to join in the fun!
The primary scouting objective for the weekend was to check out some gravel bike routes for future events. Since the gravel routes wouldn’t really suit the kids on mountain bikes, we would mix up the itinerary with fun rides on Nipika’s stellar network of singletrack mountain biking trails. The weather forecast was somewhat dodgy going into the weekend, and we really weren’t sure how much riding we’d get in. Friday, at least, looked promising for a big exploration ride on gravel bikes.
We planned to ride parts of a stage from the 2006-2007 TransRockies Challenge - an epic loop from Nipika up the Cross River, over Miller Pass, and back down the Albert River to the Palliser River and back on the Kootenay Palliser Forest Service Road. This part of the East Kootenays of British Columbia is covered by an extensive web of forest service roads maintained to support the forestry and mining industries. Recreationalists also benefit from access to remote backcountry via this road network. The main forest service roads are generally well maintained and built for heavy truck traffic, but the smaller spur roads can be quite variable in their condition depending on logging activity in the area.
My companion for this adventure, Rob, is a veteran cyclist with decades of racing experience from road to mountain, and more recently has numerous gravel race finishes under his belt. Starting with a shuttle 20km up the Cross River road I was expecting a 3-hour ride, but with many unknowns, I knew our actual ride time could be quite variable. I didn’t know if Miller Pass would be passable at all and we could be forced to ride back the way we came. We saw the first bear of the day on the drive out to our drop off point, happily munching on dandelions on the side of the road.
Erin dropped us off where the road became impassable. This was not a promising start as this meant that the road was not maintained past this point. Undaunted, we set off up the Cross River Forest Road only to be turned back after 5 kilometers by an un-bridged crossing of the Cross River, raging with spring runoff. Visible on the other side of the valley was a much better road continuing up the valley. After examining the map, we realized that the maintained route had changed and a back track was required to get back on the proper route.
Now making good progress on the correct side of the river we began the climb up to Miller Pass in earnest, leaving the Cross River valley behind. Bear number two appeared to be a young grizzly that showed no interest in getting to know us as he scampered off into the bushes. The climb up to the pass was in excellent shape with great views of the surrounding peaks, still quite snow-covered. As we climbed towards the snowline the firm gravel road gave way to grassy double track. The passage through the pass itself proved a little difficult to find but soon enough we were descending an old double track which the GPS assured would take us to the other side.
The next three kilometers were an exercise in patience as heavy brush and deadfall had taken over the old roadbed and our progress slowed to a crawl as we fought our way towards the Albert River Forest Service Road. The only reprieve from the heavy brush was to ford the fast flowing creeks and remnant snow from avalanche slide paths. With relief we finally reached the main road once again and sent a message back to camp on the InReach satellite messenger, since we were now overdue with 40km of riding still ahead of us.
Fortunately, the remaining 40km was very fast on good gravel roads, with the exception of some flooding damage (which would have stopped a truck, but was no problem for us on bikes). We made it back to camp after five and a half hours of riding and a total of three bear sightings. Fortunately, our families had connected with Keith and Leslie, who had led them on a tour of the southern parts of the Nipika trail network. Given that the kids would normally be in school (pre-covid), their ride became a combination Phys. Ed. and Science class as Keith gave riding skills tutorials and Leslie shared her extensive knowledge of the local flora.
We woke Saturday to sunny skies and decided that a family group ride was the priority for the morning. We set off to ride the northern parts of the Cross River Recreation Trail network that Nipika is set on. We have used these trails for our stages races on many occasions, starting with the TransRockies Challenge in 2006, then the first Singletrack 6 in 2014, and returning last year for a stage of the TransRockies Classic. Most of the trails are rustic singletracks through the woods, leading to spectacular vistas of the local rivers. Our destination was Natural Bridge, a crossing of the Cross River where it passes through an incredible slot canyon. The mostly intermediate trails were perfect for the group of teen and adult riders who returned to camp with big smiles.
In the afternoon, Rob, Leslie and I set off for another scouting mission up Cochrane Creek, a route that we used last year for the TransRockies Classic. The road was perfect for gravel bikes until we started to hit washouts from last week’s storm. The creek had completely washed away the road in multiple places. We clambered around the washouts until we reached a point where we couldn’t go any further due to the high water. We turned around in the rain and headed back to camp, wondering if the road would be repaired to usable condition anytime soon.
The owners of Nipika, Steve and Lyle Wilson, had given us permission to camp in their “friends and family” area of the property - a lovely private meadow not far from the main resort. After dinner, we walked over to visit the resort. Nipika is made up of a number of cozy cabins surrounding a lush green meadow decorated with stunning views of the peaks across the mountain. Built as an “eco-resort”, the cabins are solar powered and built from trees killed by the mountain pine beetle. Nipika is designed around human-powered recreation and supports extensive facilities for mountain biking, fat biking, nordic skiing, snowshoeing, rafting, paddling, running and hiking. Gravel biking can now be added to that list.
We met up with Steve Wilson around the fire pit and talked about how covid-19 had impacted the resort. He reported that they had lost their summer bookings for weddings and family reunions but that, since they have been able to reopen recently, cabin bookings were again filling up.The cabins are the perfect environment for families to isolate together. Being “off the grid” with no cell service, a weekend at Nipika was the perfect place to get away from the craziness of the rest of the world for a weekend, and spend some time with a few good friends and perhaps a few bears.
Check out what Nipika looked like at the 2019 TransRockies Classic
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Aaron McConnell is the President and Chief Cycling Officer of the TransRockies Race Series. Normally, you will find Aaron, along with his wife Erin and daughters Cici and Kyleigh at TransRockies events. This year they are spending the summer scouting routes for future TransRockies Events.