Builders' Comp Winners
Better Late...
Words by Cam McRae.
Date: 2008-10-21
Our builders' comp was supposed to be wrapped up months ago. I thought I was going to be able to squeeze it in between trips early in the summer but I was fooling myself - and there was a crap load of entries to get through as well. Once the summer was in full swing there was no hope so I shelved it until the dust settled. Now that Rampage and Interbike are done - and the rains have come - it's time to get this rolling. First I'd like to recognize a few of the outstanding builders I was introduced to through this process. I would have loved to shout out to each builder individually but there were just too many. Thanks to everyone who tossed their name or that of their local builder into the ring.
James Flatten has made a lot of Colorado riders very happy. Here's what Travis Marshall had to say about him: 'James has spent an uncountable number of hours building trails in Western Colorado on both public and private land. He put the "Free" in "Free Lunch" trail (trail featured in Decline magizine, no mention of James though). He also has designed and built a sweet little plot of land known as the "Ranch" which recently held a slopestyle comp earlier this year. (photos of the course are located here) . I just wanted to nominate this guy because of his dedication to the sport and his ability to envision a sick line on almost any terrain.' Eric Prinster was also nominated for his stellar work in Colorado.
Justin Opal was a North Shore local who moved to the Crankbrook to fight fires and broaden his studies. When he realizd the local trail network wasn't up to snuff he got down to digging himself. That's the spirit! Along with some locals Justin has just started to build on a mountain they think could be Crankbrook's answer to Golden's Mount 7.
Rich Deakin and others nominated Ryan McKenna for his efforts to keep the Gillard riding area near Kelowna up and running. Here's what Rich had to say "Ryan has put years of effort and thousands of hours of his own time into developing, and maintaining, the renowned Gillard freeride trails. He was instrumental in turning Gillard into a freeride area. Thanks to Ryan's key efforts, Gillard survived the devastating fires of 2003 and the storms of 2007 and it remains a strong draw for riders to visit the Okanagan."
Kyle Wynia has been busy digging dirt jumps and wooden stunts out in Abbotsford, B.C. for seven years. Here's an example of his handiwork.
Rob Lok's workmanship appears to be top notch. Riding well built stunts that look amazing makes the ride even better. His trails are "located in the north-west coast area of BC."
Matthew Nodwell adopted Digger on Fromme a few years ago and he's turned it into a series of museum pieces. You'll notice skinnies and execeptional woodwork but he's put a lot of effort into the ground as well. Have a look - but try it in the dry for the first time if you can. Great work Matt! I believe this photo is from gutsploder.com
Justin Everden was also nominated by Rich Deakin. I'll let his words tell the tale.
"A nomination for a newbie - Justin Evernden of Westbank, BC for his work on the Powers Creek trails. Justin is Secretary of MTBco and a founder member of the club and a DH racer. He gives a substantial amount of personal time to trail building, and to the mountain bike community in general through his work for the club. For example, he rounded up bike and cash donations for the "Bikes for Humanity" charity.
In late 2007 Justin and a few other guys pulled together to maintain an old trail at Powers 3.5km. The approach was classic best practice. Firstly, remove all old debris/dilapidated stunts and clear the trail line. Secondly, clean up the trail, fluff'n'buff. Thirdly, update and renovate stunts that can be saved. Finally, build new stunts to a high standard.
I'm nominating Justin is for three reasons -
a) He's not an experienced trail builder but produced amazing design technique and quality of stunts.
b) His ability to pull together a bunch of inexperienced helpers to work collaboratively on trail work.
c) The amount of work achieved in such a short space of time and the practical, sensible approach to trail building using absolute best practice techniques."
Matt Scott took 18 months to build 'XCelerator' - which may be best described as an all mountain trail. As Wes Dyck explained " It is tight and narrow and steep with exposed log rides. It may be a cross-country trail, but it is very technical and some freeriders in our area are riding it for the pure pleasure of the risky, technical sections that demand a full focus to stay on it." If you don't believe him have a look at this video to get a taste of just how good this trail is.
The Prizes! The Dakine Builder's Pack features a pouch for your nails, a spot for your powersaw, your hammer, shovel, Macloed or Pulaski as well as side pockets for fuel and water. You can access your stuff from the top or from a pocket that rests against your back when you are wearing the pack. It's made of burly cordura so it'll stand up to your shenanigans. There aren't many around with this colour combination and Saint logoing. Special thanks to Shimano for making this happen.
Locally we had the most mentions for Karen Gillich. Here's what one nomination (by Ian Coillngs - a builder himself and half of the duo responsible for resurrecting Natural High on Fromme) said about Karen:
"She has a great attitude and just gets on with the job of building without any undue fanfare. She truly works in all conditions, rain or snow. She is a loner, so unlike Rob and I, Karen has had little in the way of help creating her wondrous trail. She has worked single handedly for many years and does not seek any form of recognition and in fact wishes to keep her work on the low down to help preserve her trail. She does innovative work as exemplified by her characteristic triangular rungs andShe participates in NSMBA trail days and on the rare occasions she can't make it out, she always provides the most excellent after BBQ goodies in the form of cookies and butter tarts, as I'm sure you are aware."
I would gladly hook Karen up with one of the prizes but she was already presented a Builder's Pack by the good folks at Steed Cycles. Karen in turn nominated the Digger himself - Todd Fiander. Not only is Todd the man behind the North Shore Extreme movie series - he's also responsible for building 30 trails on the Shore over the last several decades. A few of his creations are Ladies Only, Digger, Grannies, Skull and Bookwos - incredible trails each and every one. Several nominations mentioned Peter Morin - the industrious and skilled craftsman who transformed Upper Oilcan from a rocky mess to a masterful work of art. 
Gerber's collapsible shovel is NATO approved. It's not an every day shovel - more what you'd take along when you want to ride and do a little bit of maintenance along the way. It folds up and fits - boron-steel blade and all - into the ballistic nylon pouch you see pictured. It's 23" long fully extended.
Other North Shore builders who were recognized were Dave Hughes for his work on Fifth Horseman and Trevor Hawkins for Ladies Only upgrades and maintenance (and lots more I'm sure). From farther afield I'd like to recognize Ricky Doucet and Todd Burchell for their hard work in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. A nomination came in for Big Red Ted Tempany - recently returned from building the Rampage course. I salute all of you for all of your hard work. I know you don't get close to the recognition you deserve but all of us who ride singletrack appreciate your efforts.
Does it seem like I'm stalling? It's pretty tough to choose a winner from these excellent candidates. If I could I'd give one to each entry to be sure.
Here's what your Dakine Builder's Pack will look like with the tools of the trade securely fastened.
The pack and shovel go to Justin Everden. The trails up in Kelowna, B.C. have faced some nasty adversity - including an inferno that wiped out everything in 2003 - but thanks to the amazingly industrious builders up that way it sounds like they are as good as, or maybe even better than, new. Congratulations Justin.
Shimano was kind enough to send me a second pack and shovel to give away so I could keep the one they gave me at their Saint launch in Whistler. I would like to keep it - just because it's a wicked pack - but I've decided to give away my pack and shovel to a deserving builder. I'd just look like a poser wearing it anyway. Thanks Shimano!
Karen Gillich planted a seed in my head when she nominated Digger. Todd rarely gets the respect and acknowledgement he deserves. Without him the North Shore as we know it now would not exist. Before Digger there were no ladder bridges, teeter totters, skinnies or roller coasters on trails, and the standard of workmanship for structures and ground work he established is an example to builders everywhere. So I'd like to present the second pack and shovel package from Shimano go to Todd "Digger Fiander. Thanks for all your hard work Todd. I'll call Digger in a few days but since he's not much of an internet guy please tell him if you see him.
Thanks as well for everyone's patience. I'm glad to have finally got this all sorted.
Builders everywhere - we salute you!
If you'd like to tell us about your local builder or comment on anything above roll over to this thread on our bulletin board...
The original thread about the contest is here...
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