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nsmb's BroCard partner in the Okanagan opens for the season |
Words by Stuart Kernaghan
This past July long weekend, some friends and I decided to take a break from life in the big city. We threw the bikes on the back of the truck, headed up to the Okanagan Valley, and started consuming mass quantities. It was just too hot to do much else. Or something like that ...
After two days of non-stop eating and drinking, my photo guy Scott Johnson and I finally got off our butts and loaded up the riding gear. Cam, Pete, and a bunch of the nsmb crew were already checking out the trails at Sun Peaks, so we made a bee-line for Silver Star Mountain Resort in Vernon to see what our BroCard partner in the Valley had to offer.
For those of you who don't know, Silver Star is 22km outside of Vernon in the north end of the Okanagan Valley; it's about a four-and-a-half drive from Vancouver, and about six from Calgary. The resort has been a premier ski destination for a long time, but mountain bikers have also been hitting the trails on the hill for more than a decade.
Lift-accessible riding has been available at Silver Star since '91 and there was a World Cup cross country race there in '94. The resort has also played home to 24 Hours of Adrenaline events and B.C. Cup downhill races for several years, and people from all over B.C., Alberta, and Washington make Silver Star a summer riding destination. Silver Star boasts more than 60km of trails, and with terrain that ranges from swoopy singletrack through trees and alpine meadows to a |
 The view from the top is amazing - check it out before heading down Photo: Stuart Kernaghan |
The Summit Chair takes you 1,000' above the village, where you've got a choice of nearly 20 different routes down the mountain. The blue trails are great for ripping through the woods, and the black and double black runs should keep most Shore riders amused. Just don't be expecting a lot of man-made stunts - Silver Star is more about natural terrain than ramps and log bridges.
Rider: Stuart Kernaghan - Photo: Scott Johnson
Trail building on the mountain is an ongoing process, with another black diamond run still under construction, and there's no shortage of terrain to work with. A lot of the trails make excellent use of the space available on the mountain, and head towards the outer resort boundaries to give you a longer ride. Steeper trails like Dag's Downhill or Stubby are great if you're looking for that flat-out, bugs-in-your-teeth type speed, and Pooh's Corners is an awesome rip through the trees.
In addition to a lot of alpine singletrack, rock gardens filled with pointy baby heads are pretty common at Silver Star. Remember to bring a spare tube and pump, or you may be walking back to the resort.
 Out of the alpine meadows and into the rocks again Rider: Scott Johnson - Photo: Stuart Kernaghan |
There isn't a full-service shop on the hill, so you'll be heading back into town if you have a major mechanical or need to pick up parts. Silver Star is offering one-day lift tickets to BroCard holders for the ultra-low price of $19.98. Look for the BroCard sticker in the village and head inside for your ticket. Mountain bikes are available for rent on the hill, but the fleet consists of family-oriented hardtails. Plan on taking your own bike. There are a number of accommodation options right in the Silver Star village if you want to spend the night on the mountain, as well as a small general store, pubs, and café-style restaurants for that post-ride nosh. |
Silver Star is definitely worth checking out if you're heading to the Interior with your bike, and it's easy to get more than a full day's riding out of the experience - especially if you combine some time at Silver Star with a ride back down to the valley floor on a certain not-so-secret trail. It takes a couple of hours to get to the bottom, and it's an awesome way to finish up your day on the mountain. Ask one of the locals for details - they'll hook you up.
