While many riders put their bikes away for the winter season and pull out their skis/snowboards, Several riders I know persist in braving the considerable colder temps and accumulating snow, and riding through the winter. On the lower sections of the mountains, the snow line recedes as quickly as it drops, so often within days of a heavy fall the worst of it has melted away.
For shits n giggles I decided to go for a couple of runs on Mt Fromme's lower trails, the day after a significant drop of freezing level. I found considerable more snow than I expected, with the access road to the trails covered in a white layer even before reaching the water tanks. As I climbed the snow cover thickened to the point where maintaining traction in steeper sections of the climb was a serious challenge.
I stopped to put on my armour, take a drink and a quick bite at the top of "Pipeline" before dropping in to the snow covered trail. In the few minutes I spent relatively still, I began to quickly notice the sub zero temperature taking hold of me.
I was not sure what to expect as first rolled in, but quickly came to discover that the 2 inches or so of snow over the trail was actually allowing for perhaps more grip than just a wet trail, especially over smooth rocks and wooden features, due to the crunchy grittiness the snows texture gave under my tires. The snow was covered more lightly in canopied sections of the trails than on the access road that is open to accumulate heavier cover which helped make the trail still somewhat recognizable.
Some of the steeper, sharp turns were a little harder to negotiate, or should I say, confidently attempt, but after some time learning a new approach, the riding was still very much fun! Actually the biggest challenges came from frozen braking fingers that were numb and difficult to control with full dexterity, and also what appeared to be lesser power/control of my brakes possibly due to the significantly lower than usual temperature of the fluid. I am not certain, but my brakes definitely felt spongy on the ride, but after acclimatizing the bike back to room temperature that evening, the sponginess had disappeared.
A few of the photos I took with my iPhone along the way are shown below...
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| View from one of the switchbacks over towards Mt Seymour |
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| White tires |
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| The snow clung to my tread on the ascent |
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| You can get a better perspective of depth from this shot of one of the higher switchbacks |
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| Just before the trail entrance |
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| The sun rises and sets quickly on mid winter days |
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| Brassing up at the top of Pipeline |
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| One of the many snow covered features down the trail |
