In cooperation with Alberta Parks and the Canmore & Area Mountain Bike Association, the Canmore Trail Alliance is excited to be taking part in some much needed maintenance to the Montane Traverse trail this Fall.
Throughout October, and as long as the weather permits, we’ll be running weekly trail nights. We’re looking for volunteers to help out so be sure to check out the Event Calendar for the latest info on trail nights.
Over the past year a working group facilitated by the Canmore Trail Alliance consisting of recreational user groups have been working with Alberta Parks to create a short list of priority projects for maintenance and improvements to trails on Parks land. One of the projects identified was long overdue maintenance on the Montane Traverse.
The majority of the work will focus on a realignment of 125 meters in the middle of the “golf course climb” along some of the steeper segments. Over time these steep corners have shifted downward from the original line as users have created flatter paths through these corners. The shifting of those corners has led to widening and breakdown of the trail. The motivation of this project is to address these trail braiding issues.
A secondary motivation is to make the golf course climb more consistent with the rest of the blue rated Montane trail. Currently the average grade of this section sits at approximately 20% which is unusually high for a multi user blue trail. The steepest part of this section actually sits at about 28% which has led to the sustainability and braiding issues. Trail crews will be adding approximately 75m of new trail in order to regrade the climb from 20% to approximately 12.5%.
In addition to working on the golf course climb we’ll also be addressing some safety concerns such as the blind rock and root drop into the third creek crossing heading westbound. This section presents a danger to riders who don’t know the trail well. The ride-around on the uphill will be improved and made more obvious to westbound traffic, while at the same time made more rideable for eastbound riders. The original path over the root and rocks will be maintained and serve as an “A” line.
And finally we’ll be improving drainage in areas of low point in the tread that remain wet long after the majority of the trail has dried out.
The Montane Traverse is a classic Rocky Mountain singletrack. The work is not designed to change the personality of the trail in any way, but to catch up on decades of wear and tear on what is a busy trail.
FKC and CTA’s role in the project is to assist with maintenance and ensure that this multi-use trail remains an enjoyable and rewarding experience for all trail user groups.