Snowy Singletrack Adventure

Astute readers will quickly realize that I chose the word “adventure” rather than "ride". There was a lot of excellent riding involved yesterday but there were also some hike-a-bike sections through 8” of snow on the higher reaches of our route. A little hike-a-bike was a small price to pay for the excellent frozen singletrack riding we enjoyed.

Three of the four amigos

I met up with Mike, Gabe, and Mark in Jackson and a few flakes were beginning to fall as we began our ride with temps in the low 30s. The temps dropped and snow fell steadily throughout the afternoon but the steady effort kept us warm. Tree covered sections of the Hagan and Ferrin’s trails had about an inch of snow on them and climbing traction with the studded tires was excellent. Once we got above 7,500’, anything exposed had too much snow to ride so we would “connect the dots” of rideable sections with short hike-a-bikes. Winter MTB shoes were an excellent accessory to have on this ride. I even broke out the Moose Mitts to ensure that my hands stayed toasty. The sections of trail with deeper snow begged for a true snow bike but the regular mountain bike was a blast on the singletrack in the trees. Note to self: Ripping snow covered singletrack is waaaay more fun than grinding out miles on frozen Teton Valley back roads.

My desire to ride is still much higher than my desire to ski. I am sure the ski stoke will kick in eventually but for now I want to be on the bike when I can and yesterday just fueled the bike stoke even more. With tonight’s forecast of more snow, the next ride may require much fatter tires.

Mike broke trail most of the day

Gabe and his questionable footwear choice

Moose Mitts, Lake Winter Shoes, and a rear fender...this was not my first rodeo

Near the end of the ride Gabe shared that pushing his bike through the snow is not his favorite passtime

We actually rode more than I thought we would. Good times!