Sports

Downhill demons: Alyeska's mountain bike park delivers speed, thrills

While working in Kenai as a maintenance supervisor for Tesoro the last few months, Bruce Bowser of Anacortes, Washington, has also been trolling for something cool to do away from the job.

Bowser, 50, recently blew into Girdwood to see what it offered on the fun front and discovered Alyeska Resort's downhill mountain bike park opened for the season Friday. As an occasional mountain biker but newbie to the art of the downhill demon, that sounded like it could fit his fancy.

After only a handful of runs on a rented bike, the rookie downhiller was hooked.

"This is awesome," Bowser said. "There's the adventure part of it, the speed, the air, seeing how quick you can take the banked corners, seeing if you can keep up with the young guys.

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

Looks like Bowser will have ample company.

Alyeska's downhill mountain biking park opened for its sixth season on a sunny afternoon when only occasional clouds dimmed the brightness that prompted most riders to wear sunglasses.

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In the hour following the noon opener, dozens of dynamos were already on course, barreling down trails, braking to a stop and boarding the Bear Quad Cub chairlift for the ride up to another run down the lower mountain.

For a resort best known for its world-class alpine ski runs, the downhill mountain biking park has served as a summer lure that complements spectacular hikes on the mountain and nearby trails.

"It's nice to have something else people can do on the mountain in the summer," said Britta-Lis Perry, the resort's marketing coordinator.

Perry said a lighter snow year on the mountain's lower slopes allowed the bike park to open a couple of weeks earlier than usual. For now, downhilling is limited to several trails accessible off the Bear Cub Quad — where plenty of speed, turns and jumps are available — and the resort intends later this month to open upper trails along the line known as Ted's Express.

The downhill mountain bike park is open noon-6 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Sept. 5. A single-day lift ticket ranges $25-30,  and a summer season pass ranges $150-250, depending on a rider's age and other considerations (college students attending Alaska universities, seniors, military). The park is open to riders 8 and older.

Helmets are required, and nearly every rider Friday also wore elbow pads, knee and leg protection and even chest protections. Bike and equipment rentals are available at the Daylodge.

The Bear Cub Quad is outfitted with alternate chairs — every chair designed to carry to bikes is followed by a passenger chair. Attendants at the top of the lift remove bikes from the lift and place them in bike stands. Riders follow in the next chair, get off the chair, jog a few steps down an angled ramp, grab their bikes and go.

Friday's opener lured riders of all ages and both genders. Some tempered their speed and ambition, some rocketed.

As a handful of young boys blew past her at the mountain's base and headed directly back to the lift line, Alyeska bike patrol member Lynn Whitcomb grinned.

"This is our local crew right here," Whitcomb said. "They're incredible, and also terrifying to watch."

Whitcomb, 37, who has served on the bike patrol since the park opened, was joined by first-year colleague Alex Davis, 24, who has plenty of cross-country mountain biking experience yet was downhilling for the first time. Davis, who like Whitcomb has served on ski patrol, said she savored the adrenaline rush of her first runs.

"Anything where you're playing with gravity in the mountains is pretty cool," said Davis, a Montana State graduate who will attend UAA in the fall.

The bike patrol is on duty in case a rider needs medical attention. Members also serve as safety monitors.

Though Joshua Steinberg of Anchorage is just 13 and his buddy Salomon Donnelly of Girdwood is just 12, those boys already appear dialed in. They met skiing five years ago and last year used the downhill mountain park a ton. Didn't matter to them whether prevailing conditions were sunny and dry or rainy, cold and muddy.

"Either way, it's a blast," Donnelly said.

No argument from Steinberg.

"The feeling of going superfast, being in the air — that feeling blows my mind," he said.

And with that, the boys were off, back to the Bear Cub Quad for another lift, and another rocketing downhill.

Doyle Woody

Doyle Woody covered hockey and other sports for the Anchorage Daily News for 34 years.

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