After years of searching for the perfect zone, legendary builder Riley McIntosh has finally found the lodge, the people and the place to make backcountry mountain biking a reality. Read on to find out about Retallack.
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Source: Retallack Lodge
Mountain biking is in our culture. Our backyard is a spiderweb of epic cross-country tracks, freeride and downhill descents. We wake up each day to spectacular alpine views of the Selkirk Mountains. Our days are spent dropping into trails that flow more sweetly than warm honey. With Retallack?s professionally guided backcountry mountain packages, you will be able to access winding single-track descents of up to 5,000 vertical feet via a combination of off-road vehicles and helicopters.
Our network of trails is located in the Selkirk Mountains of the West Kootenays and are dispersed over an approximate area of 5,900 square kilometres (1,458,000 acres). We therefore have lots options to choose from! Luxury food and accommodations is provided at Retallack?s 11,000 sq ft lodge - located in the heart of the Selkirk Mountains, and is accessible by car approximately one hour north of Nelson, British Columbia, Canada. All you need is your bike and riding gear; we do the rest. Join us in backcountry mountain biking paradise.
Terrain and Trails
Our stomping grounds allow you to explore trails that meld both past and present. In the 1890's, during the mining boom of the 'Silvery Slocan,' thousands of miners armed with pickaxes and shovels toiled to build pack trails from the lakes up to their mineshafts. More than a century later, riding these same trails on our bikes, we can't help but feel the presence of these long lost trail builders. They mined silver, we mine trails. Our trails consist of long, winding single-track descents from mountaintops to lakeshores.
We have rekindled long-lost routes into smooth, bermed downhill trails; where riding through Old Growth forests, crossing raging creeks on tramways, and feeling the touch of the past is an everyday occurrence. The views are always awe-inspiring - more mountains, more trees, and more scenic beauty. Our trails will lead you ever onwards to the perfect corner or your favourite new section. At Retallack, riding and trail building is what we do. With a backyard like ours, it's hard not to keep adding to our quiver of
trails. Every time we finish a new ride we are plotting where the next big descent will be. With thousands of acres of perfect terrain at our fingertips, we just want to keep riding and exploring.
As seen in Life Cycles - POWERSLAVE!
Featured in the multi award winning bike documentary Life Cycles - Powerslave is good to go and in the itinerary! From one of the world's most coveted trail builders, Riley McIntosh has created 5700 feet of BROWN POW perfection. If shredding this wasn't enough - how about getting taking a helicopter to get there. Check out the
A Word from Builder Riley McIntosh
"I can't wait to share the flowing trails, with nothing but miles of winding single-track separating them from a fully stocked bar, gourmet dinner, hot tub, sauna, and massage waiting at the bottom - all for a package value that is comparable to what you'd spend a typical bike park trip"
If you're interested in a trip to Retallack for full on, downhill shuttle serviced riding to an awesome lodge, check out the availability calender, or just head over to their website for more information on the place itself. We ran a series of interviews with Retallack visionary Riley McIntosh last year, check out part one here and two over here.
