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Canmore Nordic Centre to limit fat biking to singletrack, doubletrack trails for 2015-16 season

Fat bikers won't be permitted to ride on groomed trails this year, but they also won't have to pay fees for winter riding.

Photo Credit: Citizen 4474 via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: Citizen 4474 via Compfight cc

Heads up, fat bike riders of Alberta: for the 2015-16 season, the Canmore Nordic Centre is banning fat bikes from its groomed trails, restricting them to single and doubletrack trails. That said, there won’t be any fees for riding this season.

According to officials, it’s a decision rooted in the growing popularity of fat biking itself.

“This is a sport that’s growing and we wanted to designate some trails for fat biking,” Jill Sawyer, a spokesperson for Alberta Parks, told the Rocky Mountain Outlook. “Last year, you could access all of the groomed trails at the Nordic Centre on a fat bike but they had to pay the trail fee. This year, there is no fee for fat biking, but they must stay on ungroomed trails.”

Officials named other reasons for the decision, too, some of which come down to the stated preference of local riders for more challenging, unpredictable singletrack terrain. Other reasons involve avoiding crowding on the trails, keeping the groomed, packed-down routes reserved for cross-country skiers. For riders, the Nordic Centre has a few key trails in mind as designated routes, including EKG East, EKG, Blue Coal Chutes, Long Road to Ruin, Orchid, Canmore Trail and Georgetown Trail.

Other proposed trails are in places that will present significant challenges, even hazards, to fat bikers. Though not planned to be a winter access trail, High Rockies Trail is a place where fat bikers are expected to ride, the Rocky Mountain Outlook reported, and the risk of avalanches in the area will be prompting officials to erect warning signs and take other measures.

“We are finding more fat bikers are getting into avalanche terrain who aren’t prepped for it,” Sawyer noted.

Rebound Cycle in Canmore, Ab. will be hosting an information session for local riders and would-be fat bikers on Dec. 3, offering details on the new guidelines as well as general tips for making the adventurous best out of fat bike season.