DIGGING TOWARD DETACHMENT

A TRAIL BUILDER'S LONG ROAD TO LETTING GO

- BEN HAGGER

TOWERING FIRS CREAKED AND GROANED AS they swayed in the canopy of a moody Blackcomb forest, a once-peaceful sanctuary not far from Whistler’s din. As I stood there silently, I thought back to when this exact spot used to be eerily quiet. A wild place where animal eyes watched from shaded crevices, where I could dig for hours without seeing or hearing another human. But now, the sound of a new animal was ever-present; the buzzing of hubs and the hoots and hollers of riders.

I’m on Dark Crystal, now one of the Valley’s best-known traiIs—one I created with my trailbuilding partner Scott Veach. The year before, Veach and I had been drawn to the heavily wooded and gently sloping flanks of Blackcomb Mountain like moths to a flame. The grade was perfect, the forest immaculate and the evening light sublime as it filtered through the conifers.

We spent countless hours swooning over this forested wonderland, becoming intimately familiar with each ridge and creek, valley and cliffand rolling rock slab as we wandered between towering fir and hemlock. The character-rich hillside provided endless line choices—deciding which path to choose from the infinite variations proved difficult. Finally, we flagged our line, emblazoned with a character uniquely set apart from Whistler’s famous bike park next door.

Then we spent months turning our dream line into reality. But when it was suddenly and unexpectedly found out, well before we were prepared for it to be, I struggled to come to terms with the disturbance to my psyche.