Course

COURSE

Since our humble beginning in 1996 with ~200 riders the 24 Hours of Adrenalin has incorporated various areas within the CNCPP, to accommodate the scope and size of this annual event. Over the years we realize that as event directors it’s our responsibility to be good corporate and environmental citizens and understand the importance of trail development. As the largest mountain biking event held at the CNCPP we need to layout a course that suits both the needs of our participants and future use of the venue. That’s why we have worked with IMBA Canada in the past to develop “Trail Workshops” and most recently a donation of nearly $35,000.00 towards the development of the 24 Hours of Adrenalin course.

The 24 Hours of Adrenalin was created to be a gathering of like minded folks of all abilities for a weekend spent in the great outdoors with friends and families. The course will never suit the requests of all riders as we attract pro’s to weekend warriors. A recent survey conducted after the 2012 event provided the following results:

Was the course to challenging, too easy, or about right?

– Result 80.6% said “about right” with 9.7% stating “a little too easy” and 5.3% saying “a little to challenging”.

How would you rate the course?

– Result 57.5% said it was “Excellent” and 36.2% rated it as “Very Good”

COURSE MARKING

Please note that the CNCPP is a provincial park that is open to the general public. While we as organizers begin set up a full week in advance, course markings are limited by the CNCPP to ensure the general public is able to ride unobstructed and we need to respect the general public’s ability to enjoy the Nordic Centre. Our Trail Manager and his team start work on the course marking a week in advance, however the course is lightly marked over the week leading up to the event and only on Friday do we gain the ability to mark the course fully.

MAP

One of the great things about the CNCPP is that there is a great number of trails throughout the venue. The challenging part of that is with so many, it’s hard to mark out a course for the first timer (truth be told even locals get lost). The 24 Hours of Adrenalin is one of only two courses that are actually marked at the venue. The 24 Hours of Adrenalin markers are blue, black, white, yellow and blue stripes. The course length is 17.36km.

TRAIL DEVELOPMENT & MAINTENANCE

After the CNCPP was developed for the 1988 Winter Olympics the venue was opened for summer use and many of the locals continue to develop trails throughout the venue. Although mountain biking is a great outdoor activity trail development is often conducted with little knowledge of acceptable trail building methods, which then can cause additional trail erosion. 24 Hours of Adrenalin has been a member of IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association) for over a decade, and most recently IMBA Canada (once it launched in Canada). We at 24 Hours of Adrenalin approached IMBA Canada a number of years ago to launch a “trail build workshop” hosted at the CNCPP. Part “classroom” and part “hands on” the first trail building workshop was a great success. The following year the CNCPP entered into a working relationship with IMBA Canada directly. However a few years ago the founder of 24 Hours of Adrenalin met with the new general manager of the CNCPP to discuss trails at the venue. What evolved from those meetings turned into a new trail development fund, funded by twenty4 sports and the 24 Hours of Adrenalin event. It’s our goal to direct funds from the event back into the 24 Hour course, at the provincially funded park, for a prolonged period of time. We are proud to lead the industry as the only such organization that actually funds above the venue fees charged (we hope that others will join us in the near future).

YEARLY TRAIL PROJECTS

It’s important to note that while the 24 Hours of Adrenalin / twenty4 sports writes a cheque and provides other services, we are joined by the Friends of Kananaskis (FOK) who oversee along with the assistance from the CNCPP, yearly Trail Maintenance projects. Our objective is to pick two projects per year that improve the 24 Hours of Adrenalin course. A fall project and a spring project, with the spring project focused upon the initial efforts we started with IMBA Canada, that being a volunteer hands-on driven weekend. Thanks to former Program Director – Nicolas Dotchin (FOK), Paul Ashton & Matt Hadley (CNCPP) and those that volunteered your time.