My Nerdy Life

Trip Report: Fernie, British Columbia

Holy smokes, it’s already been 2 weeks since my last post! Time flies when you’re having fun. I’ve had the fortune of spending a lot of time outdoors over the last couple of weeks. I mean who can complain about climbing 4 mountains in 3 days in beautiful sunshine! Here’s a quick recap of my recent trip to Fernie, British Columbia.

A few weeks ago, a friend from university asked me about organizing a trip to Fernie to do some mountain biking. I’ve been wanting to go biking there for a while now, so I jumped at the chance.

The Trip

3 days of world class mountain biking with my friend, his brother, and father in Fernie, British Columbia (BC). Sadly, my partner was stuck working and wasn’t able to go on the trip, but that just means I have another reason to go back!

The Town

If you’ve never been to/heard of Fernie and you like the outdoors, I highly recommend checking it out! It’s a small, low-key town (population ~5000) located in the East Kootney region of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The main industries in the area are tourism, logging, and coal mining. As with most small towns, there’s one main street with all the shops and restaurants and almost everything is within walking distance.

Interestingly, the town has a remarkably high biking population. Roughly 1 in 14 people are a member of the local bike association and somehow the town folk (along with tourists) are able to sustain not 1, not 2, but 4 bike shops! Walk around town and you’ll constantly see people on bikes, and many of them are proper mid/high-end bikes easily costing several thousand dollars.

It’s a beautiful region with plenty of activities to keep you busy (hiking, biking, skiing, rafting, fishing). Also, since the closest major airport is a 3 hour drive away (Calgary), it doesn’t get very congested. That said, it does definitely get busy in high season (December – April and July – August), but it doesn’t get nearly the international traffic as other more accessible destinations such as Vancouver. June and September are some of the best times to go in the summer as it’s less crowded but the weather is still great.

Transportation

My friend and I drove down together in my car, while his dad and brother drove down in another car. I borrowed my dad’s roof rack and mounted it to my car, but to save fuel on the highway we took all the wheels off our bikes and were able to comfortably fit two bikes, plus gear, inside my Civic. Estimates indicate fuel consumption jumps up 20-30% when bikes are mounted on a roof rack. This way I saved fuel, but was still able to take advantage of the convenience of a roof rack while driving around town. The total fuel cost for me was ~$25.

Accommodation

We decided to stay at the Powder Mountain Lodge, which was far from fancy but more than adequate for our needs (it had a pool and a patio!). It also wasn’t the cheapest option, but for only a few more dollars it had much better reviews than the alternative (a rundown TravelLodge). The downside was I missed out on some Aeroplan miles, but since the 250 miles I could have earned is only worth ~$4 I wasn’t too concerned. The total cost for me for 2 nights was ~$75.

Food

Despite being a small town, there’s a decent variety of restaurants and cuisines to pick from. Everything from Mexican/Latin, to Japanese (sushi), to Mediterranean, to fresh bagels, to pubs and bars. Pricing won’t break the bank, but be prepared to fork out $13-20 for a typical entree, or $6-9 for a tasty breakfast bagel (which includes an egg and other toppings). The pricing is reasonable/expected considering tourism is part of what keeps this town going, but you can bring costs down if you opt to rent out a place that includes a kitchen. Our hotel did have kitchenette units, but we didn’t bother getting one for such a short stay. Total food cost for 3 days ~$100 (2 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 supers).

Biking

As I mentioned, Fernie is very much a biking town during the summer (and a skiing town in the winter). What’s remarkable is the vast network of trails and dedicated volunteers that maintain the trails considering how small the population is. And the best part is that you can bike to nearly every trailhead within a few minutes from anywhere in town.

Riding Areas

If you’re looking to bike (or hike) just head to any bike/hike shop and pick up a detailed map of the area. It costs $10, but all the money goes back to maintaining/building the trails.

• Fernie Mountain Resort (lift assisted downhill bike park)
• Fergie Mountain Provincial Park
• Island Lake Lodge
• Swine Flue (Mount Procter)
• Mount Fernie
• Ridgemont
• Coal Creek
• Castle Mountain

Day 1:

My friend and I arrived in town in the early afternoon and were itching to get riding. The scenic drive got us pumped and ready to hit the trails. To get our bearings we decided to get lost in the Ridgemont trail system, which is directly adjacent to a residential area. The maze of trails has a variety of options for any rider, and you can mix and match the trails to make your ride as long or as short as you want. Interestingly the vegetation varies quite a bit from one end to the other, so one side has a more rocky dry feel, while the other is much more damp with softer almost west-coast like trails.

Day 2:

We started bright and early, and did a brutal 600 m (2132 ft) climb up a trail called Project 9/Stupid Traverse (I now know why it has that name!). My friend and I talked to the folks at a local bike shop before the ride, but somehow we got confused and took the hard way up the mountain. Unfortunately, at the top my bike had a mechanical issue that prevented me from being able to pedal. Fortunately, from that point onwards it was almost exclusively downhill, which meant I could still enjoy the trail and coast down. The trail down was called S-Bomb (aka Slunt) and it was a blast! It was full of well made berms, jumps, and almost made me forget about the climb. The views were also pretty spectacular!

After a trip to the bike shop to fix up my bike, my friend’s brother joined us for another ride in the evening and we made our way up a trail called Swine Flu. Yes, we were slightly crazy in climbing two mountains in one day… but this one was only a 330 m (1100 ft) elevation gain, so that made us slightly less crazy right? On the upside, the climb was much more gentle and it had cooled down a bit, so by comparison with the morning, it was downright easy. The way down was fast and flowy, making for a great way to end a long day of riding.

Day 3:

The three of us made our way up another mountain on a trail called Hyperventilation, and it certainly lived up to its name! 500 m (1640 ft) of climbing later, we were once again rewarded with postcard views and a geared up for a technical descent back into town. Sadly after riding Swine Flu my bike was out of commission, so I had to rent a bike for the last day of riding. This was now the 3rd time going to the same bike shop, so they gave me a bit of a deal on the rental and only charged me for 2 hours ($40) instead of a full day ($60). I intentionally went back to the same bike shop because the staff was friendly, helpful, and they knew my situation. Although I missed my own bike, I still had a blast and we had fantastic weather!

Sadly, that concluded our time in Fernie and after grabbing some lunch we headed home. It’s such a beautiful region, and the town folk are very friendly and easy going, so it’s easy to see why so many people love going there. I know I’m certainly itching to get back soon! The best part is, we barely scratched the surface in terms of riding, so there’s still lots of trails to be discovered.