Friday, April 30, 2010
Opening day is finally here!
It has been 5 1/2 weeks since we first began our pre-season maintenance and trail building campaign. The ParkLogic crew has been putting in some incredibly long days to get the park dialed just in time for opening day! As you can see by some of the posts here in the blog we have made some great progress and have rationed our time wisely by improving existing trails, while adding some new features and lines here and there.
It has been a fun five weeks and we have accomplished most of the projects we set out to tackle. On the flipside, there are a few projects that are not quite complete for opening day and we wanted to give you the heads up. As follows:
-U.S. Open Chute - As most of you know, this fun little section was eliminated in order to accommodate a very important ski trail project last fall. We have a solid plan in place to re-establish this area but we are going to need 7-10 before we can finalize and revamp this section. Very worst case, this area will be reopened the week prior to the U.S. Open (and remain open the entire season). We've rerouted the mid section of Asylum to avoid the chute.
-New section of Ego Trip - this relatively short section will be open this weekend, however it is not 100% complete. There will be 1-2 features added within the next two weeks so if the section doesn't quite make sense yet... now you know. There was a delay in our metal shipment which caused us to fall behind on this new-ish intermediate section.
-There are still quite a few features and trail sections that are on our wishlist and we are going to squeeze-in as many projects prior to the U.S. Open as possible. In addition we have an all-new trail called Revelation slated for early summer. Revelation will replace 'Evil Bob' and take advantage of some epic natural terrain.
It is going to be a great season and we look forward to seeing you at the park!
General Manager & Marketing Director: Shawn Orecchio
Trail Update: Battleship
More progress on the mountain today! The ParkLogic crew is putting the finishing touches on recent projects and we are pleased with recent progress. Most projects are on schedule, but we have a few loose ends we need to close next week.
Trail Update: Flume Drop lives!
Flume drop returns! The classic Flume drop has been tweaked from its original meager and mild stature and is now perched nearly 10feet above its new landing.
Be sure to scope this line out before attempting... it has changed a lot since you last hit this feature!
Trail Update: Tempest / IndyCross/ Pipeline
Tempest, Pipeline and Indycross trails have been revamped and buffed-out. In addition we have added to the end of Tempest what we are calling the "Tombstone" kicker (pictured 2nd).
Trail Update: Lower Greenhorn
We've spent the last week rerouting what was the former 'domboo' trail. The trail has been extensively rerouted and was designed to complete a more forgiving 'easiest way down'. This newly revamped section is now called Lower Greenhorn and it is a great way for novice level riders to become familiar with riding tame rock gardens, switchbaks and mellow wooden bridges.
This newly revamped Greenhorn top-to-bottom line is geared for novice riders so please make sure they have the right of way at all times!
Greenhorn or bust!
Trail Update: The Jack
Some quick photos from the new mid-trail reroute of 'the Jack'. We have improved the overall flow and have eliminated the unnecessary ski trail traverse. Also, the Jack can now be accessed by its new entrance near the top of the gondola!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
2010 Trail Map Revisions
We've updated the Diablo trail map to reflect some new trails and reroutes (to date).
Notable changes:
-New OUTLAW trail (12)
-The former 'domboo' trail has received a HUGE makeover and reroute. This new reroute is so unique and extensive that we've decided to retire the 'domboo' name and replace with "Lower Greenhorn".
-'The Jack' now has a new entrance immediately off of the top of the gondola near Deceit
-Flume drop returns! Bigger & better!
-Evil Bob has been removed from the map and the existing trail is closed. This is in anticipation of the new Revelation trail coming in June. Revelation was scheduled for 2009, but we opted to introduce Epitaph instead. Revelation is going to be insane!
-The old OTB trail has been removed from the map since Ego Trip has been extended further up the mountain.
That's it for now! A full pre-season report will be posted on Friday!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Trail Update - April 20, 2010
Opening day is 10 days away and the ParkLogic crew is making tremendous progress. The crew is working overtime and as we approach week 5 of pre-season trail-building, there has already been a ton of improvements!
- Sections of Asylum have been revamped to control erosion and greatly improve flow
- A new bridge [replacement] has been added to the lower section of Waterboy near the merge with Victory
- The end of Twist has been reshaped and drainage improved
- The mid-section of The Jack has been completely rerouted (avoiding ski trail traverse). The new section adds a ton of flow and really improves the overall trail. In addition, the entrance to the Jack is now located near the entrance of Deceit (closer to gondola).
- A NEW double has been added to the end of Pipeline making this line even more fun for those who dig steep and poppy features
- Sections of Greenhorn have been tweaked to improve drainage and consistency
- The pirate line from Greenhorn to Salvation has been closed! Pirate lines = bad
- The run-in of the 2nd kicker on Salvation has been improved to assist drainage and improve speed
- We are currently working on Domboo and most of the upper section is being completely rerouted to be better suited for novice-level riders. The new reroute will greatly improve the top-to-bottom experience for new riders looking to get their feet wet on less intimidating terrain.
Much more on the way! It is going to be a busy 10 days, but the ParkLogic crew is dedicated and committed to getting as many improvements complete before opening day!
Stay tuned! Pics coming soon...
Monday, April 19, 2010
Kali Protectives Announces Key Partnership with Diablo Freeride Park
Innovative protective gear brand announces alliance with flagship mountain bike park.
San Jose, CA, April 19, 2010 – Kali Protectives, a brand built on the principle of athletes first, today announces a key partnership with Diablo Freeride Park, the most visited mountain bike park in America.
Founded in 2003, Diablo Freeride Park has positioned itself at the forefront of the freeride mountain bike movement by building over 45 downhill and freeride trails, featuring terrain, which is both innovative and fun to ride.
“We’ve always been committed to providing the most innovative body and head protection gear,” said Brad Waldron, co-founder and lead engineer of Kali Protectives. “Partnering with Diablo provides us the ultimate platform for demonstrating our product’s advantages in a challenging environment.”
Shawn Orecchio, General Manager and Event Director of Diablo, expresses the same feelings, "Earlier this spring, we had the opportunity to test the Kali Protectives product line first hand and we were blown away by the technology, comfort and quality. Our park is renowned for having technical and challenging terrain and we are very pleased to offer Kali Protectives’ advanced helmets to our bike and protective gear rental customers"
Located conveniently in Vernon, New Jersey, Diablo is easily accessible from many major metropolitan areas of the east coast, including just one hour from New York City.
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Kali Protectives (http://www.kaliprotectives.com) is an award winning California based sporting goods manufacturer delivering innovative body and head protection through specialty retailers worldwide. This athlete owned and driven group brings 60 combined years of major manufacturer product development home to their own specialty brand with revolutionary technology in motorcycle and bicycle gear.
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Monday, April 12, 2010
Trail Update #2 - April 12, 2010
Last week was another busy week as the ParkLogic Crew was on the mountain dawn-til-dusk priming the trail network for another epic season! The crew returns this year bigger than ever and is keen on getting new and existing trails alike in top shape for opening day!
The all-NEW Outlaw trail is now complete and Diablo's own George Ryan took the first test runs early this evening. Outlaw was designed to be a cruiser providing another upper-mountain trail option that links towards Lower Exodus and the Tempest area dropping off directly on the Mountain Creek lake damn. The best way to describe Outlaw? Fast, flowy [flow-e] and unique! Natural, semi-machined trail wizardry at its finest!
Outlaw
In addition to completing Outlaw trail , we have been diligently revamping many areas and features that needed some extra love. Last fall was quite the 'rainy' season and some of your favorite lines got a little more tweaked than usual... We acknowledge this, but have no fear! We are scouring the trail network to make the appropriate adjustments and we are actually way ahead of schedule. Here is just a quick sample of what we have already revamped this past week;
New runout on RTN drop
As you can see, it has been a busy week and we are making some really good progress! Upcoming this week, the crew will be reworking sections of: Asylum, Twist, Domboo, among many others! Stay tuned right here, opening day just around the corner!
The all-NEW Outlaw trail is now complete and Diablo's own George Ryan took the first test runs early this evening. Outlaw was designed to be a cruiser providing another upper-mountain trail option that links towards Lower Exodus and the Tempest area dropping off directly on the Mountain Creek lake damn. The best way to describe Outlaw? Fast, flowy [flow-e] and unique! Natural, semi-machined trail wizardry at its finest!
Outlaw
In addition to completing Outlaw trail , we have been diligently revamping many areas and features that needed some extra love. Last fall was quite the 'rainy' season and some of your favorite lines got a little more tweaked than usual... We acknowledge this, but have no fear! We are scouring the trail network to make the appropriate adjustments and we are actually way ahead of schedule. Here is just a quick sample of what we have already revamped this past week;
- NEW 'Tombstone' rock kicker added to the final stepdown (tempest) leading into Waterboy (20ft gap, high speed, scary... pics soon)
- RTN drop - entire runout reshaped and filled
- Final section of Exodus - refurb'd and rock armored to wage war against those happy skidders!
- Entrance to Lower Excoudos (that's for you hanson!) - dirt added to promote more speed to uphill bridge
- Entrance to Stalker - majorly reshaped, erosion issues corrected. No worries, the rest of this trail still has the rocky goodness you have come to love
- Roll-in before Asylum - rock armored, reshaped, ready to roll
- Waterboy - 50ft of the mid-section has been rock-armored and reshaped. Most of the tech-line still exists, the lower line has some fresh dirt and armoring for the timid
- As well as routine and preventative maintenance on Waterboy, Victory, Asylum, Bushwack, Exodus
New runout on RTN drop
As you can see, it has been a busy week and we are making some really good progress! Upcoming this week, the crew will be reworking sections of: Asylum, Twist, Domboo, among many others! Stay tuned right here, opening day just around the corner!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Trail Update #1 - April 5, 2010
The ParkLogic Trail Crew has been on the mountain 7 days per week for the last two weeks! We are currently revamping existing trails as well as adding new features to Ego Trip (pictured below), among others. Five new features are being added to Ego Trip and will offer novice/intermediate riders a chance to hone their bike skills before moving to advanced trails and terrain.
We are also in the process of adding an ALL-NEW trail called OUTLAW (pictured below) off of the backside of the mountain that will link to the Lower Exodus / Tempest area. OUTLAW will be semi-natural, semi machine built and will add yet another trail option from the summit.
The park opens May 1st so get your season's pass today!
We are also in the process of adding an ALL-NEW trail called OUTLAW (pictured below) off of the backside of the mountain that will link to the Lower Exodus / Tempest area. OUTLAW will be semi-natural, semi machine built and will add yet another trail option from the summit.
There are many other improvements in store for this spring and summer so stay tuned right here for the latest info!
The park opens May 1st so get your season's pass today!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
2010 Sponsor Roster
Diablo Freeride Park is proud to be affiliated with leading companies within the action sports industry. Seasonal park improvements, creative promotions and trendsetting events such as the U.S. Open of Mountain Biking are made possible in part by support from our exclusive sponsors and suppliers.
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