Shore News
Cypress is probably the least well known of the North Shore’s three mountain biking zones, unless you happen to be a high level downhiller. It’s steep and often unforgiving but the rewards are great for those who get to know their way around. It’s also the area that is the most vulnerable to development, and it’ll take a little history detour to explain why.
The wiley Guinness clan, the same family that once produced the syrupy black elixir, envisioned the future of Vancouver before anyone else, which is why they funded the construction of the Lion’s Gate Bridge in 1931. And in fact they ‘owned’ the bridge until 1955 when they sold it to the Province of B.C. for the original construction costs of $5,959,060.*
*This isn’t quite as benevolent as it sounds, considering the family had been collecting tolls for 24 years by that point; a quarter for cars and a nickel for pedestrians.
Brutus, the legendary road gap at the bottom of Cypress, is likely already out of commission at this point. If it is, please respect the closure. Thus far BPP has been very cooperative and respectful with builders and riders. Rider – Jerry Willows / Photo – Cam McRae
This wasn’t an infrastructure play obviously because the family, through their development arm, British Pacific Properties (BPP), owned 4000 acres of land on the then-undeveloped North Shore, for which they paid $75,000. They also agreed to build the bridge and pay 1M for municipal projects. West Vancouver was broke at the start of the depression and there weren’t likely many bidders for the steep and inaccessible forested parcel, so calling it theft would be at least a partial understatement.
The section of Lower Roach Hit that has been preserved is one of the rare spots on the North Shore where there is a concentration of moves to get your wheels off the ground. And lately it just keeps getting better. Photo – Deniz Merdano
Since that time, BPP has been slowly developing the land, and swapping properties with the municipality to end up where we are now. Thankfully there haven’t been many trails lost before before this. The last full trail decommissioning I can think of was Family Guy back in 2010. It was a fun steep line which is now entirely developed.
For the most part BPP is restricted to building below the 1200′ mark so upper trails, and all of the popular west Cypress trails, should be spared. Further west, land swaps, notably 261 acres above Eagle Ridge, led to the approval of Cypress Village, and the flurry of tree clearing we see today near the first switchback of the mountain. In the next few years, several popular trails will be lost entirely, and a couple of segments have recently been decommissioned.
An artist’s rendering of Cypress Village. Thus far the predominant visible changes have involved land clearing. Scroll for another view of the approved development.
This does a good job of mapping out what will eventually be home to 7000 residents. Although if this follows the path of other recent BPP projects, many homes will be purchased by offshore investors and will remain empty much of the year.
What Trails Will are on the Block?
As near as I can determine, the only sections that have already been closed are the very end of Roach, before it comes out onto the mountain path, and Sexit, the line that continued after the end of Roach. If you are a fan of Brutus, the large road gap that comes off Sexit, that too will soon be gone forever, and it seems it is already inaccessible.* Obviously this could be much worse, but I’m gutted all the same. There was nothing like finishing a long day riding Cypes with a high speed rip down what I call the speedway, the last blaster of Roach and then the fun corners of Sexit. What makes this tougher to swallow is that these sections have never been better, thanks to the work of a builder who would prefer to remain anonymous.
*This is based on what I have heard and seen on Trailforks but as of Sunday Jan. 4th, it was still open.
This iconic chicane will be spared for now and a new one just below is near completion, thanks to the efforts of a dedicated builder. Photo – Deniz Merdano
Why Now?
These trails are being decommissioned so the “Mountain Path” can be realigned so the beginning isn’t so steep. This final section will then be paved like the rest of the path which is a more pleasant way to ride most of the way up to the lookout. From there riders can take the recently completed Cypress East Climb Trail, bringing you to the road leading to Jersey Shore, Meat Sweats and Morgies (currently closed for maintenance).
For the trails directly above the soon-to-be-cleared area, there will be a reprieve of a couple of years, or possibly more, based on the progress of the project, but eventually some serious reroutes will be required. The map below gives you an idea of where things are going.
This shows you what is coming in future phases. Trails impacted include 5th Horseman, Wutang, Single Lane Traffic, Wutang Alt. Exit, and the soon to be open, Lower Roach Hit. The earliest any of these trails will be affected is said to be two years from now or longer. Thanks to Alan Bardsley, a tireless advocate for Cypress trails, for the overlay.
Future Development
It seems that this next phase will impact all of Wutang, including the Alt Exit, Single Lane Traffic, and the new exit to Roach Hit that has just been opened. Based on the map, it appears that another realignment of the end of Roach Hit may be possible in the future, assuming the overlay accurately represents the plans for Cypress Village.
There are also plans to create some family friendly trails lower on the mountain that could impact S&M, a steep tech trail that does not fit that description.
Despite these future losses, communication from BPP has been good and every builder I have spoken to has been clear that they would like the closures to be respected. If you are riding Cypress, please do not interfere with any fencing or signage.
The Future Looks…
This situation could be much worse. Some landowners, especially those building luxury homes worth millions of dollars, wouldn’t want anything to do with mountain bikers. By all accounts BPP has been interested in working with builders and the NSMBA to make mountain biking a permanent fixture on Cypress. Add the rumours of the Cypress Ski Resort getting back into mountain biking and it appears we’ve got cause for optimism.
Thank You!
Without the work of the advocates and builders who have been toiling under the radar for years, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I’d like to thank some of the builders and advocates I know personally for their efforts: Alan Bardsley, Ian Rudd, Jason Webber, Kevin Thompson, Steve Vanderhoek and Kevin Johnstone. Thanks to everyone else who has helped resurrect Cypress! For awhile the future looked dismal and now things are looking very bright indeed.