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Comfortably Numb
5 reviews
5 of 5
Afour hourepic cross country singletrack through lush old growth forest just north of Whistler. It beginswith a pedal out the highway to the Edgemount hiking trail turn off. The singletrack climbs for 1500ft. and then crosses the bridge into the heart of the trail. Once on the trail you''re committed to finishing it. It meanders through the forest for an hour or so until you reach the halway point of the heli rescue clearing. Then the singletrack provides views of the valley froma few lookouts along theway. The final descent into Lost Lake is 30-45mins long,with rocky sections and flowy technical sections as well. Pack lots of food and water, a cell phone, and all the tools and emergency gear you''llneed. And leave with lots of daylight left just in case.
Ride out highway 99 north until you reach the Wedgemount turnoff. Goacross the bridge and turn left up the short hill. Take the first right about 100 metres past the hill, and ride uphill a little ways until you see the trail go in on your right.
Summary: I ride the trail like two times a year when I'm up in Whistler. It's a very technical trails which is almost 99% a real mountainbike trail. (Not like others trails with lots of fire roads)
It can be demandig if your a not serious rider. I did it on my hardtail and I rode everything (hard and dry) and it took me a little more than 3 hours but I think it is doable in 2.75h. But then you really have to go fast.
I ran into a couple of riders, I'm sure some of them needed the whole day.
You don't have to bring to much water. As described there are 2 river crossings in the first 3rd of the trail. So you don't have to carry all the water to the top. Just fill your tanks at the second river crossing and you will be fine. I would recomment to bring at least 4-5 powerbars.
Note that there isn't almost no cellphone acces.
If you ride the trail after about 40 minutes there is an exit route which you can take if you think it is to though for you. This trail is described as north secret together with kill me thrill me which is also highly recommendable. The exit is well signed.
Recommended Route: Look for the entrance as described below and just follow the trail. You can't miss it:)
Other recommended trails in the same area: Thrill me kill me, North Secret (Thrill me kill me, part of CN)
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Summary: Upon reading the reviews, I just about did not do the ride it. I was concerned that the trail was over my head. Despite my concerns, I decided to go for it anyway. The aerobic difficulty is not as difficult as the reviews allude to. The technical ups are all very doable and really not that difficult. However, the descent is what I found to be the most challenging part of this trail. Granted, it was wet when I rode it so the wooden "bridges" or ramps were a bit sketchy. The final descent on this trail sent me over my handle bars on at least three occasions. You really need to get your wait back over the wheel for most of the steep downs (similar to the granite drops on kill me thrill me). Additionally, if you want to clean this trail and ride all the downs, it is mandatory to leave the ground and drop many obstacles. I rode alone on this trail, so I was a little more conservative then I would be while riding with a partner. I live in the Pacific Northwest and I am used to lots of roots and rocks, however this trail takes the roots and rocks to a new level. My bike for this ride was a Titus Motolite 2. Great on the ups, but miserable on the technical downs. This is the most technical "cross country" trail that I have ever ridden. I would classify it as an epic trail ride. It does not have the distance but it does test your nerve and technical descending skills. It took me a little over 3 hrs and 45 min to do the ride with a stop at the top for lunch. I would classify myself as an advanced weekend warrior. Don't be scared of this ride. It is a beautiful ride through BCs lush forest. A very well designed trail that will challenge almost any rider out there. I would put it into one of my top five trails I have ridden.
Recommended Route: As described below. Don't try to ride it backwards from the village. The flow is not there.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Kill me thrill me.
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Summary: Rode this one in Aug 07’ with a couple of my best friends and was blown away! As the others above have attested to: the length of 24Km means nothing! Hell, I ride that length of trail dozens of times a season, but this… its something different altogether. The initial trail entrance and easy climbing is utterly deceiving. If you are not proficient in riding roots, this trail is the place to change all that – 20 or so of the 24 Kms are rock & root-riddled. While most longish cross country rides offer a lot of flowy, fast sweepers, this one presents one technical challenge after another: climb, sharp turn, technical challenge, drop, climb, sharp turn, technical challenge, drop: repeat… The overall vertical gain and actual trail length is entirely negligible for any decent rider: it’s the relentless pulling up on the bars to unweight the front tire in order to navigate moist roots / rock step-ups, along with the incessant dropping behind the seat to negotiate drop ladder and rock drops unending that’ll get cha’. This relentless ‘rocking all over the bike thing’ works your lats / obliques / shoulders like you’ve never before experienced - about two-thirds way through the ride you’ll know what I’m talking about. I’m an avid all-mountain rider, on one of the best world’s bikes (Blur / XTR / Talus) and am in good shape: but I’ve never previously felt the degree of soreness in my shoulders like I did on Comfortably Numb! Having ridden the last two ‘7-Summit Stud’ poker derbies in Rossland, coming out off the 45 kilometer trail feeling great, ready to drink beer and party, I figured that a measly 24k ride the likes of Comfortably Numb would be a walk in the park. Dude: I was wrong!
The local bike shop had warned us that there was no water to be had anywhere on the trial: I have no idea what they were talking about as we crossed or paralleled at least a half-dozen crystal-clear streams coming down off the mountain during the first half of the ride… However, there doesn’t appear to be a drop to drink during the second half. On big rides I always carry a full camel-back plus a cage / water bottle with guardia / crypto’ filter – and I needed every single drop this time round’! The ‘second half’ of the ride is serious: you’ll get to test your technical riding skills every few minutes: no exaggeration. There are also several spots, perhaps two or three, that are simply unridable on a cross-country bike with less than generous suspension. I sport nearly five inches of travel front and back, and am “the guy who always rides the impossibly technical stuff”, yet I had to walk two or three spots on the second leg. Admittedly, it had just rained, and the roots / rocks were slick, but lets just say that the ‘hero’s out there will get their fix on this ride!
You’ll see some other really cool stuff too, have a look at this site:
In a nutshell: it’s the best of breed in the Whistler Valley, go hard, bring food and water, allow at least six hours. That way you’ll be able to stop a few times for eats and pictures, examine some of the stunts and marvel at the beautiful scenery that surrounds you.
Andrew D.
www.cdnav.com
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Summary: A beautifully constructed 24 km technical single-track trail with loads of rocks, roots, bridges, ramps and granite slabs. Technically it is not extremely difficult but physically is very demanding. Neither the length (24 km) nor the vertical (1400 m) adequately describe the physical effort required to ride over so much non-stop technical terrain. It took us (seasoned weekend warriors) 6 hours but the locals are said to do it in 3.5. Take lots of food & water. This is my all time favorite trail.
Comfortably Numb is on IMBA’s list of Epic trials.
Recommended trail tunes: Delicate Sound of Thunder by Pink Floyd
Recommended Route: Ride Hwy 99 to the Wedgemount turnoff 12 km north of Whistler . Trailhead is a few hundred yards up the road on the right. Trail ends at Lost Lake near Whistler Village.
Other recommended trails in the same area: Thrill Me, Kill Me (across the valley from Comfortably Numb)
A River Runs Through It
Industrial Disease
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Review Date April 29, 2007
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Aerobic Difficulty 4 of 5
Technical Difficulty 4 of 5
Ridden Trail: Ridden Once
Reviewed by: Chris Stromgren
,
Racer
Summary: this is one of the best technical xc trails i have ever ridden. i actually rode it on my big hit (not recommended), but i'm like that. not for the faint of heart and lungs. amazing single track climb from the get go. if you know what you're doing you'll never have to put a foot down. this trail really meanders, you'll see your friends criss-crossing above and below you. as a result the trail is long. for example, it is faster to run it than it is to ride it. if you're riding with a group (3+) expect a 6 hour outing (no bull). once you're up to the high point the trail consists of beautiful up and down rock rollers and overall very technical riding. this type of trail seperates the men from the boys and the women from the girls. remember that whistler is home to some of the world's best riders and builders, not just the bike park rats either, real riders that can go up and down and all around. don't expect a big descent for a finish either, this is true xc. once you get towards the lost lake end of the trail there are many forks and it's easy to get sidetracked, but don't worry you'll still end up back near lost lake. if you come across the disc golf course think about heading left at junctions. enjoy the ride.
Recommended Route: Turn off Hwy. 99 north at wedgemount creek. cross the bridge and stay right. the trail starts here. there's only one junction that i can think of, stay left here and you'll take a steep descent to a big new bridge. you're on the right track. once you're down in the lost lake area you'll need to find your way out to hwy. 99 north and head back to wedgemount ck. unless you're a hammer head training for the b.c. bike race, you'll probably want to do the road section as a shuttle (it's approx. 30-45 min. of road riding to return to the trailhead). if this is the case leave one vehicle at the lost lake parking lot on the way to the trail head.
Other recommended trails in the same area: All of them. lost lake network, a river runs through it, thrill me kill me, train wreck, trash, anything in pemberton (lumpy's, creampuff), industrial disease etc. plan on spending a week or more riding around here. that's without any days at the fabulous bike park.
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