All Mountain trail to boost Thredbo’s status as Australia’s ultimate mountain bike destination

Recent years have seen Thredbo Resort Management working hard to cement the resort's reputation as Australia’s leading four-season alpine resort.

Having hosted a series of downhill mountain bike (MTB) events since the 1990s, the resort now plays host to many significant events in the race calendar every year.

However, with other resorts investing more in their own lift-accessed bike trails, in 2012 Thredbo commenced a multi-million dollar funding campaign that would lead to a vast network of trail development, more bikes, and ultimately a world-class mountain bike destination.

Now, four years on from this development, a series of further trail developments have been undertaken since the snow melted at the end of last winter season.

In a recent Blog on Thedbo’s trails it was explained that the trail network came about thanks to Dirt Art, a globally respected trail building organisation led by Director, Simon French.

Dirt Art are renowned for their work in other MTB parks such as Hornsby MTB Park in Sydney, Hollybank in Launceston and the newly developed Blue Tier Wilderness Trails in North East Tasmania.

Alongside their work in New Zealand, Dirt Art is a leader in their field and the proof is evident in the trails they build.

Of the trails in the Thredbo valley, French explained “to me, Thredbo is the ultimate Australian mountain bike destination - massive vertical, stunning scenery, epic terrain, a year round chairlift and a fully-serviced resort with a genuinely cool vibe.

”I have personally been riding and racing mountain bikes at Thredbo for over 20 years, so it was a true pleasure to be invited back to lead a massive redevelopment of the resort's mountain bike trails and facilities.

“For two seasons now our team has rolled out a massive trail upgrade and new trail construction program, which has seen a major re-build of the flow trail and upgrades to the Cannonball Downhill Trail.”

With Resort Operations Manager, Stuart Diver, at the helm, and a great team of year-round staff driving the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the trail network, the energy is building every year.

With an incredibly packed series of summer events also taking place, Thredbo are doing more than enough to achieve their goal of becoming Australia’s best four-season alpine resort destination.

The last few years have focused mainly on the TVT – it required some serious cooperation with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service a great deal of engineering might to build the series of suspension bridges that span the picturesque Thredbo River.

Now that project is complete, attention has shifted to the completion of the top link on the Thredbo All Mountain trail.

As French continues "arguably the centrepiece of Thredbo’s renewal is the All Mountain Trail – an epic blend of flow and technical trail styles, dropping over 600 metres vertical, the 13 kilometre km trail will genuinely be one of Australia’s best.

“The completed trail will open in coming months, and links directly to the existing Thredbo Valley Track, offering a descent of over 30 kilometres. With plenty more exciting plans in the works for coming years, it is a super exciting time for Thredbo.”

The new 6.5 kilometre length of single track takes riders along the Bunny Walk ski trail to the base of Sponars chairlift before a short hike-a-bike up to the Gunbarrel Traverse.

From here, the trail wraps out to Boundary Rider before traversing skier’s right toward Dream Run. Here the trail enters a rich, loamy alpine forest that provides fast and loose riding that flows beautifully.

When complete, riders will be able to enter the trailhead around the back of the Eagles Nest restaurant, providing a stunning view and an incredible experience to be enjoyed on a bike.

Images courtesy of Thredbo Alpine Resort.

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