We headed to Vernon, NJ to check out the Diablo Freeride Park at Mt. Creek. It was our first pure DH
trip this year and it was the closest DH riding to us. You couldn't have asked for better weather
conditions. It was hot, but not too hot. The park just re-opened earlier this year:
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We hit the easier DH runs and had a look at some of the more advanced and technical runs. I can only
describe the place with one word: WHOA!
I am talking nasty large boulders and rocks. Huge dropoffs. Sheer speed pointing downwards. Big
logs. Sections that make you want to vomit and come back for more because they were so sick.
We met up with Jerome and JimBones at the top of our first run. They are regulars to Diablo so they
gave us some advice and pointers on the place. We obviously avoided the Double Black Diamond
sections. That was for experts only. We didn't feel like being carted off the mountain on spinal
boards by helicopter.
We did the first several runs slowly, it gave us time to check out the place and all the lines. We
also observed from the ski lift.
The place definitely has a tremendously large fun factor. Each run created a new adrenaline rush. We
donned our complete body armour and full faced helmets. Anybody who rides this place without body
armour and full faced helmets is crazy. We suffered no injuries, thank goodness.
I did take a rather nice spill though. I was coming down a boulder section when my front wheel got
lodged in a couple of rocks, the bike spit me over the bars. I did a beautiful imitation of superman
in the air for a couple of feet, arms and legs spread out and I landed on my chest and slid on the
boulder. The damage: a superficial crack in my chest protector and a ripped jersey. I was fine. The
body armour did its job or I would have wound up with a few broken ribs.
On our second to last run, we were on the ski lift on our way up and we heard a blood curdling
scream coming from the woods. Someone had crashed. Someone had crashed badly. It sounded serious and
it sounded like he might have been alone in there. I got sick to my stomach. He just kept on
screaming in tremendous pain. Whatever had happened to him, was serious. We tried to locate where it
was coming from. We pinpointed the location in the woods although we couldn't see him and made note
of the post number (the ski lift posts are numbered) in order to advise the employee at the top of
the lift. We got to the top of the lift and Jim immediately advised the employee of the situation.
He immediately called for assistance and the race was on to locate the fallen rider. We let them do
their job and we did one final run.
We were in a little bit of a shock after that but we completed our final run of the day with
our fastest time out of all our runs. We did 7 runs. It was a blast. We'll be going back soon
for more...
Here are some post-ride pictures...
Jim:
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Carla:
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Both of us hacks (don't mind the helmet hair) :
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- CA-G
Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!