Sep 28, 2010 at 21:27
The Red Bull Rampage Evolution is only days away and riders are scoping lines and building lips where no lips should ever be built. We've got photographer Fraser Britton on the scene with the first photo filled update to bring you up to speed. Inside you'll find so many photos that you'll feel like you're the one eyeing up the senders, as well as audio from Canadian hopefuls Mike Hopkins and Alex Pro.
Read on,
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| Like anyone needs a sign to tell them that this place is serious. It is all well and good to watch the best in the world show up and throw down, they don't make it look easy, but they do make it look possible, and then an average guy like me shows up and forgets to close his mouth for about ten minutes once he actually gets to see this zone in person. |
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| Some of the Quali Zone. The Red Bull Rampage takes place just outside of Virgin, Utah. This year the zone is the same one as 2 years ago, where qualifiers are held in one part of the bowl, and finals in the other. The riders who aren't pre-qualified have been out digging hard to get their lines dialed, while many of the pre-qualifiers are taking their time. Canada's Mike Hopkins is pre-qualified, but has been digging since Sunday to get his lines dialed for finals. Have a listen to the audio below to learn more about the contest layout and hear him describe the different zones. |
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| Personally, I'd like to be roped up just to walk up to some of these sections. Not the place you want to be walking about with untied shoe laces, exposure everywhere! The ground can be very forgiving in some spots, but those nice little bushes that you see in my photos may as well be made of cement! This is a place of extremes and any plant that can survive here can kick your ass, especially if you hit it on a bike going 40 mph after hitting a gigantic step down. |
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| The story of the day, dig-stravaganza 2010! The ground here is nothing like in the Pacific Northwest (where I'm from). A bit too dry and it is a struggle to make anything but a pile of dust out of it, but with a little know how, some rock, and some TLC, you can build a lip where no man should ever be building a lip. A tiny bit of rain many days before the comp would be a good thing to help the riders doing some shaping, but that won't likely happen. |
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| The sun is already getting to people...Alex Pro started to compare the rampage zone to the Lion King. He brought along a legendary trail building crew, starting with his dad Tom, who is responsible for much of the Whistler bike park. It takes more than a single man to build most of these lines and it is cool to see everyone out working in the heat together. Standing at the bottom while watching people who look like ants in the sun moving dust around does look a bit odd, especially considering that the average rider wouldn't even see the lines that they are planning. These guys have a different vision than you or I. |
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| Camp Redbull, an oasis in the sun. You can bet that a lot of people were wandering around here with both sunburns and sugar highs. |
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| This photo is from the finals zone and shows a wood booter to a rather steep landing. There has been some hate on the wood features, but I'm personally all for it... within reason. Hits like this one really open up the possibility to see some amazing things go down and building this hit out of dirt would simply not be possible given the conditions. For all those whiners who are going on about taking the "mountain" out of the Rampage, look at the landing for this hit, it's anything but butter! Especially with those innocent looking, but deadly, bushes kicking about. |
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| The Oakley Icon sender is massive! No, it is even bigger than that, I think. Who out there caught the preview of this sender? Just imagine rolling down that wood run-in and all you can see is the valley floor a few miles away, that is how everything looks from up there, blind as hell. You know where the landing is, but you can't spot it until you're coming off the lip. That is one steep ass roll-in as well, are those skid marks I see on it? |
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| Another hit, and one that we may see some riders tee'ing up to three off of. A relatively safe LZ combined with a flat takeoff should add up to something gnarly. |
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| That big 'ol canyon gap is back for 2010. Is that roll-in super gnar or is it just me? I think I'd be more likely to hit the gap itself before the actual drop into it! We saw some massive whips, suicide no-handers, and supermans on this gigantic jump at the last event, I'm sure we'll see more of the same and some new moves being thrown down this year. Freestyle moto honchos flip stuff way bigger than this, I know that it is completely different, but who knows? Nothing beats a big slow old fashioned whip, in my books anyway. |
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| "Well, now that I'm up here, how the hell do I get down?" Hiking around this zone can take some serious planning, but this photo shows the possibility of the area. There is everything here from 50ft step downs that nature built and only need a gentle raking before hitting, to drops like this that a lot of us would tee up. Granted, it is not the place to bring your girlfriend for a bike ride, but even regular clowns like me can put some sort of line together that brings you to the valley floor. |
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| It was a very quiet day on the hill, mostly digging in the heat followed up by some cautious test runs. Andreu Lacondeguey gets flat after putting down the shovel and picking up his bike. Keep in mind that this is "cautious" for him. There has been a lot of talk about whether the true slopestyle guys can cut it here, which is weird considering who was on the top step of the podium at the last event. These are the best riders in the world and the guy who can do a 1020 triple barspin to double tailwhip with a pedal flip thrown in for good measure on his hardtail can certainly hang with the traditional big mountain senders. Bottom line: shit is going to hit the fan on Sunday afternoon and the best of the best will win. Will you be watching live on Pinkbike? |
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| Andreu drops and tries out a new line. Quote of the day "If this scares you, you should probably just go home now". Truer words may never have been spoken. You have to ride smart and have respect for the terrain, but you absolutely must have confidence here. A simple brake check could very well end your season. Know where the LZ's are and hit them bang on. Leave the jitters at the bottom and earn your night's drinking by riding strong and safe. And if you do screw up, you have another reason to get your drink on anyway. Anyone who has been to this area knows that there isn't much else to do in the after hours. |
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| Impressed yet? It gets more ridiculous the more you pull back and realize just how big things really are here. There are any number of places where a fall would result in another fall, and another, then probably another. Picture a guy losing an edge on his ski's while high up on a slope in Alaska. Next thing you know you've lost a whole lot of elevation, unfortunately your bike was about 300 ft away from you while you were doing it. |
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| Chris Van Dine heads up to his line to get his dig on. Will we see that barrel roll of his this year? |
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| Let the whips begin! A number of riders were hitting this booter up today. I couldn't help myself but to make my own moto sounds as they rolled in for my camera. Braaaap! |
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| Hopkins side entry... It's similar to the rear entry, but slightly more dangerous and a lot dustier. An entire afternoon and a whole lot of shale went into this mini kicker, but having a unique line can pay off when the big show starts. Looking off the edge of this also gives you an idea of what you see before rolling off - a whole lot of air and more of those damn bushes! |
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| The views do NOT suck. The drive in does though. Over 4 miles of rugged dirt road. Spectators will have to walk or ride in, no vehicles allowed. I would happily walk in naked and with no shoes or sunblock to see these guys do what they do best. Sure, the scorpions may get me on the way out, but at least I'd die a happy man. Can you guys make out the road winding up the mesa in the distance? It goes to a privately owned rocket testing site, don't mess around here or the black unmarked helicopter will come out to investigate. No Joke. |
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| My office and home for the week. Not going to lie, the inside of this camper is going to smell pretty damn nasty by the time I move out. The owners may as well douse the Sunseeker in gas and throw a match on it. |
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| There are a lot of bikes, a lot of hard work, and a hell of a lot of dust here, but this place is amazing. Bros working hard together to push the limits of the sport and everyone has a blast. I thought I'd sneak in a mushy caption at the end. I need to go find some hugs... |
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And the forum rats comment was right on too - people get very wound up about stuff in there - including me - I was (still am) a critic of the wooden features and sensationalized stunts like the Icon sender, but I can appreciate the effort. After all, I'm not the one riding them. And nobody is putting a gun to the riders head forcing them to ride something they don't want to anyhow. Keep up the great work - Cheers!
