Mountain Biking Down Steep Squamish Slabs
Some examples of steep West Coast slabs that mountain bikers have descended
Squamish slabs have been a focus of rock climbers for decades, but over the past few years, mountain bikers have been pushing the limits of what’s possible on two wheels. In September 2020, Matt Bolton cleaned some moss off a short cliff and rode his mountain bike down it. He had “this crazy idea for a while” that he wanted to ride down a rock slab as a climber was going up nearby. He called the run The Finger Biter and shared photos on Instagram. It was considered one of the more difficult slab lines on the coast.
This summer, Bolton was at it again – this time with the first mountain bike descent of Burgers and Fries at the Smoke Bluffs. After his history-making drop, he said, “I’d told everyone previously that there was a good chance I’d walk away if I didn’t feel 100% confident I could do it. I was hoping for no crowd but with all my friends and the climbers there was close to 50 people at the bottom. After a few very deep breathes I got on the Pedals and rolled down one of the most well known rock climbing routes in Squamish. The transition was perfect and the feeling of stopping smoothly on the runout is hard to put in words.”
The most recent head-turning descent was by biker Rémy Métailler, who rode his bike down the Apron past climber and skier Nick McNutt, and below wingsuit BASE jumper Braden Dean. In a perfectly timed stunt, Métailler rides down next to the classic Slab Alley, cruising by McNutt soloing up. Shortly after biker and climber pass, Dean soars overhead in his wingsuit at hair-raising speed. You can watch footage from all three athlete perspectives below.
Métailler was not the only one to ride down the Apron in 2022. Check out the video of Ollie Lowthorpe from earlier this year below.
Lastly, there’s In-N-Out Burger at Alice Lake Provincial Park. While it’s not a rock climbing area, it is the biggest rock slab that sees the most traffic of the slabs listed. If you’re planning on riding Squamish granite, start with this or something smaller.
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