Top of the World
Elevation: 2,080m
Words and photos by local rider Dylan Sherrard.
In my own imagination, Sun Peaks has been the place to let my imagination run wild, to see my mountain bike dreams come true, and to push my riding deeper than I ever knew I could.
Upon first discovery of Sun Peaks, way back in 2006, I hurled myself into the loose and lawless sensation of steep, big mountain terrain. It was my first foray into lift access freedom and the superlatives of the scene truly swept me off my feet. I was hooked on the steepest, fastest, and rowdiest of rides I’d ever imagined.
I got my first downhill bike in 2010, after Matt Hunter told me he thought it’d be really cool if I had "shocks that went up to my handlebars," and he was right. It was the coolest.
The appropriate tool for the environment took me another layer deeper into the amplitude and speed of summer. I spent a lot less time thinking about the terrain and a lot more time falling in love with the floating feelings of riding it. I was smitten, and I wanted everyone to share in it. So I started working bike camp dates, chasing images, and sharing stories of my summer splendour.
And then suddenly, it was 15 years later.
Through some strange chain of charming circumstances, a lot of hard work, and a few sprinkles of ‘right place at the right time,’ my day to day life looks a lot like it did when I first discovered riding at Sun Peaks. Only now it’s a wonderful tangle of objectives that some people would call a career. And while I can find it challenging to explain, when I’m riding into a sunset at Sun Peaks, friends in tow, chasing the weightless moments that make the ride truly wonderful, hunting the angles, and capturing them… then it’s the most sweet and simple process I can imagine.
It’s been incredible to watch Sun Peaks grow through all these years. In tandem with the growth of mountain biking as a whole, and in tandem with my own growth all the while. We’ve seen riding in the park escalate from a wild-west, fringe activity now flourishing as a much more approachable, mainstream phenomenon that everyone feels excited, and invited, to explore.
Sun Peaks’ influence on my work and creativity is undeniable. The easy access to wide open alpine spaces and summer sensations has sparked my imagination again and again. So this summer, I hope you’ll come along for this series as we explore the stories of tangled enchantment that many others have experienced while riding in Sun Peaks. I’m excited to amplify the sights and sounds that have made many a special memory for them, and I hope that we can paint a picture of Sun Peaks as a place that evokes a sense of wonder in your world, as it always has in mine.