Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance

TRAIL MAINTENANCE, DESIGN, AND CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS: Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance is celebrating a successful 2024, marking the year with the opening of two new trail systems and dozens of new trails across Washington State. From flow to technical descents, MTB-only to multi-use, these new trails reflect Evergreen's mission to deliver dynamic, accessible, and rewarding mountain biking experiences for all riders. NEW TRAIL SYSTEMS: The Trek at Tehaleh in Bonney Lake and Tennant Trailhead Park in North Bend were Evergreen's flagship projects for 2024, introducing two entirely new trail systems that reflect local partnerships and the diverse needs of Washington's mountain biking community. The Trek at Tehaleh project began in 2018 and opened in the spring of 2024, offering a network of trails in the underserved South Sound area. Tennant Trailhead Park began in 2017 and opened in the spring of 2024, offering a family-friendly local trail system just 1 mile from downtown North Bend. In partnership with the Snoqualmie Tribe, all trails at Tennant Trailhead Park are named in Lushootseed, honoring the land's cultural heritage, local geography, and wildlife, while providing an educational opportunity for trail users. Evergreen has also been developing new trail segments in existing trail systems. At Loup Loup Ski Bowl in the Methow Valley, riders can now explore "Ursus," a technical descent with scenic rock features, and "Oso Peligroso," a long blue trail that combines thrilling rock sections with beautiful views. In Spokane, the "Lower Mica Peak Trail" was completed to offer a more manageable climb at Liberty Lake, providing an enjoyable ascent and rewarding summit views. At Snoqualmie Pass, in partnership with The Summit at Snoqualmie, Evergreen finished "Bouncy House," a new blue flow trail with big rollers and berms, and "My Little Friend," a technical blue-black trail, blending machine-built flow with natural, rugged terrain for both intermediate and advanced riders. In addition to new trails, Evergreen rebuilt and refreshed existing routes at popular locations like Duthie Hill in Issaquah. The newly designed "Great Space Coaster" now offers a progressive intermediate tabletop jump line. Duthie Hill's historic "GHY" trail was also fully redesigned and rebuilt by an all-women crew, making this a more progressive double-black jump line with new machine-built features.

EDUCATION: 2024 was another successful year for Evergreen; Evergreen Education provided skills courses to 632 adults (357 women / 260 men) and 589 kids through a combination of adult clinics and workshops, and youth lessons and summer camps. Additionally, 196 participants were engaged through community and school partnership programs. This year, Evergreen's education program updated the instructor certification process to enhance the quality of our classes, piloted new programming, and welcomed over 40 new instructors around the state. On-trail classes were piloted at Raging River and Tiger Mountain to support clinic alumni who were ready to start exploring more advanced terrain but preferred the guidance of an Evergreen-certified instructor and the joy of a group setting. These were well-received, and there are plans to offer more in 2025. Instructor scholarships were distributed to 8 instructors around the state who have dedicated hundreds of hours to the education program and wanted to expand their coaching skills. Instructors used their funds to get certified in Wilderness First Aid or PMBIA (Professional Mountain Bike Instructor Association). Recognizing that our classes and workshops are often the first experience new riders have with the sport, we offered focused training to our instructors to develop their skills and awareness to teach with a philosophy of service, highlighting the differences in learning and communication styles among the different cultures found in our communities. Evergreen's education program is powered by close to 100 volunteer instructors, who donated over 1,600 teaching hours in 2024 to introduce about 600 primarily new riders to mountain biking and all the joy that being outside can bring. Our popular "Dirt Camp" program, taught by about 40 paid coaches over the summer, took close to 600 kids onto the trails, serving beginners through advanced riders in skill development, fun games, and even a bit of trail maintenance. Those campers contributed 400 hours of work to our trails this summer.