Lyle Wilson found his Nipika
By Marshall Opel
Lyle Wilson plays tour guide to the TransRockies Gravel Royale crew.
Late in the winter of 1979, Lyle Wilson found himself on cross country skis alone, standing in a snow covered clearing along the confluence of Yearling Creek at the Kootenay River. He was in the middle of a vast valley, surrounded by jagged peaks and in that moment, he knew he had found ‘the place’. That place was an old hunting outpost south of Radium Hot Springs. “I had an idea for a little lodge and some ski trails. It was just going to be a Nordic center. It’s really beyond any expectation I ever had for it.” Says Wilson who, after a career as a competitive Nordic ski coach, (that took him to two Olympics) wasn’t planning for the popularity and success his eco-resort has garnered. Part of that success comes from TransRockies- they’ve used the Nipika trails for their race courses right from the beginning. “TransRockies events more or less kick started our venue as a mountain bike destination. It was great for us because it exposed our trails to new riders and gave us the impetus to build new ones.” Says Wilson.
The Wilson Family
These days, Wilson reckons Nipika has one of the largest integrated trail systems in North America. Integrated trails means using one piece of land to appease a wider range of riders. “We’ve got three different trail networks, all in the same land area, that don’t impact each other in a negative way. We keep adding to our ski trail network of 55km and on the same land, with different routing, we have about 70km’s of mountain bike trails.” The third network is a new, slightly wider, 38 km trail system made for fat biking. These low-angle trails double as perfect adaptive and novice mountain bike terrain in the summer months. Trail integration, we should be taking notes.
The majority of Nipika’s trails are family friendly but Wilson pointed out that they have trails that challenge the best riders in the region. “There are so many loops. The good riders can do the gnarlier stuff, and the novice riders can stay on the mellow trails and not get overwhelmed. It’s a pretty fun combination of things where literally anyone who wants to ride has appropriate options.” Wilson then pointed to the importance of events like TransRockies for passing on a love for “the sweating sports” to the next generation. “The better festivals and events we can run, the more kids see that as a pretty cool lifestyle and to me, I’ll push in that direction as long as I live.”
Lyle, ready to fire the start gun at the 2019 TransRockies Classic
An Early Adopter
In addition to his love for cross country skiing, Wilson has been riding off-road longer than most. In 1983, Wilson’s ski sponsor had a product they thought the Nordic community would take to. They were called mountain bikes.
“It was the first year mountain bikes were imported into Canada, I’ve been biking like a fool ever since.”
The bike was a Miyata Ridge Runner, totally original in its day, yet not too dissimilar to modern gravel bikes of 2020. “If you put a set of drop bars on that bike it would probably be pretty well disguised as a gravel bike.” Which leads us to the topic of next year’s Gravel Royale.
The race makes a layover at Nipika on stage two taking advantage of the area's abundance of riding options and spectacular beauty. When asked how he’d describe the course, Wilson said, “It’s raw.” “It’s the absolute heart of the Rockies.” Flanked by Banff National Park and Kootenay National Park, stage two’s course goes through wild country that’s not designated an official park. So, according to Wilson, it’s far less utilized. “It’s just raw mountain scenery everywhere.” The race will start out on the Nipika ski trails, then climb up over Miller pass, then down the Albert River. Riders will pass a giant old growth cedar grove that’s the farthest inland and the farthest north in all of North America. “Trees that are three or four hundred years old, like four feet across. It’s quite a significant area.”
Chilling after the ride at one of Nipika’s beautiful cabins.
When riders finish their 83 km’s, they’ll have the rest of the day to relax at the Nipika property. “We have a championship quality disk golf course, horseshoe and other yard games. Fire pits to hang out and tilt a refreshment in the evening.” Nipika recently made improvements to their sauna and swimming pond which go hand-in-hand after a big day on the bike.
As the Nipika website points out, the resort’s property sits on the tribal homelands of the Ktunaxa First Nations people, who have inhabited the Kootenay region for upwards of ten thousand years. According to Wilson, the name Nipika comes from the Ktunaxa. The essence of the word is something close to soul or spirit. “When we found this piece of land and got wind of what the word meant, to us, for my family and everyone involved, this was our nipika in every sense of the word.”
Stage 2 - Nipika to Nipika - 83km / 51 mi. - 1,500m / 4,900 feet of climbing
You’re really in the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies now. After the first night of camping, you will set off from Nipika Mountain Resort for the only loop stage of the 2021 TransRockies Gravel Royale - Stage 2. Departing Nipika’s Meadow, you will head north on Nipika’s nordic ski trails - grassy double track offers rolling cruising through the woods. If you’re not fighting to maintain your place in the pack, get ready for one of the most spectacular features of the day, the “Natural Bridge” crossing of the Cross River. You will cross on a wooden bridge, and you may want to stop and check out the chasm below you. From there you will continue north to the end of the Nipika trail network, connecting with Forest Service roads through an open cut block.
Ascending Miller Pass
After a second crossing of the Cross River you will continue up a short climb to the main Cross River Forest Service Road. You will continue on this main “haul road” for 12 km to the confluence of the Cross and Mitchell Rivers, crossing the Cross River for a third time just before Checkpoint 1. Then you will continue heading up the Cross River Valley for another 7km and your fourth and final time crossing the Cross River before starting the main climb in earnest. We saw a bear here when scouting the stage last spring. This main climb accounts for 300 meter of climbing in 7 km, mostly on smooth gravel roads which most riders will be able to conquer without much difficulty. It is a much easier climb that Tegart Pass on Stage 1, both in terms of steepness and length.
As you crest the pass, you will leave the more recently maintained gravel roads and start the descent on somewhat overgrown doubletrack. The initial descent includes a stretch of loose rocky double track switchbacking to a creek crossing, where you can expect to get your feet wet (for the first time). After another short climb you will be on an old road bed descending to the Albert River. This route was used for the 2006 TransRockies Challenge but hasn’t been maintained since. When we scouted the route in June of 2020 it was very overgrown and it took us nearly an hour to traverse the 3.5 km, 300 meter descent to reach the Albert River FSR. We plan to send a crew in to clear the overgrown sections of this route in the spring of 2020 so it should be smooth sailing on race day, but if you are considering pre-riding this route, be prepared for some tough travelling.
On the Albert RIver Forest Service Road
Once you reach the Albert River you will enjoy high speed, maintained gravel road descending for 12 km to Checkpoint 3, just after the confluence of the Albert and Palliser Rivers at the 55km mark. We saw a second bear here during scouting! From Checkpoint 2 you’ll be on main forest service roads all the way back to Nipika - about 28km. Once you climb up to the Palliser Forest Service Road you will be on a fast descent to meet up with the Kootenay Palliser FRS, and then rolling road back to Nipika. Celebrate the stage with a dip in the pond or the river, and a burger off the BBQ!