Photo Story: Crisp & Frosty at Vancouver Island’s Mount Washington Bike Park

What does a typical bike park day look like to you? While the feeling of good times and freedom are universally shared, the trails we choose and the way we ride them are unique along with the experience. Through the DIVERGENCE video project, that’s precisely what we wanted to capture and explore, inviting four riders with different skillsets and personalities to a single bike park and its growing trail network.



T H E_P R O C E S S - Inspired by some of our favourite MTB edits of the past, we set out to capture the diversity of a stereotypical day at the bike park, albeit under a microscope. To achieve this, Vancouver Island’s Forbidden Bike Company partnered with the island’s only purpose-built and lift-accessed bike park, Mount Washington Alpine Resort. With a plethora of trails on offer and located only a short drive from Forbidden’s headquarters in Cumberland, the scene was set for a season-ender to remember.



To realize this vision, Forbidden’s Stephane Pelletier dipped into the rising tide of new school BC talent. Charged with shooting, editing and directing DIVERGENCE was Liam Morgan, arguably one of the most exciting talents to emerge from the BC scene in the past year. Adding to this team was Brendan McClennan, another talented up-and-coming creative force, responsible for capturing the amazing images in this article. In front of the lens, we assembled four riders from across the spectrum, dipping into Forbidden’s wealth of local BC-based riding talent…




Rewinding the clock back to the first morning of the first day and Magnus Manson’s eyes were firmly set on the highest and rowdiest track on the mountain; the Monster Mile. If that wasn’t enough, Mother Nature decided to throw a heap of snow at the day’s activities for additional excitement. Arguably one of the gnarliest DH tracks in BC, the track is raced each fall as part of the Stevie Smith Memorial DH Race. Littered with chunky rock sections and slippery, cross-cutting roots, the track is not for the faint of heart, but typically, Magnus made short work of the questionable conditions aboard his DH-specced factory Dreadnought.








Hailing from the Forest of Dean (in the UK), a stone’s throw from Forbidden’s European office, Harry Barrett is now back in BC after a stint back in the old country, and we couldn’t be more stoked. For Harry’s segment, he chose to ride Hustler and The Wiz, two black-diamond machine-built flow trails with plenty of features to throw some unique shapes and toss his dual-crown-equipped Dreadnought around on.








Local boy and freeride phenom, Dillon Butcher (from Nanaimo, BC) is no stranger to the terrain on offer at Mount Washington and has witnessed, firsthand, the evolution of the park and its trails. Using this knowledge, Dillon chose to ride his barspin-ready Druid down Mount Washington’s signature jump trail, Time Warp.







An island local, through and through, Nic Court is the kind of guy you want by your side on a ride. A true potion master of good times, Nic keeps the stoke levels peaking throughout and can rail turns harder than most. Nick chose to ride his Druid XT and take on Helter Skelter - a black diamond tech trail enjoying a perfect mix of moderate descents, sneaky double-ups hidden between awkward chunks, and perfectly sculpted berms.





T H E_F I L M M A K E R - While relatively new to the scene, Vancouver Island-based filmmaker Liam Morgan is set to make waves (no pun intended) with his surf-movie-inspired editing style. The one-man show had his work cut out, filming four riders in quick succession while being thrown every type of weather Vancouver Island could throw at him. Despite the challenges, we believe that the results more than speak for themselves.




T H E_P H O T O G R A P H E R - A former Calgary native, now a Squamish resident, Brendan McClennan is no stranger to sub-alpine terrain and BC’s unpredictable coastal weather. Graced with stunningly beautiful scenery and vibrant fall colours paired with either a light dusting of snow or moody PNW mist, the resort put on a show for Brendan’s camera, as did the crew.







T H E _L O C A T I O N - Situated on Vancouver Island in the stunning Strathcona Mountain Range, Mount Washington Alpine Resort provides the island’s only lift-accessed mountain bike terrain. A summer favourite for a growing number of patrons, Mount Washington’s bike park has a rich freeride history with years of influence from [Vancouver Island] legend Darren Berrecloth.


Today, it offers a large variety of riding opportunities, ranging from flow and tech trails, cruisy greens and blues to world-class rough-and-ready DH race tracks, gnarly enough to test World Cup pros and weekend warriors alike. The terrain is undeniably raw and does not share the lush rainforest feel that the rest of the island is known for. Enjoying 1589m in elevation (above sea level), Mount Washington brings biking to the gorgeous subalpine space of Vancouver Island. Year after year, the dedicated trail crew continues to bring new options to visitors, cutting in fresh trails such as ‘Riptide Ridge’ and machine-built flow trails like ‘Hustler’. With more development planned for the bike park in the years to come, it might be time to add Mount Washington to your BC bucket list.


As a lesser-known destination within the globally significant BC bike park landscape, Mount Washington has a certain step-back-in-time homely feel, devoid of annoying lift lines, and full of smiling faces and warm welcomes. For the team at Forbidden Bike Company, Mount Washington has a special place in our hearts as both a refuge for fun times (after a long day in the office) not to mention a handy location on our doorstep for testing exciting new bikes.

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Stories Forbidden Dillon Butcher Magnus Manson