Punchin' Up the Big Gnarly
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Jimmy Breitenstein finishing
off the Big Gnarly shortly after the middle Ridge Trail was
logged. |
THE BIG GNARLY is an invitation to
life on the edge.
Comprised of large, exposed Doug fir roots on top of bedrock at the edge of a cliff on the lower Ridge Trail, it forces the rider to the edge of the drop where you seriously don't want to make a mistake, body armor or no.
There are a dozen or more lines over the root fan that radiates out
from the grand old fir, but the hardest and most technically demanding is
the one where the riders drives straight at the cliff, than makes an
abrupt left turn and dives up over the Big Gnarly in close to the right
side of the tree, where you can roll your front wheel up a fork in the
roots.
There is a slightly easier line further out from the trunk, but you
have to be willing to ride that much closer to the edge. Some of the lines
on the left are somewhat easier, but not all of them, especially in close
to the trunk of the tree.
If you are going to try to ride the Big Gnarly, please wear a good helmet, have
your medical insurance paid up, and deploy a spotter to catch
you if you fall toward the cliff.
And remember, GalbraithMt.com recommends scouting every stunt
and obstacle before trying to ride it.
See GalbraithMt.com Ridge Trail Guide for more info on the Ridge Trail. Click here for more GalbraithMt.com technical notes.
The following are sequence shots of the stunt. Click on the thumbnail images to view a larger version...
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You don't have to get lost. You don't have to ride the same couple trails over and over again. 
