The Peak of the Season: Summer Dreams

Words and photos by local rider Dylan Sherrard.

This is no ordinary place… this has been an extraordinary ride.

This summer at Sun Peaks, as far as I can see, has felt like dusting off an old family album. Revisiting memories of long summer days spent cruising in the park, and long summer nights spent dreaming the never ending dreams of shred. 

Remembering the sensation of being a small child on a bike, dwarfed by stretching trees and shrouded in a dusty backlit haze, overwhelmed by the expansive views stretched out before us and our potential to pursue them.

Initially, it was the summer that wasn’t so sure. But when opening announcements echoed across the pages of the internet, an immediate sense of gratitude washed over me. I immediately felt a deeper sense of appreciation for this place we are fortunate to play in, and an overwhelming feeling of thankfulness replaced any sensation of ‘summer routine’ that may have lingered as the years all blurred together. We felt the stoke rising faster than the chair can spin, as all our anxious thoughts washed away with footloose, fancy-free, and floating feelings in their place.

And then the rain came down. Thick cloud-cover graced the interior with daily showers and curtains of fog revealed the tackiest turns. It was a wild and anything but typical introduction to summer, to learn the wavy ways the trails still flow, when we truly let loose and allowed our bikes to float. We quickly found something familiar when we let our tires wander, trails spinning fast and free beneath our wheels. Even the tamest of trails became the wildest of rides, splashing and thrashing in summer’s high tide. Mud freckles splattered across all our faces, rain drops speckled our view, and the downpour pitter-pattered atop our helmets to the tune of tin roof fairy tales.

And then suddenly, the summer boomed. Slipping and gripping to a cool mountain tune, the heat of the sun and the alpine beginning to bloom. Summer dreams began to hatch, realized and reimagined, sometimes in the same lap. The longest of days that somehow pass much too fast. Midday heat mellowed only by the cool of a creek, late evening light burning gold, pink, and bright. The warm tones of twilight roared over the sky, melting quicker into the cool blues of the night. Smooth gradients said goodnight to the scene, and we awoke each morning to chase it again.

And now we watch the season slowly fading, yet laps continue turning fast. We’d say we’re sad to see the summer go, but we’d be lying if we didn’t say how much we love to watch it leave. Because you see, as sunset comes a little sooner, and the night sneaks in a little cooler, the gentle sway of autumn brings the best of any days. Thanks for joining us this summer, for taking care and keeping calm, and for all your understanding of wild and chaotic circumstances while trusting us with your summer dreams.

We’ll keep the chairlift cruising through til’ September ends, and we hope you’ll picture yourself beneath our trees, riding free in the autumn breeze.