"Generations" Features Jackson Hole's Newest Trail

This season, riders at the Jackson Hole Bike Park will have the chance to hit a brand new line called Deer Jumps, a pro-style expert-level trail packed with big airs and technical features. Two-time Red Bull Rampage winner and Jackson Hole athlete Cam Zink helped the resort bring the project to life with the help of lead builder Cody Wilkins and the crew at Sensus R.A.D Trails.

The "Generations" edit explores what it means for an up-and-coming crop of young riders, including local groms Walker Bender and Owen Strand, to have the type of trail Zink dreamed about in his childhood right in their backyard.

Zink and Wilkins have been working with Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) for multiple years now. Their first trail at JHMR, Dirty Harry, is a steep, double-black, technical downhill trail that Zink describes as "so much heavier" than anything else the resort had up until that point. "But JHMR was like 'We need that', and it really shows who they are, from their skiing and snowboarding heritage, to then apply that to mountain biking."

The Jackson Hole Bike Park has certainly seen a refreshing amount of new trail building in general over the last handful of years, including the addition of Deepest Darkest, the flow trail for which another film released by JHMR earlier this season was named, featuring Hannah Bergemann, Sophie Gregory and Cadel Carrigan.

Wilkins agrees with Zink that Dirty Harry took things to the next level, though he admits it was actually more difficult to build Deer Jumps, even though it's shorter and less steep than Dirty Harry.

"Jackson is one of the hardest places we’ve ever built trail. It’s one of the best places, given it's Jackson Hole, but on the flip side, it’s so steep and so rocky. The biggest challenge is moving machines on the side of this hillside. And on top of that, it’s pretty short build season," he laughs, remembering the snow that fell on the mountain just a few days ago. "I’ve never been able to get excavator gear up here till about this time of year," he says, referring to late June.

Zink says the goal with Deer Jumps was to continue to push boundaries, in a controlled and calculated manner. "You can set your kids free knowing they’re on as safe of jumps as could be of that size. Sometimes bigger jumps are safer, and I think that’s where we’re at: building the biggest size that won't intimidate people, but will push their boundaries and show them how safe and fun and enjoyable bigger jumps can be."

"I took Cam’s vision, his Rampage, badass freerider vision and applied it to the bike park in a way that makes it so that kids can actually come ride it," says Wilkins. And Zink is more than pleased with the results: "We added good jumps for whips, good jumps for tricks, and it was such a treat to ride, and then bring that to the community. Those kids there are just gonna come up so quick."

Kids like local grom Walker Bender, who's featured in the film and says Deer Jumps are unlike anything he's ever ridden before. "Most bike parks, the jumps are smaller. And if you go other places where local people have built trails, the jumps are bigger but they’re not as smooth. This combines everything you want in a jump line: it's smooth and progressive and easy to hit but also gives you plenty of time in the air to do tricks."

Bender says riding with Zink was a highlight of the new trail's opening. "It was an amazing experience, riding with him. I normally see him on TV." When asked if Zink was as good in person as on TV, Bender states unequivocally that "he was better."

And while Wilkins and Zink are taking a moment to feel proud of what they've already accomplished, they're also both already looking ahead to the future - Wilkins, literally, while chatting with Bike Mag from his vantage on a hillside at JHMR, on a break from flagging trail.

"I think in the next five years, JHMR is gonna be a new bike park from what it has been," he says, hinting at the planned expansion of Deer Jumps to become a full top-to-bottom jump line, and at other projects like a handbuilt trail from the mid-mountain and a more traditional bike park-style jump line closer to the base that will offer riders a space for progression. "I moved away from Jackson because the biking wasn’t up to par," he laughs, "But now I have a chance to put my money where my mouth is after talking shit for years."

Zink is, similarly, grateful for the opportunity: "Huge shout out to Jackson for the support and for welcoming Sensus R.A.D Trails and letting us run free and not tying our hands," he says. " And thanks for supporting me as an athlete and giving me more of an opportunity to hang out in one of the greatest places on earth."