What drew Keenan Kovacs back to Sun Peaks Resort LLP after nearly a decade was community involvement. Kovacs’ previous position was as the bike park’s excavator operator and trail crew supervisor, which was the same position he took in Revelstoke and at Landmark Trail Works. For about three years, Kovacs was working remotely while still living in Sun Peaks, but has returned to the resort as the new bike park manager.
“I felt kind of weird living here and not contributing to the community in a way,” Kovacs told SPIN. “So when this role came up, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to get back involved.”
Watching the Sun Peaks Bike Park evolve from afar, Kovacs noticed how much more accommodating it has become. While keeping the more intense trails for expert riders, a wide variety of trails have made the bike park and surrounding area significantly more accessible, including lower level green trails.
“The variety of riding in one bike park is wild here,” Kovacs said.
He even went so far as to note Stella Blue as “one of the best blue jump trails around and Super Nugget is obviously one of the most unique black jump trails, probably in the world.”
He also took note of some of the old school trails like Honey Drop, Keener and Sugar to Sweet One, which bring more variety to the park.
“It’s pretty mind-blowing, the amount of work and investment and planning that’s gone into this place,” Kovacs said. “It’s like a whole new bike park now.”
The pedal access which has come up on Morrisey, thanks to the work of Sun Peaks Recreational Trail Association, is huge for the area, he added.
Bringing lessons learned to Sun Peaks
Working in Revelstoke after his departure from Sun Peaks, Kovacs had unique experiences including starting a bike park from scratch, which helped him gain lessons and learn new information he’ll be bringing back to the bike park.
“I definitely learned the hard way on a few things about how to be more efficient, and then what holds up and what doesn’t hold up,” he said.
When working with the crew who built Super Nugget, he learned just as much in those three years as he did the entire time he was in Revelstoke.
“I think [Super Nugget] is one of the most influential trails around,” Kovacs said.
Through testing and retesting, Kovacs learned how to make the trails more sustainable, efficient and lasting, as well as how to lay them out in a way that creates the best possible experience for riders.
Additionally, he highlighted the importance of rest points for riders throughout the trails, allowing riders to analyze the trail, including jumps and drops.
“We’ve got it down to a science, every minute 30 seconds, it’s nice to have a spot where you just pull to a stop, take a break, catch up,” Kovacs said.
The crew Kovacs worked with in Revelstoke were the first folks he saw using e-bikes as a tool for trails. He was amazed by the trails being built specifically for e-bikes that also worked for regular mountain bikes, and is hoping to integrate that idea to the bike park in Sun Peaks.
Overall, Kovacs hopes to enhance the riding experiences in Sun Peaks and is excited to bring forward what he can to improve the park and preserve what makes the Sun Peaks Bike Park memorable.
“I just want it to be a really good riding experience for [riders], and I want them to be blown away with the quality of trails,” he said.
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