Just spent 4 days at Buller, then another couple over at Falls, rode everything at each resort.
Buller, I have been for 3-4 nights during each of the last 6 summers, and all bike buller festivals. Short answer is I wont be going back again, until the quality and effort matched Bright, falls, derby and most likely Maydena.
I don't give a shit about resort politics, but I have a older gentlemen I ride rail trails with who is good friends with the new CEO, word is nothing will change, especially not with the decent winter season they had. Go support Falls, Bright if local enough, those communities that are actively supporting and progressing MTB deserve our patronage.
Changes this summer - copperhead, a couple of new corner jumps in the lower tree section and one decent kicker in there, good fun, shame you have to ride on bermless marbles to get that far down, worst beginner / intermediate trail around, and worst flow trail built in recent years. Flowtown, you are worth all the pedally bits to get the the flow, which is awesome fun.
Abom, mixed bag for me, a few sections are improved, with better berms (mostly mid section: copperhead to show off corner), so you can hold speed better, no complaints there. A couple of new jumps, however someone on the retard spectrum designed and built them - or some 14 yr olds between 11pm and 4 am over a couple of nights, that is the (lack) quality of them. And since there is no funding there, they said fuck it free labour and kept them. If they run a 'enduro' style race down abom during bike buller this year (which I won't be at), there is going to be some head injuries and clavicles.
Why put two table top / doubles in the fastest section of track (bottom straight - second last time you cross the chair lift) that are kickers, very I'll suited location, you either slow right down, or boost them, clear them by 5+ bike lengths to flat, boost the first one, and good luck landing onto the second. There is also a jump the aims directly off track directly after an off camber tight section, and its on the high side (WTF...). A couple of table tops just before copperhead junction, corner before is blown out, yet again you need to wash you speed off too actually hit them properly. Jump in trees after copperhead junction, always been a find awkward jump, dumbed down now, I'd hit it in a shopping trolley for lols.
Overall, all the interesting things that required some skill and finesse have been dumbed down. The jump into treeline over roots.... no more roots, filled in all the other interesting bits, no more drop into the muddy spot in the final section... the list could go on.
I am not blaming the crew that work there, obviously on a shoe string budget, but amateur hour trail building is no longer good enough.
the XC / AM stuff, great as usually up their, would be great if I enjoyed a fuck ton of climbing.
