2011 Capilano University MBO update

May 27, 2011 at 20:07

Rock & Roll!

With one of the longest winter and spring seasons ever on hand the 2011 riding season is just about to pop! So to is the graduation of the latest students from the Mountain Bike Operations Course held in Sechelt, British Columbia Canada.

Group shot (can you find Waldo? I mean Doug Detwiller?)

2011 marks the 5th year completed for the Mountain bike program held by Capilano University which offers an 8 month program consisting of;

-Wilderness first aid
-Trail Building (intro and advanced)
-Teaching & Guiding
-Events Management
-Communications
-Environmental Stewardship
-Risk Management
-Tourism Marketing

Each of these courses is designed to complement one another creating a knowledge base and experience that employers in the industry are desperately seeking. The program also boasts a 90% employment rate (based on those students who apply for work) that ranges from Resorts to Municipal and local club positions to manufactures and Bike shops.

What is trail difficulty and who cares? Trail assessment the key to knowing

With long time industry contacts developed from IMBA Canada, Hoots Inc., Endless Biking, local bike shop Off the Edge and the other instructors from the program, the Mountain Bike Operations Course offers an amazing opportunity to see things from the inside out. Life in the course emerges you in the throws of an amazing mountain bike community on the Sunshine Coast which offers some of the best riding in the world! (dang the locals are going to hate me now) .

Providing opportunity, tasty line bro!

Over and above reaching your personal education goals, you will leave a legacy by designing and building a trail or maybe even two while in the program and you will know what it takes to be a professional trail builder…not the dude that builds sketchy stuff in the forest!

This is what we propose for our trail segment number 1...

This is what trail segment 2 had in mind

More and more communities are understanding the benefits of having professional people at the helm of mountain bike related stuff and slowly the era of unauthorized building what you want in the forest is coming to an end.

Want to know how to build solid ladder bridges, dirt jumps that stay dry longer, sweet flowy steep berms, trail you don’t have to keep working on to get the mud off and just about any other trail related thing?… More importantly want to have the knowledge to deal with land owners so that you can use your skills to negotiate a build projects? Get to know how to do it right, the right way!

This is your instructor? Better do your homework!

For more information check out the university here.

For LOTS more cool stuff and the inside scoop, check out all of our Face books;

Mountain Bike Operations at Capilano University
Jay Hoots
Endless Biking
IMBA Canada
Off the Edge Adventure Sports

Ride ON!
Jay Hoots

Hoots Inc. - Executive Director
Capilano University – Instructor (Trail Building)
PTBA – Member
Norco – Rider & Ambassador

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39 Comments

Score Time

+ 33

pinnr2010 (May 29, 2011 at 7:08)

f*ck college, i know what im doing now

matt-bike-baha-3 (May 29, 2011 at 16:57)

to make a good track, you must not be shown.

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+ 12

pheonix-up (May 29, 2011 at 6:02)

Trail building 101...best class EVER!!

RampageRules (May 29, 2011 at 17:34)

trail riding 101, best class ever.

pheonix-up (May 29, 2011 at 19:33)

agreed!

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QCIrider77 (May 30, 2011 at 9:51)

Awsome course, I checked it out but decided ultimately to go for outdoor rec and tourism management at their North Vancouver campus. Also, really cool, I would suggest going to their website. Going down for an interview tomorrow!!!!

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OlSkoolJake (May 29, 2011 at 12:21)

I did some looking around for info on this course. I couldn't find a rough cost for this course or length. Does anyone know this info? Would be very interested in doing this Smile

Terrafire (May 29, 2011 at 12:25)

^this

baker718 (May 29, 2011 at 15:29)

I too would be interested, i have a year out on my Adventure Recreation Management degree and it'd be sick to go to Canada to do such a thing along side all the other extreme sports management i'll be learning on my course!!

kevin267 (May 29, 2011 at 17:38)

it's one school year (sept-end of april)

cost is similar to any one year university course

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downhilldj127 (May 29, 2011 at 7:16)

My boy Al was just in this program, the helmet cam of the trail they built is unreal

dirtjumper771 (May 30, 2011 at 9:40)

is it on pinkbike? if it is, link us

carlmontnative (May 30, 2011 at 10:18)

Al's in the second pic from the top, in the blue helmet

kevin267 (May 30, 2011 at 14:31)

go pro of the second trail we built http://www.pinkbike.com/video/196188/

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sexley (May 29, 2011 at 9:20)

Seems cool - anyone getting good jobs out of it?

odin333 (May 29, 2011 at 15:17)

It sounds like a cool course to take, but i doubt there is huge opportunities after you get your degree/certificate or whatever they offer at the end. The sport is still too small to support high paying jobs, there may be a few but not a ton and you probably need something more like an engineering degree if you want to be making the big money, like designing bikes.

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vassilis (May 29, 2011 at 7:01)

Seems almost... too good?

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troyburgundy (May 29, 2011 at 22:49)

this course was awesome! thanks Jay!!!

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tolemtb (May 29, 2011 at 7:14)

Does anybody know if similar program is offered in USA by any school ?

samnation (May 29, 2011 at 8:14)

Only school in the world.

bunkey (May 29, 2011 at 17:23)

Naww there's one in Aberdeen here in Scotland. There's 2 in the world in total.

samnation (May 29, 2011 at 17:44)

Which school?

bunkey (May 30, 2011 at 12:04)

I'm really not sure but there was a lot of talk about it a few years ago. I have no idea what the official course title is but its definitely centered around trail building and forest management. There's also a Downhill Racing course at Borders College in Galashiels which focuses on training, specific skills and the whole mental aspect of racing.

samnation (May 30, 2011 at 15:09)

Hmm thanks for the info I can do some looking now.

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Gabe352 (May 29, 2011 at 14:44)

where r those trails

kevin267 (May 29, 2011 at 17:40)

sprockids park in gibsons

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TAridingMTB (May 29, 2011 at 10:45)

wow, this is sick!

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Below threshold threads are hidden

- 11

MTBLegend92 (May 29, 2011 at 7:45)

Wow, I wish I could take bullshit classes.

dougies (May 29, 2011 at 7:58)

its 8 months, something worth doing in a gap year or whatever.

downhillryan (May 29, 2011 at 15:25)

just giving kids hope for a job that doesn't really exist. but hey if they build themselves safer trails why not i suppose.

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bikekayakhike (May 29, 2011 at 8:18)

@MTBlegend...If you are enrolled in a traditional 4 year college, you are taking primarily bullshit courses. This class actually teaches you something useful. Sorry.

MTBLegend92 (May 29, 2011 at 8:53)

Georgia Tech doesn't offer bullshit classes. Everything is physics and math. At least for my (and most) major.

akirizu (May 29, 2011 at 9:38)

If you took Engineering up here; over your 4 years, you'll have about a year and a half worth of courses that shouldn't even be in the program... like English courses for example. But that's how universities make money.

grandmastere (May 29, 2011 at 11:09)

I'm not sure where 'up here' is in your mind, but engineering programs in canada have 3 complimentary studies electives (i.e. 'bullshit classes') throughout the duration of the program. That amounts to half of one semesters work. So it's 1/4 of a year total.

akirizu (May 29, 2011 at 14:10)

Really cause my two buddies in Engineering at UofCalgary had a full year of just retarded and general eng courses before they even got into the fields they wanted.

MTBLegend92 (May 29, 2011 at 14:50)

English classes aren't what I consider bullshit classes. While yes, they have very little relevance to an actual engineering degree, they are required to be taken by state laws (here at least, I don't know about other places). What I'm talking about are elective type classes which are taken generally for fun, or to learn something unrelated to your degree. I know that at other colleges and universities these tend to be commonplace, but where I go, they do not exist for the most part. I have friends from others schools who took classes on sign language, horseback riding, dancing, snowboarding, etc. which are what I'm talking about. At Georgia Tech, the closest thing there is to that is art history, and that is basically the only one. It might even be required for architecture majors, I'm not sure. There are no free elective type classes though.

With that being said, I think a lot of people think are misreading what I meant by a bullshit class, which is probably my fault for using the terminology in the first place. I'm not saying that it is stupid or a waste of time to take these classes, or trying to put down the class or quality of education in any way. I would love to take these classes, I'm just saying that where I go, classes to teach you something fun or interesting do not exist outside the core curriculum for a major.

GabrielDugas (May 29, 2011 at 15:54)

in most university in quebec you have to reach a certain level of french to avoid french classes AND acheive a certain level of english (wich is not as high as the one in french). you got tested before your first classes. it's really important that people know how to write... i don't normally make spelling mistake in french and when i look to newspaper or whatever work or article and it's loaded with mistake it lost a lot of credibility. and trust me, your employer normaly know how to write and will notice. + general course are not that bad. you have to learn tools to get into what you realy want

racerfacer (May 30, 2011 at 9:38)

let's face it. "English" courses stop teaching how to write properly after grade 9 (even that is pushing it). After grade 9, they are just a purpose of getting students to read shitty literature (Shakespeare, Death of a Salesmen = garbage). All of these people are mixing up their/there/they're and your/you're and the curriculum makers are more concerned that the students know about that sissy Hamlet.

Yes, in engineering you take maybe a full year of courses that do not SPECIFICALLY relate to your degree (physics, math, complimentary studies, english, computer programming, statics/dynamics, chemistry, etc...), but, except for english, you get some skills and knowledge to throw in your toolbox.

Back on topic: Definitely looks like a fun course to take, not to sure of the employment opportunities. Kind of reminds me of the Selkirk College ski resort ops where kids spend their "co-op work terms" spinning lifts and flipping burgers in the caf...except the biking industry unlike the ski industry actually has a future...

jdeb7 (May 30, 2011 at 19:43)

most engineers actually end up in management and they have to be able to communicate so English classes are actually useful if you want to come out of engineering school making good money to go off of what the guy said above me physics chem and calc are essential to engineering if you did not take those classes you would have no clue what to do and most likely fail every class once you get up to higher engineering courses

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