Red Bull Rampage: Think You Could Ride It? No You Can’t!

Matt Jones, Olly Wilkins and Ben Deakin are out in Utah to watch Red Bull Rampage, and while they’re there they took the chance to try out one of the famous local (and open to the public) trails – King Kong.

If you’ve never been to Utah, you need to go. Perhaps not even to ride – just to gawp. It’s a huge place with geography that ranges from alpine meadows like you might find in the skit resorts of France, to fried desert earth, to what can only be described as alien worlds. The variety is incredible, and even more mind boggling to the Brit viewing it all is how much of it there is. Towering cliffs and jaw dropping vistas are marked only by a small layby – no visitor centre, tea room and interpretation boards. There’s another – bigger, better, more awesome – geological feature just along the road, this is just the warm up.

With so much to play with, it’s perhaps less surprising that it’s OK to go and dig lines, jumps and senders into a small corner of it. That’s what happens every year at Red Bull Rampage, which has moved sites on a few occasions in search of new lines and vertical opportunities.

That means there are old lines to be played on – if you’re keen enough – and even a few trails to be tried out. Particularly around the original Red Bull Rampage site, there are some relatively mellow bike park style lines that more mortal riders can try out. And then there’s King Kong. Open to the public, but only for those who are comfortable with some serious jumps, drops and exposure.

Just in case you were thinking you might be able to ride some of the Red Bull Rampage lines, check out some of the UK’s best riders making quite the hash of getting down this local trail. It’s one of the most engaging MTB videos we’ve seen in ages – put the sound on and enjoy the gulps and other sound effects.

We’ve been watching this is in the office and there are some of us who are a little concerned about the lack of gloves, foam and plastic. Some of us. It seems like a really good place to put on all of the protection. Just watch that bike disappear down the edge of the hillside/cliff/drifting pile of desert shale. Gulp!

Check out more of our Red Bull Rampage coverage here:

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

More posts from Hannah