Send & Ascend Skills Clinic

Our beginner level clinic is for riders totally new to the sport of mountain biking or those who have a season or two under their helmets, but are still nervous about getting out onto singletrack. Our coaches will focus on the basic concepts of mountain biking: body position, braking and shifting, and trail scanning. Beginner participants need no prior experience, and the afternoon trail ride will center more around practicing skills and less on a physically taxing climb and long descent.

Beginner clinic full? Consider joining MT Alpha and coming to our free beginner clinics, offered intermittently throughout the summer.

Our beginner-intermediate level clinic is designed for riders who have been riding for at least one season, feel generally comfortable on mostly green and a few blue level trails (local reference: most trails in the rattlesnake) but have experienced either a plateau or speed bump in their riding (walking switchbacks, struggling to gain speed going downhill, feeling out of control on more technical terrain etc). The intermediate clinic will return to and refine the basics of riding that riders continually use and rely upon. We’ll offer insights into feeling more in control and gaining speed, as well as taking steps to continue improving as a rider. Our trail ride will be more physical than our beginner rides, but we’ll have plenty of time for breaks on the climb and options to session sections of trail while descending.

Intermediate clinic full? Consider joining MT Alpha and taking part in our Third Thursday Intermediate Clinics.

Our intermediate-advanced clinic is for those with 2+ seasons of riding logged, looking to increase their speed and style while riding. Participants should be comfortable with longer days on the bike (2-3 hours with multiple climbs and descents), most blue, and some black trails. Riders will start at the base area and practice more technical climbing Hot Sauce and descending on Moose.

This clinic is for advanced riders looking to advance their technical riding skills. Interested in tech trails at bike parks? Want to try your first enduro race? Or, Looking to conquer backcountry descents with confidence? Our advanced tech clinic will prepare you for all of this and more. 3+ seasons of riding is strongly recommended, with a background in technical or backcountry riding. Kneepads required (let us know if you need to borrow some). Riders must have experience on black trails; we will begin our day practicing and assessing skills on the base trails before head up to Bjorn Again, Marshall Mtn's most advanced trail.

This clinic is for strong intermediate riders looking to learn jumps and burmed corners. The jumpline/flow clinic will equip riders with the skills necessary to confidently join their friends at local Montana bike parks. 3+ seasons of riding and previous skills work strongly recommended. Kneepads required (let us know if you need to borrow). All riders must have experience on Black MTB Trails; we'll start on the Dual Slalom course before heading up to Hello Kitty, the mountain's best flow trail. Riders should have a solid foundation of skills.

This is for those interested in learning more about adaptive recreation/mtb-ing. We are working with MARS (Missoula Adaptive Recreation & Sports) to introduce adaptive mountain biking to MT Alpha Cycling. We are still fine-tuning the details of this offering for the day -- keep an eye out for more!