Sorry to say it but these gale force winds have caused havoc up at Woodhill. Therefore Hancocks Forestry (formerly Carter Holt) have closed the forest. It will be open the moment that the storm subsides. So if its not howling wind and rain then come on up because you know what they say...'The Wetter the Better"

UPDATE
As reported yesterday the damage that this storm has done is the worst in a very long time.

There is hundreds of trees still procariously hanging just waiting to fall. We still have enough breeze to make these trees drop.

The forest cleanup has begun though and as soon as we and the more serious forest crews that have been bought in have cleared the dangerous trees we will be open.

At this stage it shouldn't take more than the rest of the day but please check this site for updates.

When we do get the go ahead there will be dangerous areas still taped off.. Don't be a dick and ride through these areas, I'm not taping them off to be a pain, I'm taping them off to save someone getting killed.

I will put an update up as soon as I know whats happening but for now we are closed.

As reported yesterday the damage that this storm has done is the worst in a very long time.

There is hundreds of trees still procariously hanging just waiting to fall. We still have enough breeze to make these trees drop.

The forest cleanup has begun though and as soon as we and the more serious forest crews that have been bought in have cleared the dangerous trees we will be open.

At this stage it shouldn't take more than the rest of the day but please check this site for updates.

When we do get the go ahead there will be dangerous areas still taped off.. Don't be a dick and ride through these areas, I'm not taping them off to be a pain, I'm taping them off to save someone getting killed.

I will put an update up as soon as I know whats happening but for now we are closed.

<haydz report>I have just spoken to Haydz who advised the forest will likely not open till Saturday, they are working really hard to clear the affected tracks which will prolly still be closed on saturday, these will be roped off and like Haydz says, dont be a dick and ride them!

The tracks are Raceface, Spagetti, Afterglow, Slipperies, Eds Rush, Charlies, AV8R, SPCA, Blacktop, Pasta Express, Fatacini. Basically all the tracks on the old carpark side of the road.

Forestry contractors are in the forest clearing the dangerous trees and there is a tonne of carnage on raceface and spag. </end haydz report>

As an aside, I reckon we should all take them chocolate and beers to say thanks for all their hard work in clearing the tracks especially since they are likely to still be hard at it when we are riding around on saturday. So please do respect the roped off parts, the last thing they need is some munter riding where they shouldnt and getting seriously injured.

how about the sand did much get blown away?

We have finally been let back in but what we saw when we arrived was far beyond anything we expected. It's like a warzone and in some areas it looks like the tornadoes of New Plymouth with whole areas of trees being completely ripped from the ground. The forest has been completely ravaged and almost every trail is blocked in some way.

The worst hit trails are on the Eastern side and they will most likely remain closed for the entire weekend as we are not even allowed to go in to them as they are so bad. The professional forestry crew will start tomorrow but they don't expect to clear most of the damage in time for the weekend. We have had a large trail crew going through the other trails today but as most of the trees that are down are massive 20 year old + trees it is pretty slow going. We have managed to identify the dangerous trees and they have been marked for felling tomorrow.

The major threat is a forestry term called Widowmakers. They are the tops of trees (about 6 metres long and anywhere between 30 and 100 kilos) that have broken and are being held by nothing more than a few high up branches no thicker than a persons arm or leg. It is only a matter of time until they fall and there is far too many over bike trails to be open at this stage.

The second threat is hanging trees. They are fully grown trees that are leaning against others. You will see the remains of the domino effect they have when they go taking out up to to 20 trees at a time.

Ironhorse has been a victim of this with a big pile at the start and up to 10 more waiting to drop at any time. As a result the trail will be completey different at the start..Heres to new beginnings (haha sorry)

In summary its a mess up there but we will be opening some trails in time for the weekend. Here are the trails that will be closed at this stage.

RACEFACE, SPCA, SPAGHETTI, AFTERGLOW, PASTA EXPRESS, CHARLIES ANGEL, FATACINI, TORTELLINI, SLIPPERIES DELIGHT, ED RUSH RAVINE.

As I mentioned ths may change for the better but we cant make any promises.

Please respect the dangers of the forest this weekend and do enter areas that have been blocked off. We will get it back on track as soon as we can.

Check out this link for some photos
http://www.bikepark.co.nz/webapps/site/ ... wsid=85464

We will reopen tomorrow (Saturday) but there is still some trails that are closed due to the dangers that still remain.
The forest is so bad there are sections that you can't even walk through let alone find a MTB trail.
We simply haven't had the time to clear all the rails.
Its not the fact that there is still tonnes of trees blocking the trails, its more the trees that are half over and ready to drop at any time and also the tops (widowmakers) that have yet to be cleared that psoe the danger for riders.

All trails are open EXCEPT
SPCA
SPAGHETTI STAGE 4,5 and 6
Jalapeno
Afterglow
Fatacini
Pasta Express
Tortellini
Slipperies Delight
Ed Rush Ravine
Flying Fox
Charlies Angel

See map at the Customer Service Desk for a more visual understanding of what is closed.

PLEASE RESPECT THE DANGERS OF THE FOREST AND DO NOT ENTER THESE AREAS, IN ALL OTHER AREAS PLEASE STAY STRICTLY ON THE TRAILS.

yeehaa thanks for the hard work... RACEFACE is open!!!!!!