Once you have driven or shuttled up the mountain it’s pretty much downhill from here. There are plenty of route choices for your downwards adventure and all of them pack something a bit different. Buller has its share of gravity flow trails, but given it was an early adopter of opening up to MTBs in the summer, its trails were built with and retain plenty of character and a hand-built feel compared to the more recent trend for smooth flow. This makes them great fun and challenging as you never quite know what’s coning next.

You are high up here and that means a lot to work with in terms of elevation. Buller caters for the quick hit of gravity, long hits of gravity, or a more up and downy type of experience followed by a hit of gravity.

Around the resort are a range of easy, intermediate and advanced trails and then further afield spread out in an easterly direction towards Howqua Gap and Mount Sterling. 

While you could stay atop the mountain and use just the gravity uplift (bus or chairlift), the long range trails or Alpine Epic take you all the way back down the mountain to Mirimbah. That’s a mountain’s worth of elevation and serious fun all the way down. Given the distances and elevation, taking these more remote trails requires a bit more self sufficiency, so tell your Mum where you’re going.

Chairlift tickets for the gravity runs are available for one to three days or as a season pass. There’s also a bus shuttle up from Mirimbah at the bottom of the mountain (and end of the Epic) which needs a separate ticket. It’s also easy to self shuttle if you have a couple of cars.

The Alpine Epic is a challenging 46 km loop through the wilds and includes flowing descents, technical climbs, features; fun and pain in equal amounts. The last descent from the ‘Enjoy Log’ just keeps going and going and going with amazing use of the terrain and brilliant flow – well worth the effort of the 800 m of climbing en-route.

Facilities at Buller Village are good, with on-site bike hire and places to stock up on carbs and hydration. That’s good because you’ll want to stay around and hit these trails again and again, not least because there’s nothing quite like going back up a hill on a chairlift with a huge muddy grin and the adrenaline still pumping through your veins from that last descent.