The GRC isn’t a competition, it’s a community. Hosted by underground MTB collective In The Hills Gang, the yearly pilgrimage draws a host of rowdy freeriders to the southern Utah desert for 3 days of loose riding and rogue behaviors.

Green River, Utah is a novelty zone in freeride mountain bike history as the filming location of all the first major freeride movies. The zone's unique dirt, lines and jumps that freeriders have built over the years have created endless opportunities for riding and filming — it's quite literally the Alaska of freeride MTB.

In years past, the Green River Classic has flown largely under the radar in this zone. But the event's popularity grew like wildfire, leading In The Hills Gang to seek permitting from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

In the Hills Gang had to bring in hundreds of gallons of water, dig and build all the features—a whole lot of surveying, negotiating, and digging later, the GRC could officially stage.

It’s really a weekend of togetherness—riding, camping, digging, sharing a beer or a meal cooked over fire. It’s a true celebration of freeride mtb culture, and not really about the contest at all.