Whistler Bike Park

For most gravity driven mountain bikers Whistler has become the mecca of downhill riding. And for good reason, as Whistler was one of the first mountains to offer lift service for mountain bikers back in 1998. Over the past 13 years Whistler has continued to evolve and now offers 50 trails covering over 200km and provides 1500m/4900′ of descent (when you add the two zones like WB does).

Whistler Bike Park really is the most progressive bike park in the world, beginners and experts alike can find the trails they have been dreaming about. Whether you’re on a flowy trail like B-Line that encourages all riders to pump and rail its berms and rollers or you decide to get some air time on A-Line which is perhaps the most influential jump trail in the world you will love your time in WBP.

Elements of Perfection: Air from Whistler Blackcomb on Vimeo.

Elements of Perfection: Roots from Whistler Blackcomb on Vimeo.

I had been a season pass holder from 2005-08 and it felt like a homecoming when we rolled back into town. With the Bike Parks BC contest we were given rentals and guide but as this was our last stop I was really just looking forward to getting out on my V10 and shredding with my friends. Amberlea decided that she would take full advantage though and picked up a Kona Garbanzo rental bike and booked a 1/2 day lesson to continue her own personal progression. Whistler offers a plethora of choice when it comes to camps and lessons, and for those wanting to really step up their game I would highly recommend the Summer Gravity Camps owned and operated by our friend Andrew Shandro.

2011 SGC Youth Week Teaser from Summer Gravity Camps on Vimeo.

We met up with our crew of old friends on Saturday morning and uploaded Fitzsimmons for a B-line warm up. Our crew included Todd Hellinga, Sarah McQueen, Cam Somerville, Carlos Zavarce & Jerry Lemons, which was a bit of throw back to the days racing Ontario Cup when we all used to race to ride. We chased each other down the trail hooting an hollering as we pumped the berms and rollers trying not to brake and find some early morning flow after one too many pitchers of beer the night before.

Given the quality of trails and volume of riders that Whistler receives every week the park was in excellent shape. The trail crew at Whistler does a phenomenal job with the amount of traffic they receive. We hit up A-line next and collected some air miles, for those who have never ridden A-Line it has to be one of the most famous trails in the world and boasts at least 50 jumps over a 1200′ descent. We followed that up with a Dirt Merchant to Lower A-Line which is one of my favourite lower mountain trails. It definitely takes time to get the jumping brain back into shape, as there are few other places in the world that offer so many jumps. As the day progressed so did my confidence and I finally began hitting tranny again.

Elements of Perfection: Rock from Whistler Blackcomb on Vimeo.

After a half dozen laps in the morning we decided to head up to the Garbanzo Zone for a 3300′ top to bottom run. We started with Blue Velvet as it had just received some grooming and it didn’t take long before our old friend Slam Somerville got his first flat of the day. We took advantage of this and while Cam worked on changing his tube the rest of the gang hiked up to hit some of the features on Filthy Ape. We had a great time taking pics and sessioning the the steep and wall ride with a phenomenal view of the valley below.

Here Terry hits the Filthy Ape steep for the first time.

Yours truly takes a run at it.

Carlos & Todd each take a turn.

Todd finds some air on the wall ride

We continued on down the mountain and connected into No Joke which has long been one of my favourite Garbo trails. This trail has a bit of everything on it with plenty of rocks, roots and drops littered throughout. Here Carlos hits a nice drop with Terry in hot pursuit.

We regrouped with Amberlea at the GLC for lunch, shared stories of mountain domination and schemed our afternoon plans. After lunch we hit up a couple more lower mountain combinations like Ninja Cougar/Karate Monkey/WCSingletrack/Heart of Darkness. I was also stoked to ride French Connection for the first time and link that to Lower Whistler Downhill for a fast finish.

Elements of Perfection: Dirt from Whistler Blackcomb on Vimeo.

There is a whole lot more to Whistler than the bike park. There are at least 50 great trails in the valley all a short (or long) pedal from the village maintained by WORCA. The Whistler Off Road Cycling Association boasts over 1500 members and is integral to establishment of a strong cycling community that is able to generate the funding necessary to ensure that these great trails stay great for a long time to come.

We decided that we needed to finish the day with a hike so Todd, Terry, Carlos and I headed up to RDS. While RDS isn’t officially in the park, it is best accessed via a 30 minute hike from Garbo Zone. It is a steep rooty fall line trail on the west side of Whistler mountain that takes its name from the brake burning 3400′ descent to Creekside. There was definitely some sliding going on though as it was a little wet up top, but as we descended the dirt got tacky, the braking less and the riding riding loose for an epic descent to Dusty’s for a beer.

Our return to Whistler really felt like a homecoming and after touring the best that BC had to offer I am confident in saying that Whistler is without a doubt the best bike park in the world. A big thanks to everyone who came out and while it was hard to leave we know we’ll be back soon!