Whistler Bike Park - 07/18/2016

Ride Name & Date: Whistler Bike Park - 07/18/2016
When: Week of 07/18 - 07/23
Time: TBD
Where: Whistler Mountain Bike Park
Ride Description or Details:
Just putting this out there just in case anyone else is going to to be up there next week.

Will be my first time up there so I'm super excited.
I'm not looking to slay all the trails as I'll be on a 3 week mountain bike road trip through Whistler, Oregon, Tahoe/Downieville... but looking to get a good sampling my first time out.
~~Details~~
Meet Location: I'm staying at the Westin so anywhere in the Village works.
Skill Level: Intermediate, Advanced

This is a sanctioned event: No
Ride Pace: Moderate Pace
Type of Ride:
Rider Limit:
Anticipated Mileage: unkown
Elevation Gain: unkown
Ride Duration: lifts open from 10am to 8pm, but i'm not gonna last that long!
Previous Ride Reports:
Possible Bail-Outs:
Facilities: Whistler Village
Food/water suggestions:
Option to Upload:

 

Dang man! Only in my dreams. Was up there last year. Have a great time!! Send us some ride reports and pics PLEASE.

 

Thanks @Cisco Roots I will start a Ride Report once I'm up there.

I'm likely going to be by myself up in Whistler, so looking to probably join in on one of the Group Lessons or the Adult Bike Park 101 sessions. Has anyone taken one of these? Is it necessary or worth it for Whistler newbs? Any info and recommendations would be great!

 

Sweet! Lots of pics and words required. Would love to hit that!

 

I did the Group lessons and it was hit and miss. It was great to have someone to talk to and to assess my abilities compared to the trails, but two out of the three times I did it, we were joined by some Joeys who couldn't ride very well. That relegated us to easier trails. Frustrating. The first group I did was great. We did the obligatory trial run on B-Line, then graduated to Crank it up, then Ninja Cougar, Samurai Pizza Cat, Ho Chi Minh, Karate Monkey and Angry Pirate.

On another occasion, I had the instructor to myself, and we were working on jump tactics and technique, then he got a call on his radio to pick up some more riders, and again, back to the easiest trails. I asked for my money back, and they gave me a three-run pass and a discount coupon.

I think Bike Park 101 is too easy, if I recall correctly.

If you want to judge your own progression, do the trails I mentioned above - starting with B-Line. Then hit Crank it Up (GREAT berm and jump trail - all jumps are forgiving and reasonably pitched). Then hitting the other blue runs I mentioned will give you a taste of roots, holes, wood features, small chunk and tight trees. Angry Pirate is a great way to "graduate" to a slightly more technical offering. With that assortment, you can decide if you need more challenge and/or if you are a fan of technical trails or flow (berm and jump) trails. Whistler labels their trails as tech or flow. BTW, everyone and their mother has to claim a run on A-Line, so if you too must give 'er a go, be aware of HUGE speed differentials and skill disparity on the trail - and traffic.

The Garbanzo Zone (upper lift) is twice the size of the Fitzsimmons zone (lower lift). Blue Velvet and Freight Train are two phenomenal trails up there, and I understand there have been several upper intermediate, lower advanced trails opened up there since my last visit (2012).

Tip - people start pooping out around 3pm, and the Fitzsimmons lifts run until 8pm (weather permitting). Thus 4pm-8pm is prime riding time - and you will still have nearly two hours of sunlight left when you finish. The only problem with the late hours is the sun angle on some runs - Crank it Up goes straight into the sun at about 7:30-8:00pm. Tough to see.

 

thanks for the write up @herzalot! great info.
any of the trails mentioned compare or are similar to Northstar? I'm comfortable on all the black runs except for Karpiel... i just haven't ridden that enough, maybe this year.

 

I've only been to Northstar once, but I'm going next week while you are at Whistler. I did a few of the easier runs to the far left at Northstar looking up the hill (I was riding alone), then I did Live Wire a few times. When they shut that down for irrigation, I tried Gypsy and was having a blast, until I jumped a feature intended to be a roll down and nose-dived about 8 feet into a hard crash. Day over for me. Karpiel looks fun, except it's frequently under the lift - which is more than a little unsettling to me.

If you can do the black runs at Northstar, I am guessing you can handle the single black diamonds at Whistler just fine. Just depends on your comfort level with drops and gap step-ups. Not all black runs at Whistler have 'em, but some do. Have fun and please keep the rubber side down!

 

Envious! Enjoy!

 

Ill be up there and riding on the 23rd. That will be my warm up day and will be taking it easy.

 

Just finished my third day of whistler. And as always....it's a must do park! Right now there is still a ton of snow and it rained all three days. Not a big deal but something to plan for. Original Sin was very slick and I had my only crash of the three days. I spent most of the time in the Fitzsimmons zone and all of the trails were in good shape. A-Line and Dirt Merchant were in the best shape.
I would recommend a lesson if you haven't been to this park. If the group is too slow, talk to the instructor and ask to be moved to the next level up. I did that five years ago on my first trip up here and they were very eager to help.