Whistler
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Whistler
Admin Tue Sep 17, 2013 4:52 am
This past weekend, Louise and I skipped town and headed for Whistler; my childhood stomping ground and the love of outdoors that flows through my veins :-)
Ya, I dig that place -- but not for the reason that most riders flock to Whistler; Lift-Riding! For me its about so-called 'All Mountain' riding - something that Whistler serves up in Ace of Spades! Whistler Valley trails provide some of the most pucker-inducing riding in Canada; imagine the toughest rockiest singletrack in the Okanagan, then multiply the height and difficulty by a factor of four, and you have "Industrial Disease", "AC/DC", "Cheap Thrills" and "Jaws" to name but a few. Even their single-black diamond singletrack will have you thanking your chosen God for dropper seat posts!
I try to go up once or twice a year to see old friends who stayed on long after I moved to the Okanagan, to ride some new trails and to finance their liquor stores... New trails are never hard to find, as WORCA - Whistler Off-Road Cycling Association ( www.worca.com ) has done an amazing job of signing and mapping nearly everything that gets built in the area. This year's exploration was a collection of 'old' trails enroute to complete a 25km loop that would allow me to see more of Duncan MacKenzie's trail prowess. Duncan was in the midst of building a new trail when fate swept him down the mountain in an avalanche, ending his life and terminating the future of his excellent trail-building skills. A couple of years ago a bunch of us traveled to Princeton to experience Duncan's Okanagan-Silmilkameen trail-building in the form of his "Rail Trail". ( www.chinaridgetrails.com/CR/Rail_Trail.html )
At any rate, Duncan's unfinished trail (since completed by his best friends) is dubbed "Business Time", and it in no way resembles Rail Trail! Business' is about exertion, execution, skill, stamina and respect for gravity. In any other local it would be dubbed a double-black diamond, but in Whistler, the land of BIG, its marked as a single-black. A few spots along the way provided new-found idolatry for rock-work. Business' doesn't feature man-made wood-work in the form of 'stunts' / 'teeters' etc., instead, it dishes up crazy chute-drop after drop, roll after roll and grin after sh#t eating grin!
I strongly suggest that you visit Whistler this fall - but skip the lift-riding. Instead, grab a copy of the official Whistler Singletrack Map from this cat - http://trailmapps.com/products.asp and go exploring for a few days. I promise you that you'll find some of the most amazing riding you've ever experienced in Canada!
Below are a few pic's of my weekend. I didn't get a chance to take pic's of the white-knuckle sections, as I was, well, "white-knuckling" it during those portions of the ride. You'll have to go and experience it for yourself. Check out this link for something to whet your appetite: http://www.bikepirate.com/all-mtn-trails/its-business-time
Whistler; the only place in Canada sporting signs encouraging you to tuck into the curves :-)
Whistler Valley Trail - Runs end to end in the valley, mellow as milk, beautiful as blond
Between a rock and a Hard Place - don't look left, its a long way down...
Wall-ride / Roll into Business Time
We ask for a bridge, we get lip-service... They ask for one, they get this!
Duncan; Some very cool friends hung this metal-backed, laminated portrait at the trail-head!
Roll off of one larger, let go of the brakes and roll up onto this one :-) Simple and hella' fun!
Hummingbird-Clearwing Moth larvae - Note the blue horn
Let off the brakes and roll er'! "Runaway Train" trail
Amazing rock faces everywhere - Duffy Lake Rd.
This is what Whistler's version of the RDOS (SLRD) builds - miles and miles of it connecting single-track trailheads!
Whistler Village's "El Furniture" Pub. $4.95 for everything on the menu (!!!) The food is great, portions generous and the waitresses cute!
Go West young man, go West... to Whistler!
Andrew
Ya, I dig that place -- but not for the reason that most riders flock to Whistler; Lift-Riding! For me its about so-called 'All Mountain' riding - something that Whistler serves up in Ace of Spades! Whistler Valley trails provide some of the most pucker-inducing riding in Canada; imagine the toughest rockiest singletrack in the Okanagan, then multiply the height and difficulty by a factor of four, and you have "Industrial Disease", "AC/DC", "Cheap Thrills" and "Jaws" to name but a few. Even their single-black diamond singletrack will have you thanking your chosen God for dropper seat posts!
I try to go up once or twice a year to see old friends who stayed on long after I moved to the Okanagan, to ride some new trails and to finance their liquor stores... New trails are never hard to find, as WORCA - Whistler Off-Road Cycling Association ( www.worca.com ) has done an amazing job of signing and mapping nearly everything that gets built in the area. This year's exploration was a collection of 'old' trails enroute to complete a 25km loop that would allow me to see more of Duncan MacKenzie's trail prowess. Duncan was in the midst of building a new trail when fate swept him down the mountain in an avalanche, ending his life and terminating the future of his excellent trail-building skills. A couple of years ago a bunch of us traveled to Princeton to experience Duncan's Okanagan-Silmilkameen trail-building in the form of his "Rail Trail". ( www.chinaridgetrails.com/CR/Rail_Trail.html )
At any rate, Duncan's unfinished trail (since completed by his best friends) is dubbed "Business Time", and it in no way resembles Rail Trail! Business' is about exertion, execution, skill, stamina and respect for gravity. In any other local it would be dubbed a double-black diamond, but in Whistler, the land of BIG, its marked as a single-black. A few spots along the way provided new-found idolatry for rock-work. Business' doesn't feature man-made wood-work in the form of 'stunts' / 'teeters' etc., instead, it dishes up crazy chute-drop after drop, roll after roll and grin after sh#t eating grin!
I strongly suggest that you visit Whistler this fall - but skip the lift-riding. Instead, grab a copy of the official Whistler Singletrack Map from this cat - http://trailmapps.com/products.asp and go exploring for a few days. I promise you that you'll find some of the most amazing riding you've ever experienced in Canada!
Below are a few pic's of my weekend. I didn't get a chance to take pic's of the white-knuckle sections, as I was, well, "white-knuckling" it during those portions of the ride. You'll have to go and experience it for yourself. Check out this link for something to whet your appetite: http://www.bikepirate.com/all-mtn-trails/its-business-time
Whistler; the only place in Canada sporting signs encouraging you to tuck into the curves :-)
Whistler Valley Trail - Runs end to end in the valley, mellow as milk, beautiful as blond
Between a rock and a Hard Place - don't look left, its a long way down...
Wall-ride / Roll into Business Time
We ask for a bridge, we get lip-service... They ask for one, they get this!
Duncan; Some very cool friends hung this metal-backed, laminated portrait at the trail-head!
Roll off of one larger, let go of the brakes and roll up onto this one :-) Simple and hella' fun!
Hummingbird-Clearwing Moth larvae - Note the blue horn
Let off the brakes and roll er'! "Runaway Train" trail
Amazing rock faces everywhere - Duffy Lake Rd.
This is what Whistler's version of the RDOS (SLRD) builds - miles and miles of it connecting single-track trailheads!
Whistler Village's "El Furniture" Pub. $4.95 for everything on the menu (!!!) The food is great, portions generous and the waitresses cute!
Go West young man, go West... to Whistler!
Andrew
Admin- Admin
- Posts : 1401
Join date : 2008-10-29 -
Re: Whistler
surferboy** Curt Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:57 pm
Awsome Andrew, I plan on heading down there is a couple weeks for a well needed holiday[lol] for 2-3 weeks. So I will check out the trails you mentioned and then some....can't wait !!
......cheers.........Curt
......cheers.........Curt
surferboy** Curt- Posts : 102
Join date : 2011-06-23
Location : Penticton- Skaha Lake
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