Whistler-Blackcomb, British Columbia, Canada

Last week of July 2005

Photos from the trip

Lost Lake Park (No Horses trail mostly, Sunday and Friday)
Monday (Trash, Riverside Trails and Loggers Lake)
Whistler Bike Park (Tuesday)
River Runs Through It (Wednesday)
Whistler Peak (Wednesday)
Rainbow-Sproatt Flank Trail (Thursday)
Friday (Hiking and Exploring)
Miscellaneous
 

Videos from the trip

The date is set for Saturday July 23 to Saturday July 30, including travel days. Expect all rides to be rated at 5-stars or higher!

• Photos of the 2-day scouting trip, June 5 & 6
• Travelling to Whister
• Where to stay (Added June 15, 2005)
• Renting a bike (Added June 15, 2005)
• IMBA rates Whistler as the Global Superstar for 2004 (added February 13, 2005)
• Calendar of events (Added February 1, 2005)
• Photos (November 26, 2004)
• Maps (Updated December 2, 2004)
• Trail Descriptions (Updated December 2, 2004)
• Logistics and ride schedule (Updated June 2005)
• Other Activities for days off riding, or for people who aren't so interested in riding  (Updated December 9, 2004)
• People who are interested in riding at Whistler (updated February 21, 2005)
• Links to trail descriptions, maps, photos, etc. (November 26, 2004)

There has been interest in a biking trip to the Whistler Mountain area so am putting a page together to show us what is available. Consider this a work in progress.

Whistler is a true mecca of mountain biking. The terrain is rugged, the scenery is spectacular, and the local people are interested in all things outdoors, all things recreation, and all things spectacular, winter and summer! There is a lot of diversity in the kinds of riding, with hundreds of miles of cross-country trails ranging from pavement to extremely technical, and the Whistler Mountain Bike Park (watch Pete Fagerlin's video) for the ultimate in downhill and freeriding.

 July 2005: Tentative Calendar of events

IMBA rates Whistler as the Global Superstar

In their 2004 report on trail conditions worldwide, British Columbia and Whistler were given top honors of

Global Superstar

BRITISH COLUMBIA: A
Whistler model freeride area, kids, clubs, trails
A repeat champ from last year, British Columbia managed to hold off strong pushes from Scotland, Wales and the Yukon to retain the Global Superstar award. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Whistler's getting a lot of accolades. The ski area's freeride park, featuring the legendary A-line and Dirt Merchant, is the benchmark for lift accessed mountain biking. Resorts across North America are lining up for ways to replicate the success - and potential profit. B.C. advocates are taking a lead role on improving access for riders worldwide, hosting the World Mountain Bike Conference in Vancouver this summer. Finally, B.C. clubs do more than anyone to ensure the future of our sport by getting kids - sometimes by the thousands - on mountain bikes.

See the full report.

Travelling to Whister

There are many airlines that claim to fly between Los Angeles and Vancouver, but I have only been able to find two that fly nonstop with several flights per day: Air Canada and Alaska Air. Some others fly once per day, arriving late in the evening which would necessitate a very late arrival at Whistler, or more conveniently, an overnight stay near the airport, adding to the cost but not to the time on the trails. I suggest we arrive in Vancouver in the very early afternoon, have lunch, then caravan up to Whistler. The table below shows the recommended flight to take in bold, and possible alternatives. Both Air Canada and Alaska Airlines charge $50 each way ($100 total) to take a bike along. Alaska Airlines will sell you a bike box at the ticket counter for $20, but I wouldn't count on that, just in case they run out or it takes too long to pack the bike. Remember, you have to take the wheels, pedals and handlbar off.

* The recommended flights are shown in bold.

Remember, airline tickets get more expensive to book as you get closer to the flight date and the plane fills up. These prices were checked in mid-May.

Driving to Whistler from the Airport

The most common car rental agencies have locations at the Vancouver airport. If you've going to be taking your bike with you, plan to rent a large car to fit the box. Once at Whistler, we'll ride to all the trailheads so we won't need cars to get our bikes around up there. In calculating the expense of a car, don't forget that it costs more to get one at an airport, and most accomodations at Whistler charge for parking, so let's try to share cars to save money and the environment at the same time.

Lodgings

There are many property management companies that can help you find a place to stay at Whistler. The one I have been using is whistler.com. It's really easy to search for rooms on their site and to get all the information you need about them. You can book online, or call them on the phone and talk to them.

When searching for a room, indicate that you want one in Whistler Village or the North Village (Village North?). Everything in these places is at most a 10-minute walk from the furthest place. There is also the Upper Village, but that's at the base of Blackcomb and is a little further away - maybe a 15-minute walk, but still pretty close. As of mid-June, there are a number of places that can be had for less than $75/night (plus taxes), or CDN$100/night. There are tons of places in the US$75 to $100 range that have two queen beds, so for two couples that works out to less than $25/night per person.

Another on-line property management place you can try is whistlerblackcomb.com. They have the same prices as whistler.com for the hotels, but they have different condo units, so you might find something on one but not the other. They also allow you to search for rooms in a specific property, which is convenient if you know where you want to stay. Both places are considerably lower prices than if you go to the web site for the hotel or condo directly!

Bikes

You can either rent a bike when you get there, or take your bike with you. See below for a discussion of the pros and cons of each. I originally thought I would be taking my own bike, but I was happy with the bike I rented one for two days in early June when I was scoping out the trails, so now I plan to rent. There are a number of bike rental places; the one I'm using is Whistler Outback Adventure. You can rent a "performance" full suspension cross-country bike there for $180 (CDN240), and they are willing to let take a downhill bike instead for one day (not sure how much extra they'll charge us for this, if any). Not all bike rental places at Whistler allow you to make a reserveration, but these folks do. And it's a good idea to reserve your bike, they only have 10 "performance" cross-country bikes. Their number is 604-935-7566.

Don't forget to take your pedals with you if you use cleats!

Photos

Photos of the 2-day scouting trip, June 5 & 6. I spent two days riding the trails to get an idea of where we should go. I took quite a few photos along the way.

I've also collected some pictures from the internet of biking and other outdoor activities at Whistler-Blackcomb and  nearby areas. There are some spectactular aerial photos from Vancouver to a little north of Whistler that give you a good sense of the ruggedness of the terrain. This is the area where I grew up.

• High-quality picutures
• Thumbnail pictures

Maps

I have collected a few maps of the area. The first one I scanned and it provides a really good overview of the trails in the area. Check out their names - we need some names like these around here! The second is one copied from the internet, showing the ski trails.

• Overview of biking trails (scanned from a brochure published by whistlermountainbike.com; 268 K)
• Lost Lake trails (2.3 MB PDF file, courtesy of Cross Country Connection [updated Sept 2009])
• Mountain Bike Park Brochure and Map (470 K)
• Details of Mtn Bike Park Map (400 K)
• Contour map of Whistler and vicinity, portrait (408 K)
• Contour map of Whistler and vicinity, landscape (373 K)
• Ski trails (copied from the internet; 692 K)
• Squamish mountain bike trails (316 K)

Trail Descriptions

• Trail ratings (64 K)
• Comfortably Numb and Mountain Bike Park (magazine article)
• Kill Me, Thrill Me (86 K with profile)
• Rainbow-Sproat Flank Trail (82 K with profile)
• Rainbow Madely Trail (92 K with profile)
• Interpretive Forest Loop (98 K with profile)
• A River Runs Through It (91 K)

Logistics

Here's the plan:

• Sat July 23: Fly to Vancouver, drive to Whistler, get bikes set up if possible
• Sun July 24: Get our bikes put together or picked up from the rental places, then do a relatively easy few hours of riding to get aquainted with the style of trails. We'll start in Lost lake Park with a couple miles of novice trail (Tin Pants) but by no means boring, to get warmed up, then move onto something a little narrower and steeper, with some roots, and some really easy ramps to try. Then we'll head to the south end of Comfortably Numb and ride up it for awhile to get the taste of this awsome trail. We'll return to the Lost Lake Park and then ride over to Cut Yer Bars for a playground of intermediate technical challenges in a network of trails. If we have time, we'll head over to River Runs Through It for a black diamond trail that is loaded with ramps and similar obstacles, but really doesn't have any climbing or descent. Rating: 2- to 4-stars
• Mon July 25: We'll ride a few miles south on the paved Valley Trail (has a white stripe down the middle for slickrock fans!) to get to the Cheakamus River area. Some trails we'll ride are Trash, possibly Trainwreck, the Riverside Trails, we'll ride up to Logger's Lake which is great for swimming, and possibly up to Cheakamus Lake if we feel like it. Rating: 4- to 5-stars
• Tues July 26: Mountain Bike Park, the downhill and freeriding playground of the world! We'll ride up on the gondola and coast down the trails. The level of difficulty is intermediate to stuff that Rick and Brad would choke on! We may want to swap our cross-country bikes for downhillers today. If you rent your bike, enquire about this possibility.
• Wed July 27: River Runs Through It in the morning to try out some seriously technical ramps. I'm planning most of the day to be completely free for other activities: hiking, shopping, golfing, kayaking, ATVing, whatever! Also, we'll need our strength for Thursday's ride... Rating: 3- to 4-stars.
• Thurs July 28: The Rainbow-Sproat Flank Trail. We'll climb up the mountain across from Whistler to this trail and traverse it from the middle to the south end at Function Junction. Even though it's rated as intermediate, it will be a challenge for all of us. It's pretty high above the valley floor so that means there's some tough climbing to get to it, but also that there are some great views (in addition to the incredible riding!). If we have enough energy by the time we get to the end, we can ride Trainwreck and Trash again before heading back to Whistler Village on the paved Valley Trail. Rating: 5-stars
• Fri July 29: This is still a little up in the air but I would like to try a black diamond trail, and Thrill Me Kill Me looks like the one we should try. We'll see what we feel like when the time comes. Rating: 5-stars.
• Sat July 30: Head back home
• Sun July 31: Wash clothes, collect mail, reassemble bike, organize photos to send to Steve to put on the web!

Hmm, as I look at this, it leaves about 90% of the trails unexplored. Is anyone up for a longer trip?

"What about bikes?" I hear you asking. There are two options - pack your bike along, or rent one there. Each has it's benefits and disadvantages. First, take your bike. Obviously it would be best to ride your own bike. But to do that, you need to pack it in a big box, get it to the airport, pick it up at the far end (and hope it doesn't get lost or damaged), pack it in a rental vehicle with lots of space, drive it up to Whistler, then reassemble it. Of course you need to do the same on the way back and it costs $50 each way to fly it. The alternative is to rent a bike there. There are lots of shops and they have good bikes, but they're not your bike, and they cost money. To me, this doesn't seem to be an easy choice, but I've decided to rent a bike while there. See above.

Other Activities

Bring along your significant other, even if they're not a biker, because there are lots of other things to do! Also, we'll be looking into some of these after the rides.

• Hiking
• Shopping
• Golfing
• Swimming
• Fishing
• ATVing
• Canoeing or kayakings
• Riding at Squamish (on the way to Whistler from Vancouver, Squamish has super trails of its own)
• Riding Vancouver's North Shore (check out a video here from http://www.mountainbikebill.com)

People who are planning to go so far. If you are would like to go, email me at and I'll add you to the list.

• (Tall) Steve
• Kevin & Judith
• Dennis K.?

Links

• WORCA - Whistler Off Road Cycling Association
• Whistler Mountain Bike Park
• Trail descriptions from the Whistler Mountain Bike Guide
• Trail descriptions and reviews from TrailPeak (scroll to the bottom for Whistler trails)
• Photos and descriptions
• Photo galleries
• Photos of activities year round
• Overview of biking from a local hotel