[jackalope]

Just heard from a pretty reliable source that Whis is done for not only 2020, but likely the 2021 ski season as well. That is max suxor for a myriad of reasons if true.

First Obama endorses Biden and now he closes down a mountain bike mecca.

 

[Redwood Mulch Chucker]

Obama did that shit?

I thought Trump said it's cool , it'll all be over in just a bit. Maybe Canada didn't get the memo?

 

[jackalope]

Obama did that shit?

I thought Trump said it's cool , it'll all be over in just a bit. Maybe Canada didn't get the memo?

Have you ever seen Trudeau and Obama in the same room? No? That's because they're same person. And unlike Bush Jr, he apparently hates mountain bikes.

Seriously, this is obviously shit news and I hope it doesn't affect other venues that Vail owns but I suspect it will.

 

[6thElement]

Well that sucks, I didn't think wife and my DH trip to BC was going to happen this summer. But I hadn't cancelled our Whistler lodging or flights yet.

 

[SuboptimusPrime]

Massively shitty news if true. I'd be interested to see what prompted them to call it off so far out given that it's far from certain how all this shit will play out. I get it if they decide there's no way to get the bike park up and going unless they are starting now (which they cant) so that fucks the season. I guess they are just assuming COVID will make its rounds again this winter so why bother. They must have uh lot of cash sitting around to weather a storm like this.

 

[Bikael Molton]

I bet Bike Park Operations for the Summer would have already started by now. It's not like they can just flip the switch and turn Summer mode on.

If it was Florida, they'd have been ruled an Essential Business already, like professional wrestling just received.

Anyhow, there ain't gonna be much touristing anywhere in the world this summer.

 

[jackalope]

Anyhow, there ain't gonna be much touristing anywhere in the world this summer.

That certainly seems like the inevitable reality, but I was a little surprised they went ahead and shit canned the ski season which extends a few months into 2021. If this is really the case, it almost sounds like they're trying to wait for a vaccine to be available. Guess they're on firmer financial ground than I would've initially thought if they can shut down for a whole year as Subopt said.

 

[djjohnr]

Physical distancing is going to remain a thing even once the shelter in place lifts. That's not likely to change until a vaccine is widely available. Based on that people waiting in crowded lines to ride on lifts next to each other is probably out for awhile, and even if open the number of visitors flying in would likely be way down.

 

[canadmos]

Guess they're on firmer financial ground than I would've initially thought if they can shut down

We fund dentists and in turn, dentists fund Whistler, with ski pass prices.

I'm sure they'll be fine.

 

[kidwoo]

Massively shitty news if true. I'd be interested to see what prompted them to call it off so far out given that it's far from certain how all this shit will play out. I get it if they decide there's no way to get the bike park up and going unless they are starting now (which they cant) so that fucks the season. I guess they are just assuming COVID will make its rounds again this winter so why bother. They must have uh lot of cash sitting around to weather a storm like this.

It probably has a little to do with the fact that they're watching their neighbor to the south beginning to setup as the first country on the planet to maintain itself as a 9 month hotbed of an uncontrolled virus outbreak.

They haven't announced anything yet and a bike park employee I 'know' on a ski forum said they hadn't decided anything as of a few days ago.

Keep an eye on what vail holdings do in the states for the summer. None of them are whistler but vail mountain is still a bit of a summer destination.

Resort towns all over the globe have been traced to being vectors for spread just FYI.

 

[marshalolson]

VAil Resort (who owns many resorts including WB) in many ways is a Season Pass and accommodation business. Meaning if they are not selling passes, and pre-booked occupancy isn’t at a certain level, then there isn’t reason to staff-up and begin operations sadly.

The bike bit is a huge bummer, but not terribly surprising. Cost to recruit/hire/train the mountain in a shortened seasoN is tough calculus for a publicly traded company.

For winter, skeptical of that decision even seriously being considered and put into place until July-ish. Contingency planning now certainly.

 

[jackalope]

It probably has a little to do with the fact that they're watching their neighbor to the south beginning to setup as the first country on the planet to maintain itself as a 9 month hotbed of an uncontrolled virus

Now see if we could bring a little of that Florida can-do attitude up to BC, we could have designated areas for push ups and boot strap pulling to keep the VID away.

But yeah, I can definitely see how resorts (especially ones that pull internationally) would be a bad idea for keeping the VID at bay. And djjohnr makes a good point about the likely lack of draw, so why bother spending the operational money for a lot less people. Hell, they may be saving money by keeping it closed until late next year.

 

[slimshady]

I'm still amazed of how optimistic you guys are. This shit is here to stay, and the world won't come back to normality in a long time. I know it sucks in oh so many ways -especially for those depending on the seasonal work to balance their yearly income- but the alternative is digging a shit ton of graves and ultimately a greater economic impact in the long term.

Shelter in place isn't enough to stop the virus from spreading. Mandatory isolation and gathering places shutdown (such as gastronomy, theaters, sports clubs, etc) is working a lot better for us down here.

I know the Orange Emperor pushes to kickstart the US at full throttle as soon as possible, but it would mean suicide. The world we knew has changed for ever, and we will have to learn to live with this COVID19 shit from now on. Annual vaccination against the most active variant will be a thing, since this crap mutates pretty fast. It's a goddamn cold on steroids for that matter.

The worst part is accepting we might have to buckle up and wait until 2022 to have some normality back in our lives. So far, I'm able to deal with it. I'm just not entirely sure for how long I'll be able to do it.

 

[kidwoo]

Now see if we could bring a little of that Florida can-do attitude up to BC..........

That's a good point actually. To date, I've seen no indication whatsoever that syphillis makes covid19 any worse. Hell it probably cures it based on syllables canceling out or some shit.

 

[jackalope]

That's a good point actually. To date, I've seen no indication whatsoever that syphillis makes covid19 any worse. Hell it probably cures it based on syllables canceling out or some shit.

Well, well, well...looks like somebody just jumped to the front of the line to replace Dr. Fauci. I trust you will continue your no-pants policy while at press conferences.


This also gave me the idea of making a Florida based elixir to combat the VID:

40 oz bottle with about 24 oz of Bud Lite Lime, 6 oz of bath salts, 10 oz of quinine, 2 oz of gator semen (tiger jizz if sold in OK) and a small magic crystal/meth rock at the bottom.

The Vaxxxinator!

 

[kidwoo]

Obviously not a floridian.


Malibu rum bro. It's whats for......well, everything.

 

[6thElement]

Well, well, well...looks like somebody just jumped to the front of the line to replace Dr. Fauci. I trust you will continue your no-pants policy while at press conferences.


This also gave me the idea of making a Florida based elixir to combat the VID:

40 oz bottle with about 24 oz of Bud Lite Lime, 6 oz of bath salts, 10 oz of quinine, 2 oz of gator semen (tiger jizz if sold in OK) and a small magic crystal/meth rock at the bottom.

The Vaxxxinator!

You forgot a dozen of the hydrochloroquine (sp) pills, but fish tank cleaner is a fine substitute.

 

[kidwoo]

I'm still amazed of how optimistic you guys are. This shit is here to stay, and the world won't come back to normality in a long time. I know it sucks in oh so many ways -especially for those depending on the seasonal work to balance their yearly income- but the alternative is digging a shit ton of graves and ultimately a greater economic impact in the long term.

Shelter in place isn't enough to stop the virus from spreading. Mandatory isolation and gathering places shutdown (such as gastronomy, theaters, sports clubs, etc) is working a lot better for us down here.

I know the Orange Emperor pushes to kickstart the US at full throttle as soon as possible, but it would mean suicide. The world we knew has changed for ever, and we will have to learn to live with this COVID19 shit from now on. Annual vaccination against the most active variant will be a thing, since this crap mutates pretty fast. It's a goddamn cold on steroids for that matter.

The worst part is accepting we might have to buckle up and wait until 2022 to have some normality back in our lives. So far, I'm able to deal with it. I'm just not entirely sure for how long I'll be able to do it.

Pssh. You're obviously unaware of how that would affect my investments, or my sense of entitlement to travel wherever the fuck I want.

Utter nonsense.

 

[SylentK]

Was planning on going to the whizz late july. That probably wont happen...

 

[jackalope]

I'm still amazed of how optimistic you guys are. This shit is here to stay, and the world won't come back to normality in a long time. I know it sucks in oh so many ways -especially for those depending on the seasonal work to balance their yearly income- but the alternative is digging a shit ton of graves and ultimately a greater economic impact in the long term.

Shelter in place isn't enough to stop the virus from spreading. Mandatory isolation and gathering places shutdown (such as gastronomy, theaters, sports clubs, etc) is working a lot better for us down here.

I know the Orange Emperor pushes to kickstart the US at full throttle as soon as possible, but it would mean suicide. The world we knew has changed for ever, and we will have to learn to live with this COVID19 shit from now on. Annual vaccination against the most active variant will be a thing, since this crap mutates pretty fast. It's a goddamn cold on steroids for that matter.

The worst part is accepting we might have to buckle up and wait until 2022 to have some normality back in our lives. So far, I'm able to deal with it. I'm just not entirely sure for how long I'll be able to do it.

You very well may be right, and of course "luxury" services like ski/bike resorts are a pretty insignificant part in all of this. Just hard for me to fathom keeping restaurants (non-fast food), bars, sports venues, bus stations, parks, etc...closed for ~2 years, but that may be reality. Or, the reality if the Tang Gangsta wasn't in charge.

 

[slimshady]

Pssh. You're obviously unaware of how that would affect my investments, or my sense of entitlement to travel wherever the fuck I want.

Utter nonsense.

Got a bit carried away with the bitterness. Sorry about that.

To further cement your point,

 

[kidwoo]

Got a bit carried away with the bitterness. Sorry about that.

I just made a joke about someone I don't even know sucking their own dick yesterday

 

[slimshady]

You very well may be right, and of course "luxury" services like ski/bike resorts are a pretty insignificant part in all of this. Just hard for me to fathom keeping restaurants (non-fast food), bars, sports venues, bus stations, parks, etc...closed for ~2 years, but that may be reality. Or, the reality if the Tang Gangsta wasn't in charge.

Wuhan is returning to a moar open policy on April 26th. That's 76 fucking days of no-excuses-sorry-I-wanna-ride-my-bike mandatory confinement. Even the totalitarian state realized you can't keep everyone inside for ever. But you need to minimize the spreading. And there's no way to do it unless you keep as many people as possible caged, for as long as possible.

EDIT we're far from understanding how things will turn out in the long term for this bug. And I certainly can't imagine forcing every single social gathering place to hybernate for two years. Maybe they will have to operate under social distancing, with a smaller occupation, I don't know. But if we want it to happen, we must act now.

EDIT ² take a look at this:

New model looks at what might happen if SARS-CoV-2 is here to stay

If it’s like related viruses, it could cause seasonal outbreaks for years.

arstechnica.com

 

[kidwoo]

The funny thing is, if everyone just agreed to lockup for 5 weeks, we could pretty much eliminate this shit from the planet. Stock up on food, find a place you can comfortably just stay for a while and just do not interact. We could even plan for it. No take out, no amazon orders, no exchange whatsoever. Then the people who got the vid could develop the symptoms (or not) and get the help they need and let it play out, for better or worse, but at least in a prepared medical infrastructure. We literally could PLAN for this and get it done and over with.

But bro.......dirt merchant!!!!!!!

 

[slimshady]

The funny thing is, if everyone just agreed to lockup for 5 weeks, we could pretty much eliminate this shit from the planet. Stock up on food, find a place you can comfortably just stay for a while and just do not interact. We could even plan for it. No take out, no amazon orders, no exchange whatsoever. Then the people who got the vid could develop the symptoms (or not) and get the help they need and let it play out, for better or worse, but at least in a prepared medical infrastructure. We literally could PLAN for this and get it done and over with.

But bro.......dirt merchant!!!!!!!

 

[jackalope]

The funny thing is, if everyone just agreed to lockup for 5 weeks, we could pretty much eliminate this shit from the planet. Stock up on food, find a place you can comfortably just stay for a while and just do not interact. We could even plan for it. No take out, no amazon orders, no exchange whatsoever. Then the people who got the vid could develop the symptoms (or not) and get the help they need and let it play out, for better or worse, but at least in a prepared medical infrastructure. We literally could PLAN for this and get it done and over with.

But bro.......dirt merchant!!!!!!!

Dirt Merchant scares me now...I'm more of a Delayed Fuse guy myself.

At risk of this devolving into yet another VID thread, would 5 weeks super lock down really eliminate it? I could definitely see that it would make it infinitely more manageable from a medical resources standpoint, but I would assume the VID juice would just hang out in millions of asymptomatic carriers and wait for the 5 weeks to be over and be ready to party again (even if the viral load profile is lower, it's still very much there). Seems like to really rub it out you'd stay underground until most of the population was vaccinated. But unlike Jared K, I'm no expert in virology (that guy has best herpes, beautiful even).

 

[kidwoo]

Just based on incubation time to either death or recovery yes. Maybe 6 to be sure. But we're still passing it around because we're still interacting. Gas stations, grocery stores, take out etc....plus the fuckwits just walking around thinking they're on vacation and acting normally. I'll spare you the bullshit one sees in resort towns right now. We're not currently locked down. At all. We're doing the worst of both worlds. Enough to fuck the economy and not enough to truly stop the spread.

But yeah if I was canada, I'd just be staring at the horror show about to develop if we "go back to normal" when the federal govt just stopped funding for testing. As a canadian, id start chanting "build the wall" right about now.

Like Marshall and I mentioned, watch vail, not just whistler. They know they got nothin if people don't feel safe to travel. And unsafe is a viral outbreak with no real means of containment.

 

[Westy]

I just made a joke about someone I don't even know sucking their own dick yesterday

Quarantine and I assume plenty of drinking have really spiced up your online presence.

 

[buckoW]

I'll spare you the bullshit one sees in resort towns right now.

Oh come on, what you got? Since when do you "spare" people?

 

[sethimus]

if you guys wanna get some riding this summer invest in a nice road/gravel bike...

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

I really hope this isn't true, I've been hearing conflicting messages. I had plans for a long whistler/Chilcotin trip in September.

 

[slimshady]

I really hope this isn't true, I've been hearing conflicting messages. I had plans for a long whistler/Chilcotin trip in September.

I'm still waiting for Troy Lee to come up with a N95 certified D4.

Any news on the matter @stiksandstones ?

 

[jonKranked]

I just made a joke about someone I don't even know sucking their own dick yesterday

and someone you do!

 

[FlipFantasia]

BC's doing relatively decent on flattening the curve, and they're starting to talk about the possibility of getting kids back to school before the end of June....buuuuut, the USA is a 'WE'RE #1!' shitshow and I don't think any Canadians want to see the border reopen to anything but essential shipments before things are a lot different down there. Businesses that can be compliant with physical/social distancing requirements, 2m (6.6 freeeeeedom units), have been allowed to remain open, but I'm not sure how you do that in the context of a lift supported bike park. I haven't heard of too many people that are expecting much of a WBP season this year, at this point there are just too many unknowns with everything. Don't get me wrong, would love that things weren't this bad, Whistler pretty much literally fully shut down overnight, but I don't know how to reconcile a place that thrives on packing in tens of thousands of people in confined areas (village stroll, lifts, restaurants, bars, stores, etc) with maintaining physical distancing and meeting no non-essential travel or travel outside your community mandates. Even if the WBP does reopen in some fashion this season, I'd be surprised if it's business as usual.

 

[marshalolson]

The business of a resort destination is super complex. In order to open, the resort has to recruit/hire/train a ton of seasonal workers. Many of these involve international work visas. Can’t just turn this on with a flip of the switch, and it costs a ton of money to staff up and get going for every resort.

In Vail Resorts case, they help the cash flow of starting up operations by selling a ton of season passes in advance to.

As an example, according to the head of Season Pass sales back in 2012-13, VR sold 1,000,000 season passes annually in China. At $700-ish per pass. And that was before owning Whistler. They bought Whistler in Many ways to sell more season passes to this market (direct flights Beijing to Van).

there has been no winter 20/21 season pass cycle this spring (surprisingly, and seemingly pointing to at least some concern around winter season happening) to finance bike season kickoff, and travel, especially international travel for the remainder of 2020 seems to be questionable at best, at this point.

 

[kidwoo]

Oh come on, what you got? Since when do you "spare" people?

You know how the ski resorts and resorts in general in Italy were identified as one of the bigger vectors for spread?

Rental houses in my neighborhood and in the whole area are still filling up on weekends and the people that live here are acting like it's just another vacation period. Hiking/skiing/biking together everywhere. I've lived in my house 15 years and know most the people (and dogs) that inhabit the trails behind me. New people every week. One guy telling me he's a local as his daughter utters "look dad, snow!" pointing off in the distance. Obviously not someone who lives here. Every single county health department here has issued explicit stay at home (YOUR home) orders, including the two hospitals. The indicator is the pharmacies. They can see your home address when you pick up a prescription.

A property manager I know of just lost some clients because he told a family literally FLYING out from Manhattan to stay in their house to fuck off when they wanted him to get their house prepped (cleaned, shoveled, stocked with groceries).

Jackass entitled americans with money just don't fucking get it. Because me me me.

They ran out of ICU beds in sun valley ID a few weeks ago for all the same reasons. The county that vail sits in in CO has one of the highest per capita infection rates in the country.

Gunnison county (Crested Butte, CO) has had to start fining non-residents $5000 a day to stop dickwads from texas from coming up.

You can search the news here, it's covered almost everywhere. Smug americans are traveling even more than usual and expecting everyone working in 'essential' stores to serve them. That's why we're not going to get any sense of containment here whatsoever. These assholes literally don't care if they kill someone working in a grocery store.

I can still buy a roundtrip plane ticket to NYC right now. We fucked. Beause we so fucking special.

 

[kidwoo]

BC's doing relatively decent on flattening the curve, and they're starting to talk about the possibility of getting kids back to school before the end of June....buuuuut, the USA is a 'WE'RE #1!' shitshow and I don't think any Canadians want to see the border reopen to anything but essential shipments before things are a lot different down there. Businesses that can be compliant with physical/social distancing requirements, 2m (6.6 freeeeeedom units), have been allowed to remain open, but I'm not sure how you do that in the context of a lift supported bike park. I haven't heard of too many people that are expecting much of a WBP season this year, at this point there are just too many unknowns with everything. Don't get me wrong, would love that things weren't this bad, Whistler pretty much literally fully shut down overnight, but I don't know how to reconcile a place that thrives on packing in tens of thousands of people in confined areas (village stroll, lifts, restaurants, bars, stores, etc) with maintaining physical distancing and meeting no non-essential travel or travel outside your community mandates. Even if the WBP does reopen in some fashion this season, I'd be surprised if it's business as usual.

I'm starting to think they should have an "american crankworx". Just americans. Invite everyone up. Get the vail administration from the states to run the mountain for a week, full service, bars, restaurants, bike events, everything. Just have it last 4 weeks with roadblocks between squamish and pemberton. Air travel only so no one has to go through vancouver. One way of course.

They'd be doing both the sea to sky corridor a favor as well the rest of the world.

 

[Da Peach]

With the weather we’ve been having, maybe the fires will take care of any shred of a doubt.

 

[kidwoo]

With the weather we’ve been having, maybe the fires will take care of any shred of a doubt.

Wait till the americans get there. You're going to have to do something with the bodies so that could be a win/win.

 

[jackalope]

I'm starting to think they should have an "american crankworx". Just americans. Invite everyone up. Get the vail administration from the states to run the mountain for a week, full service, bars, restaurants, bike events, everything. Just have it last 4 weeks with roadblocks between squamish and pemberton. Air travel only so no one has to go through vancouver. One way of course.

They'd be doing both the sea to sky corridor a favor as well the rest of the world.

Or do it at Santos, FL! And let's face it, Ocala > Whistler Village when it comes to posh accommodations, quality restaurants, quaint bars and general embrace of the mountain bike community. I mean, who wouldn't want to slam a couple Malibu Rum & Red Bulls at the local Applebees?