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Whistler trip for 2011 - Questions

Big J

Big J

Monkey
Jul 18, 2005
421
0
Chicago
ChrisKring said:
BigJ

I thought we were getting there on the 7th. Well, at least I am. :)

I too am hoping for 90 and rain for the next few weeks.
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Yep, everyone will there the afternoon of the 7th......if all goes as planned, ie crossing the boarder w/ out getting f'd around. Ground logistics w/ a large group is always fun.....:rolleyes:

J
 
Carcinogen

Carcinogen

Chimp
May 5, 2011
63
0
Seattle
Big J said:
Same here, our party will arrive on the 8th........I'm praying in the next week or so for temps well above 80F while the rain falls.

We're flying in to Seattle, stopping for beer before crossing the boarder since we're allowed a 24pk per person.

J
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If you want liquor there is always the duty free... or you could just filter some sterno
 
S

Steve M

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2007
1,991
45
Whistler
UncleHowie said:
I'm so excited to go to whistler for a month on the 20. August :D I live in the Blackcomb Lodge with a friend.
Now an important question ;) How expensive is it to party in whistler ? (for example in Switzerland a beer costs around 6-8 $ and a drink 12-16 $ in a nightclub)
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Those prices are about the same as most bars Whistler, though if by "a drink" you mean spirits instead of beer, that's usually a little cheaper than $12-16!

If you buy from the BC Liquor store, you can get a 6 pack of cheap beer (PBR fuelled many of the best nights I'll never remember) for about 8 bucks, or a 700ml bottle of whiskey/vodka/whatever for about $25. The Americans complain about it being expensive because they're used to really cheap beer, but if you're from Australia or Switzerland it's not bad by comparison.
 
I

Infini IV

Chimp
Jan 1, 2011
15
0
Anyone know what weather might be like on the last week of Aug? Trail conditions/crowd? It looks like most of the trails should be open by then, so I assume it'll be pretty busy?
 
schwaaa31

schwaaa31

Turbo Monkey
Jul 30, 2002
1,561
1,182
Clinton Massachusetts
Infini IV said:
Anyone know what weather might be like on the last week of Aug? Trail conditions/crowd? It looks like most of the trails should be open by then, so I assume it'll be pretty busy?
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Unpredictable. 3 years ago I was there with friends, and it was cold and rainy. The last day it was snowing at the top third of the mountain. Pretty uncommon for that time of year, according to the locals. the riding was still great though.
 
Big J

Big J

Monkey
Jul 18, 2005
421
0
Chicago
Wow, I see on the Whistler site seven trails off the Garbonzo lift are open can anyone report on condition of those trails?

Edit: I didn't see the fine print......

"Garbanzo Chair is slated to open soon. In the meantime, you are welcome to hike up the road (NOT the trail!)from the top of Fitzsimmons Chair to the containers. From there you can enjoy Duffman, No Duff, Freight Train and Side Track. Ride safe and have fun out there."

Any idea when the Garbonzo chair is opening?

Thanks!

J
 
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Da Peach

Da Peach

Outwitted by a rodent
Jul 2, 2002
13,809
5,351
North Van
Total Heckler said:
lol ****.

I am going no matter what. If I am riding, that is up in the air now. Doctor said anywhere from 2-8 weeks on the recovery. Now we play the waiting game...
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I've got a couple more weeks to keep off a cracked rib.

Lots to do in Whistler anyway. None as much fun a bikin' of course...

Heal up!
 
F

FarkinRyan

Monkey
Dec 15, 2003
611
193
Pemberton, BC
If you've seen the notices on the WBP page then surely you've seen the photos? We're talking a solid couple of metre deep snowpack, not just snow banks, on the side of upper Blue Velvet. Even if the trail crew has buffed the hell out of it I'd predict it being a greasy, bombhole laden sh1t show within minutes of opening tomorrow regardless of what the weather does.

All the other stuff that's open is at or slightly above the containers junction, which is way lower down and looks to have melted out pretty well. I'd expect that to be a lot more weather dependent; slimy as hell if it's raining but damn near hero dirt if it gets a solid day or two of sun.
 
djjohnr

djjohnr

Turbo Monkey
Apr 21, 2002
3,127
1,839
Northern California
Just got back. Blue Velvet is open from the top and is muddy in spots, but overall not to bad. In Deep was a mud pit. Open sections of Freight Train, Duffman, Original Sin and No Joke were dry.

We tried camping, but found the camping available in the area wasn't great (IE manicured car camping), surprising given the terrain there. Basically your options are Cal Cheek or Nairn Falls, the latter is half an hour away. After spending one night at Nairn Falls we checked into the Blackcomb Lodge with a balcony over the village for $90 a night. Bikes in the room weren't allowed, but the bike cage in the garage proved safe enough. Watch out for all the resort taxes up there, which basically worked out to 30%.

Bike parts were expensive as hell (as expected), I busted my rear wheel and paid $220 to have a 721 built up on my hub. Summit Sports is worth checking out for gear, they have almost everything you could want in stock.

Whistler seems to be run by Australians. I kept forgetting which country I was in.

They have these new portable credit card machines which I guess is new there. Every time you pay for something at a service establishment, they pass you this machine which prompts you to tip, automatically suggesting 15% - the whole time the service person is watching you. If I buy a coffee and all you do is hand me an empty cup then look at me with blank eyes I don't want to give you shlt for a tip. It was pretty damn tacky.

The trails lived up to my expectations. My favs were - Schleyer (reminded me a lot of Boondocks and Sticks and Stones @ Northstar), Whistler DH, Upper Angry Pirate and the second half of In Deep.

Next time, I'll fly and rent instead of driving 17+ hours each way. The rentals I saw there all looked like they were well taken care of. Just bring your bars, grips, pedals and tires.
 
tacubaya

tacubaya

Monkey
Dec 19, 2009
720
89
Mexico City
gurp said:
Just got back. Blue Velvet is open from the top and is muddy in spots, but overall not to bad. In Deep was a mud pit. Open sections of Freight Train, Duffman, Original Sin and No Joke were dry.

We tried camping, but found the camping available in the area wasn't great (IE manicured car camping), surprising given the terrain there. Basically your options are Cal Cheek or Nairn Falls, the latter is half an hour away. After spending one night at Nairn Falls we checked into the Blackcomb Lodge with a balcony over the village for $90 a night. Bikes in the room weren't allowed, but the bike cage in the garage proved safe enough. Watch out for all the resort taxes up there, which basically worked out to 30%.

Bike parts were expensive as hell (as expected), I busted my rear wheel and paid $220 to have a 721 built up on my hub. Summit Sports is worth checking out for gear, they have almost everything you could want in stock.

Whistler seems to be run by Australians. I kept forgetting which country I was in.

They have these new portable credit card machines which I guess is new there. Every time you pay for something at a service establishment, they pass you this machine which prompts you to tip, automatically suggesting 15% - the whole time the service person is watching you. If I buy a coffee and all you do is hand me an empty cup then look at me with blank eyes I don't want to give you shlt for a tip. It was pretty damn tacky.

The trails lived up to my expectations. My favs were - Schleyer (reminded me a lot of Boondocks and Sticks and Stones @ Northstar), Whistler DH, Upper Angry Pirate and the second half of In Deep.

Next time, I'll fly and rent instead of driving 17+ hours each way. The rentals I saw there all looked like they were well taken care of. Just bring your bars, grips, pedals and tires.
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Pretty much what I was gonna say.

Favourite trails: Schleyer, lower part of Blue Velvet, Angry Pirate, Ninja Cougar, Whistler DH, Freight Train.

All waitresses were Australian except one in Longhorns (Swedish or something) and a Brazilian in the Blacks Pub. They say they hire Australians cuz they make the place seem more "classy" lulz.

Upper Blue Velvet was very wet, In Deep was a mudfest, upper Freight Train had some wet berms but nothing unridable and mid mountain trails were awesome (until the last day when brake bumps started to develop quite badly). I was amazed at the size of the refurbished jumps in Crabapple Hits, that trail looks like a motocross track. Dirt Merchant was also a pleasant surprise as the jumps are in much better shape and they feel a bit more flowy.

Hot girls riding and hot girls hanging around the village plus unbelievable riding and then cold tasty beers at the hot tub when we were back at the condo... sounds like good life.
 
Kntr

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
Im here right now and the top has a ton of snow. Some trails are open, but super muddy. Plus, its rained that last couple days and its cold up top. The trails are beat also, since they havent had a ton of time on maintenance. Im sort of disappointed. We were at Silver Star last week and it was PRIMO... probably the best resort conditions Ive ever ridden and I ride a lot of BC resorts.
 
Transcend

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
Kntr said:
Im here right now and the top has a ton of snow. Some trails are open, but super muddy. Plus, its rained that last couple days and its cold up top. The trails are beat also, since they havent had a ton of time on maintenance. Im sort of disappointed. We were at Silver Star last week and it was PRIMO... probably the best resort conditions Ive ever ridden and I ride a lot of BC resorts.
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Weather has wreaked hell on Whistler this season. Not much they can do about it, and not much work they can do when it's underwater.
 
C

ChrisKring

Turbo Monkey
Jan 30, 2002
2,399
6
Grand Haven, MI
I thought it was in good shape last weekend considering the weather. You guys are spoiled by how well they take care of the trails there. If you want more consistent conditions, go ride the airdome.

A bunch of more trails open on Sunday. Most in reasonable condition. Wish I was still there.
 
bwolmarans

bwolmarans

Monkey
Aug 23, 2006
142
0
The Angels, Kalifornia
Whistler was good! Snapped my frame, it was good place for it to die. I liked the rainyness, zero dust even on the dry days. fast lifts. not as big as I thought, though. and not as many trails as i thought it would have because many are the same trail with different names as it goes down. Basically a combination of the vertical of mammoth and the amount of trails of northstar, with no dust, and better trail maintenance. That is and awezome combination and it makes for a mtb disney-land.

Following up on rental evolution were actually dicks, my buddy had weeks in advance phoned them to get a 350 spring on his medium demo rental, they had assured him they would have it then when he got there they refused and that's a dick move, he had to ride with a 400 ... lame move for a bike shop that probably can buy and stock springs at very little cost to them. Whislter demo center rented a shocker and v10 carbon to my friends and both had completely loose rear ends I had to tighten the bolts up on the trail they were falling apart - shocking!
 
dfinn

dfinn

Turbo Monkey
Jul 24, 2003
2,129
0
SL, UT
I'll be driving up from Utah in a couple of weeks and I'm contemplating taking the dog with me. Any issues crossing the border with a dog? Are the trails outside of the park pretty dog friendly if I took her riding with me? How about the village, is it OK to walk around with a dog on a leash?
 
tacubaya

tacubaya

Monkey
Dec 19, 2009
720
89
Mexico City
Dog and border: You may need some paperwork from the vet and stuff like that to avoid getting your dog on quarantine.

Trails dog friendly: Yeah, you can ride the valley trails with your dog.

Village: Okay to walk with a dog on a leash.
 
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