Howdy all, just back from a week in the Whistler area and wanted to give a short report. Had an awesome time riding the park as well as some killer shuttles in Squamish, some valley action (including River Runs Through It), and a heli drop in Pemberton. No pics, sorry 'bout that.
Drove up last Saturday straight through from SF, arrived at 3:30 am. Hit the park at about 1pm on Sunday thinking extended play was still in effect - well we were wrong about that so it was a short day but conditions were pretty much perfect. It rained the prior week so the dirt was good and tacky, no dust, and everything was dry. Finally got to ride the Garbanzo Zone without a foot of standing water and greasy mud covering everything (as has been the case the last two years when I've been up there), and it was awesome. Had a blast on No Joke, Original Sin, and other steep rocky and rooty stuff, also Frieght Train and a new jump trail called Sidetrack that opened just a few days earlier so it was super buff. Sweet tables, step downs, that kind of thing, all super fun.
Monday we rode the park all day and pretty much hit everything. I was riding a borrowed V10 and had a blast. A lot of bike but surprisingly easy to launch airs, confidence-inspiring in the steep stuff, and just fast all over the place.
Monday night we hit River Runs Through It. Always fun, if a little tame, this was a good way to get our own extended play.
Tuesday was heli day. We were dropped in the alpine above Pemberton and bombed down an open scree field to a sweet lake, where we picked up a tight singletrack that kept going and going down forever, super fast and flowy, a little loose and off-camber at the top, then nice spongy dirt and little rock booters all over the place for the rest. Smiles for miles...
Wednesday was another day at the park, but the lifts stopped running at around 1:30 because of lightning. Oh well, the GLC and brew pub kept us entertained well into the night.
It was raining in Whistler Thursday morning so we did shuttles in Squamish on Thursday. Had a blast riding steep rocky and rooty trails like 19th Hole and Deliverance and not riding or falling off most of the logs, skinnies, and other stuff on High and Dry. After four long shuttles we were fully knackered, so it was off to a great brewpub for beers, grub, and some epic games of pool and darts.
Friday was another long park day, again super fun. There was new snow at the top of the Garbonzo zone and it was damn chilly up there, but the trails were clear and pretty much dry once a little bit down the mountain. Rode all day and had an epic night out with some locals.
It was raining Saturday morning so we packed it in and headed to Portland for a night out with a good friend who moved there a couple years ago. We had a posse of 6 and rode borrowed fixed gears to 5 strip clubs, getting two or three drinks in each until we were kicked out of the last one at 2:30, at which point we rode around the city some more and finally crashed on the floor at about 4 am.
Yesterday was...driving. A lot.
All in all another great trip to Mecca. Every time I go I progress a little more and yet still feel like I've got some unfinished business up there, and this year was no different. I pretty much rode everything (except some of the silly shizz in the boneyard) but there is always that line you can hit a little faster or that jump you can launch a little higher. I guess that's why I keep going back...
Drove up last Saturday straight through from SF, arrived at 3:30 am. Hit the park at about 1pm on Sunday thinking extended play was still in effect - well we were wrong about that so it was a short day but conditions were pretty much perfect. It rained the prior week so the dirt was good and tacky, no dust, and everything was dry. Finally got to ride the Garbanzo Zone without a foot of standing water and greasy mud covering everything (as has been the case the last two years when I've been up there), and it was awesome. Had a blast on No Joke, Original Sin, and other steep rocky and rooty stuff, also Frieght Train and a new jump trail called Sidetrack that opened just a few days earlier so it was super buff. Sweet tables, step downs, that kind of thing, all super fun.
Monday we rode the park all day and pretty much hit everything. I was riding a borrowed V10 and had a blast. A lot of bike but surprisingly easy to launch airs, confidence-inspiring in the steep stuff, and just fast all over the place.
Monday night we hit River Runs Through It. Always fun, if a little tame, this was a good way to get our own extended play.
Tuesday was heli day. We were dropped in the alpine above Pemberton and bombed down an open scree field to a sweet lake, where we picked up a tight singletrack that kept going and going down forever, super fast and flowy, a little loose and off-camber at the top, then nice spongy dirt and little rock booters all over the place for the rest. Smiles for miles...
Wednesday was another day at the park, but the lifts stopped running at around 1:30 because of lightning. Oh well, the GLC and brew pub kept us entertained well into the night.
It was raining in Whistler Thursday morning so we did shuttles in Squamish on Thursday. Had a blast riding steep rocky and rooty trails like 19th Hole and Deliverance and not riding or falling off most of the logs, skinnies, and other stuff on High and Dry. After four long shuttles we were fully knackered, so it was off to a great brewpub for beers, grub, and some epic games of pool and darts.
Friday was another long park day, again super fun. There was new snow at the top of the Garbonzo zone and it was damn chilly up there, but the trails were clear and pretty much dry once a little bit down the mountain. Rode all day and had an epic night out with some locals.
It was raining Saturday morning so we packed it in and headed to Portland for a night out with a good friend who moved there a couple years ago. We had a posse of 6 and rode borrowed fixed gears to 5 strip clubs, getting two or three drinks in each until we were kicked out of the last one at 2:30, at which point we rode around the city some more and finally crashed on the floor at about 4 am.
Yesterday was...driving. A lot.
All in all another great trip to Mecca. Every time I go I progress a little more and yet still feel like I've got some unfinished business up there, and this year was no different. I pretty much rode everything (except some of the silly shizz in the boneyard) but there is always that line you can hit a little faster or that jump you can launch a little higher. I guess that's why I keep going back...