Whistler Trip w/ Pics

[Dirt Devil]

Well, what's there to say. Whistler was absolutely freakin' awesome. At the end of 3 weeks I'd done 80 runs in 12 days, Marty had 120 runs in 14 days and Rob had punched out about 140 runs in 16 days. On the fastest tracks (A-Line & Dirt Merchant) it took about 6-7 minutes from top to bottom but on technical ones it took about 10 minutes. By the end I couldn't clench a fist without screaming my hands were so sore. It also took a toll on all our bikes and mine needs a bit of work to get it back on the trails. Next time I'd take the biggest bike I could afford. I rode a Demo 9 with Fox 40's for a day and it was much more comfortable. The double black diamond trails have some scary steep technical sections that really required big travel and slack angles. Once you rolled in at the top there was just no stopping until the bottom. These were the sections were I had a few really good crashes (tweaking my wrist in one) and numerous close calls.

Here are a few pics I took during the last week. We've also got about 2 1/2 hours of helmet cam footage which might get me through the cravings until the next trip.

This is the view from the bottom of the park, right next to the lift line. The semi trailer in the park was not open to the public. It was a Crankworx only thing but we did get to see a few people test it. The mountain in the background is the Garbonzo section and the chair went up the gap in the trees on the right.
http://forums.farkin.net/photo/data/500/Park_Chair.JPG

Rob hitting the big curved wallride. This thing caused more carnage than anything else I saw. Watching someone slide off from up the top was not something I'll forget. Rob tore the hell out of his calf after doing just that.
http://forums.farkin.net/photo/data/500/Rob_Curved_Wall.JPG

This is what a lot of riders seemed to do on the wall. Slide off the top and eat a steaming pile at the bottom.
http://forums.farkin.net/photo/data/500/Footplant.JPG

Cedric Gracia was trying to land 360 flips off this jump into the mulch. He didn't land one while I was there but he had a few good stacks. If you wanted to learn new tricks, this was the spot.
http://forums.farkin.net/photo/data/500/Cedric_Flip.JPG

Cameron McCaul trying to tailwhip his big bike. Barspins too. Hooray for 1.5 Shermans.
http://forums.farkin.net/photo/data/500/McCaul_Tailwhip.JPG

This roll in looked almost vertical from the top and we spent a good 5 minutes figuring out how to get down it on the first run.
http://forums.farkin.net/photo/data/500/Detroit_Rock_City.JPG

Marty trying to add some flavour to the big step-up jump on Dirt Merchant.
http://forums.farkin.net/photo/data/500/Dirt_Merchant.JPG

This is the wall you see in most videos. This one caused a fair bit of carnage with a lot of people giving it the hip and shoulder. Marty seemed to be able to get higher on it than most.
http://forums.farkin.net/photo/data/500/Mart_Marzocchi_Wall.JPG

This is the big step-up/step-down jump on the Biker X course. When you hit it right it felt really smooth. If you didn't get the timing right off the top it was very uncool.
http://forums.farkin.net/photo/data/500/Mart_Step-Down.JPG

This is the view from the top of the big table on the Biker X course. Marty is jumping the hip in the foreground. John Cowan was building some monster doubles in this area but they were not for public consumption. The big Biker X step-up/step-down can be seen a bit better on the far right of this shot.
http://forums.farkin.net/photo/data/500/Park_Village.JPG

The fun box jump was really tasty but if you got too carried away it was easy to over jump to flat off the big side. Manuals on the small side got extra points too.
http://forums.farkin.net/photo/data/500/Rob_Fun_Box.JPG

The quarter pipe made it too easy to take a good photo. I saw a few riders get 4-5ft out the top of this too.
http://forums.farkin.net/photo/data/500/Rob_on_Quarter.JPG

We found this rock wall on one of the intermediate trails. You often see this one in magazine advertisements with some pro rider on it. Rob demonstrates how it's done.
http://forums.farkin.net/photo/data/500/Rock_Wall_Ride.JPG

[Registered Nutcase]

Damn, I am so jealous all of those pics are just making me more jealous. Awesome pics man hope to see some more and the helmet footage soon

Cheers Blake

[Cameo]

sweet as dude, looked a killa.

[hardinge915]

i might be going there later this year... looks like a GREAT time you had.. shame ill only be there for the day with my folks

[Fraz]

you lucky bugger! looks like you had a lot of fun. that place is the coolest place on earth!!! some day i will get there. :)

at whistler can you actually ride with pros on any day if your lucky like garcia or McCaul as you pictured?

[bire]

lucky bugger.

seems like a nice trip.

hope ya had a rad time see ya there next year!

[Roadie Rob]

Brings back memories, but the last time I was there everything was white. Go Figure!!!!

[freeride_ac]

That looks friggin insane. I so want to go there. I probably have to get more skilled at riding to make it worthwhile though. Half the stuff is massive.

[ja_har]

Thats bring back my memories. I rode that shite for a year..and still cry in my dreams I am still not there.

That steep roll in photo was the 'Nationals' course when I was there. The B line is harder than most aussie tracks and makes Eildon look like a XC course.......

[DarlingDownsDownhiller]

GEEZ, That looks so sweet

Looks even better considering i'm stuck in IPT on a Friday arvo :mad:

[slo]

decent, very decent:D


more so jelous but....

[Dirt Devil]

i might be going there later this year... shame ill only be there for the day with my folks
Just rent a Demo 8 for the day and hit the trails. You will not regret it. I'm sure your folks will forgive you for pissing off.

at whistler can you actually ride with pros on any day if your lucky like garcia or McCaul as you pictured?
You can if you get off the chair at the same time they do. We did a run with Dave Watson which was pretty cool. I saw Schley, Cowan, Watson, Gracia, McCaul, Dyer, Rennie, Kovarik, Lopes, and Donahue while I was there.

I probably have to get more skilled at riding to make it worthwhile though. Half the stuff is massive.
There are easier lines around most of the big stuff and you can just walk down if you can't ride it. There's so many different trails (green, blue, black, double black) which makes it easy to build up to the really technical stuff. Just wear body armour and learn to recognise when you're in over your head.

[RaID]

nice pics

cant wait to hit that up this weekend

[rooks]

MUM!:eek: Can we go to whistler!

[Roly]

INSANE!!! :cool: :cool: :eek: :eek: :cool: :cool:
looks like a must-go holiday for any keen mountain biker. :D :D

That rock wall has been in Dirt mag once with Andrew Shandro.

Is that like one big 4x/Jumps/MountainX area at the bottom of all the trails or something? looks sick :) :)

[mpdowling]

that looks so amazingly cool. how much was the chairlif and acoomadation? was it a expensive trip?

martin

[shirtz]

is the big road gap/drop under the gondy open? that was madness!

top photos too. i miss that place so much :(

[Mugger]

Holy f..... Thats awesome, oh i wish we could get something.

[bradh]

what can i say, but: great photos!

actually, i'm speechless.

[Dirt Devil]

Is that like one big 4x/Jumps/MountainX area at the bottom of all the trails or something? Yep. They call it "The Bone Yard" and most of the trails end up going through it at the bottom of the run. The chairlift goes right over it so you can watch everyone ripping through there on your way up.

is the big road gap/drop under the gondy open? that was madness! That was indded a massive gap but it wasn't open while I was there. It was roped off to prevent carnage.

how much was the chairlif and acoomadation? was it a expensive trip? Season pass for the bike park was $350. Accommodation cost us $700 a week (split between 3) and return flights to Vancouver cost $2200. It certainly isn't cheap but it's worth every cent and I'll be going again next year if I can manage it.

[sam......]

damn. that place is sik. if i dont go to whistler one day ill gonna be pretty pissed off

[lachy]

well if i sold my bike i could afford to go......but i guess that would kinda not be worth it lol.

na looks like sooooo much fun hey. very very jelious.

[Numinos]

The pics look ausome, are you Marty? The guy riding the ironhorse with 40's either way pics and riding looks like an ausome place to ride. Wish I could go!

[toodles]

On one hand, I'm so jealous right now... On the other, you've at least motivated me to start saving for something more worthwhile than a crappy home deposit so thanks :)

[hardinge915]

Just rent a Demo 8 for the day and hit the trails. You will not regret it. I'm sure your folks will forgive you for pissing off.


they already no that im goin there on landing if we go... how much is a demo to ent for the day with the fullface etc..

[Dirt Devil]

On one hand, I'm so jealous right now... On the other, you've at least motivated me to start saving for something more worthwhile than a crappy home deposit so thanks :) Glad I could help out. We actually had some guys pull out of the trip because they wanted to save for a house. What were they thinking?

how much is a demo to rent for the day with the fullface etc..At Evolution the Demo 8 w/ Boxxer Teams was $100 for a full day or you could get an Enduro SX w/ 66 forks for $65 or something. It's cheaper if you only rent it for a half day but why would you do that. I'm not sure how much for riding gear. Whistler Rental shop also had Stinky w/ 888s for about the same price.

The pics look ausome, are you Marty? Nah, I try not to talk about myself in the 3rd person. I'm taking all the photos, except for the one with the steep rock face. That's me rolling in.

[Superman]

radical pics, riding and place man!

haha demo 8 with boxxer teams, $100 a day, thats a bloody bargain considering at Mt Buller vicmtb rent out stock Kona Stinkys for $180 a day i think!

[mazzer]

lucky f.... now i want to quit my job and move to vancover oh wait you need mony to get there maby next year :D

[Extreme Hucker]

Hey .man, great pic. I was thinking of working there on my gap year. Looks sweet. Canada's awsome!

[Corty]

Awesome photos!!! Damn I'm jelous as hell of those wall rides and the 1/4 pipe looks sick!

OK guys, Canberra has one of the biggest MTB clubs in Aus. How bout we get together and make some of these things in Majura or Stromlo???

[mr636]

sweet pics man! i just got back from whistler,and yeah looked a little different while i was there. kinda a wish i stayed on, just ran outa money and couldnt find another job for the summer. oh well somthing to work towards!

[scotty beefs]

am heading up there in a 2 days for riding and crankworx and after 5 months off the bike and looking at those photos I am officially scared...

[scbullit]

Whistler is truly awesome for riding (not just in the park)... Have gone twice now for riding and will definitely be back for more sick bike park action. "Dirt Merchant" and "A-line" rule! Blurry little pic on left is bottom of "A-line"

[Ben_9]

that looks bloody awesome!!!!!!!! did u speak to with any of the pros?

[Dirt Devil]

am heading up there in a 2 days for riding and crankworx and after 5 months off the bike and looking at those photos I am officially scared... Wait 'til you see some of the technical trails. There's some nasty stuff in there.

did u speak to with any of the pros?No, not really. You had to be pretty lucky to get on the same chair and they didn't hang around once they got to the top.

[soapy]

the pic's r awesome dirt devil but they still dont do the place justice...i'm over her for at least the season and like u said u can get way "over your head" very very easy.....and that WWS (whistler wrist syndrome) is a real killer,...buy the way i scored myself a job at crankworx as a stage hand...so i'll be the "big" guy with the black and red "david becham" kinda mowhawk up on stage every nite if any of u wanna come and punch the shit outa me :eek:

[shirtz]

sweet pics man! i just got back from whistler,and yeah looked a little different while i was there. kinda a wish i stayed on, just ran outa money and couldnt find another job for the summer. oh well somthing to work towards!


jesus, thats exactly what happened to me. pisses u off doesnt it!

did u do any of the trials around whistler or van?
there r soo many good ones. take a bit of uphill action though to get to them.

[SDA]

the pic's r awesome dirt devil but they still dont do the place justice...i'm over her for at least the season and like u said u can get way "over your head" very very easy.....and that WWS (whistler wrist syndrome) is a real killer. :eek:

Yeah, I agree... the place is huge!!! The first time I went down Schleyer, I was well over my head... next time down, no problem! It makes you progess quicker, though. I love the top of Lower Whistler Downhill... its so fast!

Can't wait to get up there later this month & September! Only notched up 4 days on the season pass, so far.

Anyone out there in Van (who is not going to Crankworks) interested in Cypress (Mountain Bike Park) this weekend? PM me if interested!

Cheers

[skinny666]

Dude i was where the same time as u..!!
i remember your (or your mates) yellow and green footy top..!!
iv got all my whisler photos on my lap top so cant post any rite now..
but looking at your photos made me a bit sad that im here and not there again..