going to live my dream - a season in whistler - talk to me.

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going to live my dream - a season in whistler - talk to me.

51 posts & 25 voices | Started 8 months ago by DJTC | Latest reply from whatnobeer

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DJTC - Member

I have decided i am going to live my dream that i have had for many years. im 19 and so have no real commitments, im going to work for as long as it takes to have enough money to move out to whistler for a full riding season, without having to work there, riding every day.

any tips advice etc would be very appreciated

anyone done it and can help me out with anything?

accomodation, best flight provider, visa issues etc.

also the fun part what bike do you recomend, im thinking 180mm single crown forks? maybe scott voltage fr or intense slopestyle etc? what are the best trails? which should i start on?

very exciting, thanks in advance

Posted 8 months ago #
peachos - Member

never been to whistler or done a bike season, but done a couple of winter seasons snowboarding. i'd probably try and save up some cash between now and spring and aim to get out there on with a job, as working in hospitality etc is part of the experience & you'll make a load of friends that way.

i looked into it a few years ago though. two ways to get in to canada for you would be working holiday visa or a sponsorship through a job. check the bunac website for full details, think they are the only people who can help you get a whv - http://www.bunac.org.uk/uk/workcanada/

intrawest are the company to look at for jobs, they pretty much own most things out there and do annual recruitment drives. but check out whistler blackcomb website for details.

as for which bike, shouldn't that be bikes?!

Posted 8 months ago #
flange - Member

Whatever advice gets posted below this, don't let anyone put you off.

I can't think of a better age to do something like this, scrimp, save, do whatever you have to.

Personally I'd look to try and get a job in a bar out there, just so that it doesn't become too one-dimensional and you'll get to meet loads of people. I also wouldn't just limit myself to Whistler, travel around if you can and visit various places (definitely go to Van for example). Contradicts the 'get a job' comment but...well...whatever.

As for bikes, something simple, bombproof and easily serviceable. You're not going to struggle for bike parts out there but I'd go shimano/Rock shox and a fairly simple frame. Or buy something when you're out there and take advantage of the exchange rate. My brother did six months on a Prophet with Lyrics and had no issues, plenty of spare brake pads, a bleed kit and strong wheels.

Good luck!

Posted 8 months ago #
alex222 - Member

use protection.

Posted 8 months ago #
plumber - Member

In the same position I'd choose Kicking horse or Nelson over that whistler village

Posted 8 months ago #
chakaping - Member

There was a lenghty feature in Dirt a few months ago on this subject, worth searching out if you missed it.

Posted 8 months ago #
scruff - Member

I did a winter season in Whistler with no work, got mega accomodation deal thru http://www.alluradirect.com/

eating and drinking out will steal your money, liftpass is expensive, shame to go all that way and not see some more of BC, at least- Vancouver & Vancouveer Island.

Book flight early on Tinternet, keep an eye on exchange rates. Bike parts out there no cheaper.

Posted 8 months ago #
phil.w - Member

I've not been to Whistler but have done winter's & summers in France both working and not and as said above I'd look at getting some work while I was there even if only part time, it's the best way of getting to meet people.

Posted 8 months ago #
DJTC - Member

thank you all. i had considerd getting work, however i have worked in the hospitality industry for a few year and im begining to truly hate it. i guess something in the evenings could be ok, and im always up for meeting people. but i just want to make sure im not sacrificing riding for working. and the only reason i say just going to whister is because its so easy, all the trails are there, the lifts are there, i dont need local knowledge or buddies to do shuttles with etc.

thanks for the links

i will also search for that dirt article, ta.

thanks for your encouragement flange, the amount of people that show the negatives instead of saying go for it! sound advice with the bike aswell, i always go shiman/rockshox.

Posted 8 months ago #
5lab - Member

you'll probably get bored of whistler bike park pretty quick. I've done a couple of weeks in BC, twice, and the second time I just allocated a week to whistler (as I found 2 weeks too long). You can spread your time round the north shore and the other BC bike parks and probably not get even close to getting bored.

With that said, you will get injured and so will your bike. I'd either take something thats not worth a whole load, or buy something out there brand new under warranty, to cover you as you snap bits. Whistler is very hard on bike parts.

Its good fun, go for it

Posted 8 months ago #
DJTC - Member

thanks for that bunas link peachos - very helpfull!

5slab - that has been on my mind, my only reason for just picking whistler was to keep costs down slightly, reduces travel to other bike parks, and accomodation in many different areas etc. however i think you are right and its well worth considering more of a trip round all of them. yeah im expecting a bit of carnage bike and body wise, will get padded up and make sure my bike is strong as an ox, i love building bikes and so it will be very strong, saint or xt on everything thomson post and stem etc, totems. do you think single crown forks ok or should i go more of a dh option?

Posted 8 months ago #
northdownsouth - Member

Currently working in Van (as of this august) and I would recommend the North Shore for a change from the "motorway" bikepark. Not been up to Whistler yet (going Friday) :D, so cant comment on that.

Canada isn't as cheap as I was told it was! Food etc is the biggest cost after somewhere to live. I love it here though- super friendly people, awesome riding etc. You will love it!

Posted 8 months ago #
lunge - Member

Go for it , you will have a hell of a time, wonderful part of the world. Do it now while you can, I did a season skiing in France, it was wonderful.

I've also not done Canada but have done seasons in France and would pass the following snippets on:

However much money you think you'll need double it. This is my standard rule for any long trip/holiday.

Get a job in a bar in the evenings, you'll meet people, it will keep a bit of money flowing and might also keep you in cheap beer/food.

Get a simple bike that will have a local distributer so you can get spares. I'm thinking single pivot, coil forks, normal (not factory built) wheels.

Try to give yourself 1 day off a week to go and do other things. You can drop into a routine very easily and having a day per week off the bike can help stop this.

Posted 8 months ago #
chakaping - Member

I don't think you'll get too many negatives on here, just jealousy from me anyway!

If you're starting your build already drop me an email, might be able to help you out with a cheap Totem or even frame too. Address in profile.

Posted 8 months ago #
5lab - Member

food in the resorts is very pricey - whistlers better than other resorts for this, but still a long way from vancouver prices. the other resorts will probably make up for the cost of travel (which is pretty cheap if you don't mind taking a long time) by being cheap once your there - silverstar has a good hostel which is cheap, and most of the resorts do a park ticket + accomodation package.

as above, its not cheap. 2 weeks cost me about a grand on top of flights, each time. single crown forks are fine, take a fork rebuild\service kit, and spare bearings for your frame.

if you're a decent rider, what about getting certified as a bike coach and paying your way like that??

Posted 8 months ago #
wysiwyg - Member

I've done exactly what you're talking about in 06. And 6 weeks last year. Biggest expenses are flights. Canadian affair in Jan sales and use Quidco for another 10% rebate. Lift pass, use the early bird or if you havent got enough cash to afford that and need to get it when you arrive, make yourself a WORCA member for a few bucks and you get 10% off the pass. Same applies if you buy a Brocard from Fanatyco bike shop 10% off plus cheaper stuff in shop. Accomadation; google Whistler staff housing summer. Yes you may get put with some freaks but it's cheapest you'll find that's guaranteed available. Try to get into Brio it's jus been done up and is close. Glacier is cheap but up the mountain which is a PITA walk. As long as you are going for more than 3 weeks staff housing is your place. For somewhere cheaper look on the Pique magazine website and on Craigslist for rooms to rent. That's what I did last year, better than staff and cheaper usually cos you get your own room. Food is upto you how much you spend. But easy to make it cheap on the pasta diet. Bike shop wise use Garbo bike n bean and ask for Spooner. The immigration ppl will ask you how much money you've got. If you've not got a lot lie. Jus say £4k. They won't work out what that is in $. Last time I asked him if he meant in cash on me and he said yes so jus said $200. Think that about covers it. Wed night is Phat wed races few dollar entry and you get a beer and a prize draw. Plus you'll meet everyone who's local. Think that covers it. Anything else ask. Oh I transfers. Err online shop around or you can get the bus.

Posted 8 months ago #
DJTC - Member

wow, thanks alot wysywig, i will be in touch at some point when i really get down to the logistics. thanks mate.

Posted 8 months ago #
wysiwyg - Member

Oh I bike choice. Err I took 6" travel bike last year. Absolutely fine you can take a full on dh bike but no need. It will kill your bike. Fox forks will need a seal service every 3/4 days n a full rebuild every 2 weeks if you don't want to knacker them. Marzocchi good bet as any problems take them to zocchi stand at crankworx for free fettling. Fox won't look at you. Take tyres. Shop around and buy some highrollers. 3 pairs should suffice. I'd take extra and sell them on if you can get cheap enough. Don't jus limit yourself to the park. Go to squamish and pemberton. Silverstar too. Youre bound to find ppl to ride with. They'll show you the special trails like ride don't slide and tresspasser..

Posted 8 months ago #
_tom_ - Member

Long post ahead so apologies if I'm rambling. I'm doing it now Didn't do a full season as I needed more time to save up money, but I got here on 15th August. It's amazing here - so good in fact that riding in the UK seems so pointless and rubbish We just don't have anything that comes close to this back home.

You need loads of money. I came out with about 2.5 grand for just over 2 months. I'm actually doing ok money-wise but that's because I'm having to limit nights out as beer prices here are so high. My first night out in Vancouver I ended up spending about $100

Flights I booked with Canadian Affair, flying with Thomas Cook. Mine was £340 one way (as I'm not sure when I'm going home yet as I'm trying to get a job and stay for longer), and flights home are even cheaper - I've seen one for $50 Vancouver to Gatwick via Canadian Affair!

Accomodation wise I kind of wish I went with the staff housing just to meet new people easier. I'm in a nice private roomed condo in Creekside for the same price as staff accom though, but I don't have any housemates at the minute, so nights can be boring and going out by yourself is a bit awkward at first.

As for bike I'm riding an older 180mm Santa Cruz Bullit (w/old 180mm Boxxers) and it's spot on. I don't think there's any need for more travel or slackness unless you're riding all the double blacks and proper thrashing it. For all the fun blue/single blacks I haven't felt like I needed more travel and only properly bottomed out once on a very badly landed drop. I think a big slack dh race bike would be rubbish here as a lot of the more fun trails are full of jumps so it's better to have something flickable. Bullits are quite popular here as are Bottlerockets, Voltages, Demo's and the rental bikes are all Kona Stinkys. Just make sure your forks are good at absorbing high frequency bumps - mine aren't and my hands are slowly getting more nackered by the day. I struggled to open a bottle of pop with my left hand yesterday

Get your visa sorted as soon as it becomes available for 2012. It takes a few months to process so best to get it early.

All the trails I've ridden so far have been fun other than Schleyer as I'm not man enough to do all the rock drops so I ended up walking around a lot of it. My favourites are Crank It Up, Black Velvet (brand new trail which is ridiculously good and ends at the Fatcrobat log ride which is fun), Freight Train (apart from the container gap) Devil's Club, Wednesday Night Delight and Bluesium. Got a few bad gopro vids up here if you want to have a look.

Posted 8 months ago #
wysiwyg - Member

Oh and with Canadian affair there's a list of stuff you can take excess baggage for free. Fishing tackle is one, so a bag of spares and extra tyres if you're overweight can easily become tackle... Ahem

Posted 8 months ago #
wysiwyg - Member

And make sure you have insurance. Endsleigh will cover you for proper dh biking. But not races so dont spanner yourself on a wed night. They're cheap and they paid out €27k for me. Best £160 I ever spent.

Posted 8 months ago #
markgraylish - Member

use protection.

Ha! STD's are (supposedly) rife in Whistler, so be careful out there....

Posted 8 months ago #
5lab - Member

container gap in freight train is easy, just come out of the trail before it at reasonable pace and don't touch your brakes (no pedalling either). I found it way nicer than the one on fade to black..

sun peaks is definately worth doing - you can do it together with silverstar pretty easily, and the riding there is awesome. I'd personally say the jump track there is better than a-line

Posted 8 months ago #
_tom_ - Member

Oh and read through these Whistlapalooza articles on SDH.

5lab yeah it doesn't look that hard, I just get the fear of gaps and I'm not always great at step-ups. I haven't tried Fade to Black yet either considering I have a hard time getting the bottle to go fast enough to clear all the jumps down A-Line

Posted 8 months ago #
jedi - Member

wysiwyg, what did you do to yoruself?

Posted 8 months ago #
5lab - Member

fade to black is pretty easy too - just hit it all at a moderate speed, and you'll be fine. Don't brake between the step down and the step up.

Posted 8 months ago #
geoffj - Member

GIT!

Go for it

Posted 8 months ago #
michaelmcc - Member

I'm going on October 12th this year!!

I'd like to know if you have any contacts out there..

Also looking for job hunting tips myself..

Posted 8 months ago #
simonralli2 - Member

No real advice - I took a year off when I was 18 and went round the world. I am sure it will be amazing. Just try not to underestimate costs so you do not get caught out and you'll be fine. All you really need is a credit card with enough credit to get you back home in an emergency (I had to do this with another year off in '04), and good insurance.

Good luck!

Posted 8 months ago #
wysiwyg - Member

Jedi> 12 days in Van hospital including a night in intensive and a couple of cat scans. Snapped frame in 2 on day 3 and broke ribs, bruised kidney and worst was burst spleen. Lost 3 pints of blood internally before I decided something was up and called paramedics. By which point I was having weird shooting pains across my shoulder to my groin. Never felt anything like that. After 12 days told um I was more than ready to leave tho I wasnt. Told me not to ride for 6 months. Collapsed in the petrol station toilets on way to bus back to whistler. Ignored that and went to the pub. The 6 month ban lasted a week. I figured I'd be fine as long as I didn't crash...I didn't. I was.

Posted 8 months ago #
jedi - Member

high5!! i was riidng 4 weeks after surgery instead of 18months
been too long since we caught up.

Posted 8 months ago #
wysiwyg - Member

I'll have to mooch down some time. See if you've still got it

Posted 8 months ago #
jedi - Member

in spades mate

Posted 8 months ago #
Burts - Member

I'm going on October 12th this year!!

I realise that you're going for the winter season, but did you know that the bike park only shuts on Oct 10th?

+1 for bringing spares with you, a lot of stuff is more expensive here. Whenever relatives visit from the UK, they usually find their bags filled with my CRC/Wiggle orders.

Posted 8 months ago #
globalti - Member

How will it work with your visa?

Posted 8 months ago #

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