i am thinking about going to whistler bike park in canada. can anyone with any experiance give me any advice on this matter

It’s like Disneyland for mountain bikers/people who like being outside.

What he said, imagine a town dedicated to outdoor hobbies, beer and steak. It makes reality suck.

What he said, imagine a town dedicated to outdoor hobbies, beer and steak. It makes reality suck.

Yep it’s pretty much that and it’s an awesome place. Still absolutely gutted I couldn’t get a job out there, though I dunno if I could hack the long winter still!

I lived there for a year. Looking at pictures of the place makes me feel physically sick. It’s paradise.

We do package holidays to whistler for mountain bikers. Check out our web site (click my name) and feel free to get in touch with any questions!
And yes, as above, its a post adolescent Disney land.

wheres the best place to stay, did you take your own bike ie cost of transport,what bike whould you take a 160 or a 200, and as a yorkshire lad how much is a pint 🙂

$5 a pint. 15 for a pitcher iirc

Do it. I’m going this year I hope

Have you been before

Have you been before

Pints are expensive and tipping is expensive (usually 15% minimum is expected). If you’re buying by the jug you’ll usually pay about $5 per pint after tip (but ofter more than this). Take 200mm bike, if you’re only going for a few weeks then the bike park will keep you more than busy. If you’re going for a longer period, then the 160mm bike will open up the rest of the surrounding area.

Places to stay range from super cheap to unbelievable expensive.

During the summer staff housing is open to non-staff and can be had for $340 a month for a shared room (small bunk beds, two bedrooms to an apartment) a deposit of 1 months rent is required on a credit card and theres a two week minimum stay. Located close to the lifts, but up a steep hill which can be horrible in the hot sun.

Theres a wide range of hotels that I never stayed in so I have no idea what they are like so won’t comment.

Thanks mate. was thinking of going for 10 days at the start of the season

I stayed in a shared house which was part of Southside Lodge hostel in Creekside. Basic but nice enough accomodation, and the guy who owns it (Maxwell) is one of the friendliest, nicest people I’ve ever met. Plus renting that place was cheaper than you’d pay over here, iirc it was about £320 a month.

If you take your own bike then get a bike bag with wheels. Lugging your poorly packed up bike up and down stairs, to the greyhound station and to your accomodation is not fun. I was in the top floor of the hostel I stayed at in Vancouver as well, absolute pain in the arse taking a bike and suitcase up there 😆

Southside Diner does a great pulled pork sandwich as well 🙂

Fantastic riding (I preferred the trails to the park though)

Best place ever. I’ve been twice. I’d love to go back.

Done two summers there. Can’t complain. Once in staff I’m Brio and once in a house in Eagle Drive iirc. That was cheapest. Staff is.. Interesting. But for 10 days you can’t do staff.

bike bag it is then

The POC one is expensive but it really seems like it’d be worth it compared to the cheap avenir one I have. Of course if you go with a company like Bear Back it’s less of an issue as I think they do your transfers rather than you having to get yourself to the greyhound station!

just asked bear back just waiting for him to get back to me with some info and prices

Just go.
Whistler is crazy expensive ($22 for a block of cheese in the supermarket) but worth it.
Did I say ‘just go’

Go. It’s worth it.

I’ve been 4 times and I still cry a little inside when I think I may not get there again.

Actually scrub that. I bloody well will go again!!!

Hmm,

Going to sing a different tune from the rest of the posters!

I spent 3 weeks out there last summer. The town itself it awesome, there is so much more going on than in any alpine town.

I wasn’t however blown away by the riding, they advertise having about 65 trails, in reality none of these trails are top to bottom they link together and interchange but it takes about 4 full tracks to descend the lower half of the mountain and 1 – 2 up top, so in all probably 12 – 13 tracks the length of the mountain and I thought they were a bit samey.

Red runs: Boring
Blue Flow: Small jumps and braking bumps
Blue Tech: Pretty sweet: Kind of like the midlands DH tracks
Black Flow: A line, Dirt Merchant etc: Berms and Jumps and High speeds but no tech really. I found them repetitive and a bit boring.
Black Diamond Tech: Kind of like a steeper UK dh track, really nice.
Double Black Diamond Tech: A bloody challenge!
Pro lines: Easier than double black diamond tech, big jumps and gaps: really sweet but few tracks.

Having written that it looks like a lot of variety… hmm, not enough fast tech and flat corners for me!

Anyway, the main bug bear for me is that for me (and I hadn’t realised this before) is partly about exploring, consider this carefully as having everything on the same mountain didn’t do it for me.

Do an Italian road trip instead!

Cheers

How can you find A Line and Dirt Merchant boring?!

Anyway, the main bug bear for me is that for me (and I hadn’t realised this before) is partly about exploring, consider this carefully as having everything on the same mountain didn’t do it for me.

I only did 1 day at pemberton so I’m not going to claim to be an expert. But from other peoples stories/pictures/videos there is plenty of exploring to be done if you have a truck or are willing to pedal.

But for 10 days you can’t do staff.

You can just pay for 14 days stay and only stay 10. $160ish for a shared room for 10 days/2 weeks is still cheaper than anywhere else. (You however have to pay for the the month when you first get there but the rest will be refunded when you leave. I used to work on the front desk of staff housing.)

Tracks wise if your only there for 10 days (assuming garbo is open and your not there super early season) Original sin, in-deep, no joke, duffman… basically all the blacks on garbo could keep you amused easily. Mix this with the usual A-line, dirtmerchant, whistler downhill and super flowly ninja cougar. I could go on, I seriously can’t see how you could complain about the trails. Samey?? How can you compare, ninja cougar, goats gulley and a-line. They are about as different as you could get.

First time I went Tristan plonked me in with a web designer with OCD and whistlers biggest female drug dealer. Fun times

First time I went Tristan plonked me in with a web designer with OCD and whistlers biggest female drug dealer. Fun times

You must have looked like you could handle it! haha. Staff housing is probably more recommended if you have a group of 4 people.

“How can you find A Line and Dirt Merchant boring?!”

Horses for courses I guess! I loved a line for the first week after that i just got annoyed by its repetitive nature, dirt merchant had one kicker that scared the hell out of me after having a “moment” so slowing for it always ruined the flow! Schleyer or Whistler dh would be my faves

staff accommodation is brilliant value though; i agree with that!

what do you mean by staff housing

If you work in Whistler in the Winter you are eligable to live in “staff housing”, essentially they have a few places that are the equivalent of uni halls. In the summer anyone can stay there. Its not luxurious and you can book advance but it is so much cheaper than anywhere else!

Cost me £210 for 3 weeks this year. Check here: http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/employment/staff-housing-and-registration/index.aspx

nice one pal

Brio was well placed, close enough to town, and you dont have to walk up that bloody hill to glacier or whatever its called.

Plus you can do the golf ball over the net game on the way home from the pub.

Any recommendations for websites to use for accommodation?

for how long?

surely accommodation really depends on group size/budget/willingness to live in a shithole.

me and the wife 5 days somewhere nice

Also check out http://www.ticket2ridebc.com for full accom and riding packages.

The cost of flights have gone up in the past 2 years but if you’re flexible with dates check out the deals on canadian affair, http://www.canadianaffair.com/jan-sale/
They are generally the cheapest, (or Air Transat, they are the same company).

As well as the park, if you’re going for a couple of weeks, get on a shuttle trip to Pemberton, Squamish or North Shore and experience real BC cycling.

You can hire bikes out there, but the cost to take your own on the plane is less than 2 days hire out there, so worth it for the bit of hassle getting your bikes to the air port.

If you’re going before mid July, only the lower trails in the bike park will be open. If you go in May and early June what it actually open will depend on how much snow fall they have managed to clear. I have usually done a lot of riding in Pemberton early season as it’s more arid up there.

Food and beer is expensive in Whistler, however a few places have specials on throughout the week, so we go around them to eat ‘cheaper’.
If you’re going to ride the park more than 2 days then the best deal is to buy the ‘Triple Play’ card, which give you 3 days in the park at a cheaper rate and any further days are just knocked off your CC at a cheaper rate than a day pass. Another trick is to go over to Pinkbike and buy one of their memberships which gives you 1 free days pass, so you will get 4 days on your triple play card.

I bought this book a few years ago that has been my bible ever since and I try and ride something new every visit, (Only missed 3 years since 2005). There’s a couple of ace trails on Blackcomb for example that are only a 30min ride / push from the valley.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Whistler-Mountain-Biking-Guide-Valley/dp/0973259345

I have that book as well, definitely helped me out with choosing the non bikepark trails. Get a map from summit as well, and they’ll give you some good advice about which to try.