Official Mt Washington thread

aahhhhh so fun today, mucky mucky and even swear i saw a bit of dust

I need some advice from you Island guys! A few years back I was living in Port Angeles, WA as a foreign exchange student and this summer I'll head back there to visit all my friends etc. I will be staying in Port Angeles from August 25th until October 10th and of course I'll have my DH bike with me. Obviously I'm really looking forward to riding my bike as much as I can so I'd also like to hit up Mt. Washington and Whistler. I know the Garbanzo area will most likely be closed by the time I get there but what about Mt. Washington? Over here most bikeparks are usually open every day until end of October or so, but I'm not sure what it's like over there. I know this is hypothetical but will all (most of) the trails be open in September, lifts running, bike park open every day etc.? Thanks in advance for the feedback!

I need some advice from you Island guys! A few years back I was living in Port Angeles, WA as a foreign exchange student and this summer I'll head back there to visit all my friends etc. I will be staying in Port Angeles from August 25th until October 10th and of course I'll have my DH bike with me. Obviously I'm really looking forward to riding my bike as much as I can so I'd also like to hit up Mt. Washington and Whistler. I know the Garbanzo area will most likely be closed by the time I get there but what about Mt. Washington? Over here most bikeparks are usually open every day until end of October or so, but I'm not sure what it's like over there. I know this is hypothetical but will all (most of) the trails be open in September, lifts running, bike park open every day etc.? Thanks in advance for the feedback!

From the Mt Washington site.
Bike Park Hours of Operations
Eagle Chairlift
11:00am to 7:00pm - July 1 to Sept. 6
12:00pm to 6:00pm - Sept. 7 to Sept. 19
Hawk Chairlift
11:00am to 7:30pm - July 1 to Sept. 6
12:00pm to 6:30pm - Sept. 7 to Sept. 19

From the Mt Washington site.
Bike Park Hours of Operations
Eagle Chairlift
11:00am to 7:00pm - July 1 to Sept. 6
12:00pm to 6:00pm - Sept. 7 to Sept. 19
Hawk Chairlift
11:00am to 7:30pm - July 1 to Sept. 6
12:00pm to 6:30pm - Sept. 7 to Sept. 19

Sweet, thanks a lot. So I guess I should head up there some time early September, eh? Are all trails covered by those 2 chairlifts, or does Mt. Washington have a seperate Alpine area like Whistler?

How many days would you recommend me stay there? I was thinking of staying there 2 or 3 days and sleeping in the car. Will that give me enough time to explore the bike park?

those 2 lifts access everything

its not a huge park so I'd say 2 days max

Sweet, thanks a lot. So I guess I should head up there some time early September, eh? Are all trails covered by those 2 chairlifts, or does Mt. Washington have a seperate Alpine area like Whistler?

How many days would you recommend me stay there? I was thinking of staying there 2 or 3 days and sleeping in the car. Will that give me enough time to explore the bike park?

There are two areas of the park and the two chairs cover those two areas. The lift
next to the "village" takes you to the more techie type trails (monster mile and scratch
and sniff…the only two trails), the other chair takes you to the meat of the park.
My favorites:
-Back in Black…lots of drops and jumps (gaps, don't case!)
-Helter Skelter…tech, steep, roots rocks, wood to rock to wood
-Time warp…jumps (tables), I think the fun wall ride is on that one

It's a fun park, not as groomed as WBP, and not as much terrain, but there's some
real fun to be had and the crowds are really mellow. On a summer weekend I
think the longest I waited was 5 minutes.

Edit (map): http://www.mountwashington.ca/_cfmincludes/trailreport/trailmap.cfm

those 2 lifts access everything

its not a huge park so I'd say 2 days max

I'm not sure about that. I think it depends on how "good" you are. If you hit upper
and lower Back in black first time without any issues, then you might get bored
easily, but if you're like me, it'll take you a while. I think I could do MW for about a
week before I'd want more. But then again, I hit WBP for two weeks and want more.

Ed

HiBullit summed it up pretty good. There are only two chairs. The Hawk side is all man made jumps and berms. The exception is Helter Skelter which is the best trail on that side IMO

The blue chair which is not open yet due to snow, and so much of it is the techy side.
It all depends on your riding preferences.

I prefer the blue chair and the terrain on that side of the mountain over the groomed runs of the Hawk. That being said, check out the Hawk for some fair size drops and jumps. If that is what you are after then you will not be disappointed.

Mid August to Mid september is the best time to be up there. The hill right now is how would you say… moist. Two days at the most and then time to move on
Let it dry out over the next month and enjoy.

Hope that helps

don't miss out on the stuff without chairlifts

First of all thanks a lot for those replies, they are really helpful and exactly what I've been looking for. :)

I watched all those videos that were embedded on the trail map. The trails sure do look like a lot of fun. It's always hard to judge from videos, usually the make it look a lot easier and tamer than it actually is, but now I finally have a rough idea of what Mt. Washington is like.

I guess I wouldn't get bored riding there 7 days in a row. Over here, we have a total of 2 bike parks which are in driving distance, and both parks offer only one DH trail each. Therefore I'm used to riding the same trail over and over again, and I really don't mind it. It's going to be awesome to be in a bikepark with a variety of DH trails, so I'm really looking forward to it.

3 years ago, I got the chance to ride in Whistler. I was supposed to stay there for a month but broke my elbow a week into the trip so I had to fly back home early. My favourite trails back then were Schleyer, Ho Chi Minh, Whistler's Downhill, Detroit Rock City and the likes… I guess the "natural" trails at Mt. Washington are somewhat comparable, right?

Unfortunately the trip is still quite a bit away, so I guess it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to finalize my plans that early. Depending on whether I'll be able to rent a car, however, my plan right now is to spend maybe 7 or 8 days on the island. A day or two of riding Mt. Prevost, a day in Tofino doing some tourist stuff, 2 or 3 days at Mt. Washington and then 2 or 3 days visiting Comox Valley and the Sunshine Coast… does that sound like a good plan?

Kevin - recommendations? As I mentioned, I was planning on doing a day or two of riding Mt. Prevost and also hitting the Sunshine Coast / Comox valley if I happen to find some people to show me around. Obviously I'd love to hit as many trails outside of the bikeparks as possible. But the reality is that I only have a limited amount of time to spend. I will be in the PNW for a total of 6 weeks. A week of riding on the island, a week or two in the Vancouver area [HTML_REMOVED] Whistler, a couple days in Bellingham - it really does add up quickly, and I definitely want to do stuff other than biking as well. So when I'm out riding, I guess I want to get as much riding in as possible, which leads me to the conclusion that riding at a resort might be my best bet.

As I said, my trip is still ways away (heading over to Seattle on August 25th), so not really a point in finalizing my plans that early. It's great to get some feedback that early though as it really does help figuring out what I'd like to do and what not.

I will create a topic some time im August when I'm actually preparing my trip.

One last thing - what's your recommendation in terms of accomodation? Despite the fact that I've been saving up for the trip for the past few months, I won't have a lot of money to spend as I'm only 20 years of age and attending university, so no job. I definitely wouldn't mind sleeping in the car for a few days straight but it would be nice to be able to shower, wash my stuff, charge my laptop every now and then when I'm on the island. Are there any cheap hotels / youth hostels / apartment floors close to Mt. Washington?

Cheers
-Moritz

Are there any cheap hotels / youth hostels / apartment floors close to Mt. Washington?

Cheers
-Moritz

Not sure about 'cheap', but this is the place to stay, and you can ride the Cumberland trails from its doorstep.

http://www.ridingfool.com/

Not sure about 'cheap', but this is the place to stay, and you can ride the Cumberland trails from its doorstep.

http://www.ridingfool.com/

Hey Tom,

thanks a lot! A dorm room is $23 per night which is definitely a lot cheaper than I expected. I may end up staying there for 3 or 4 days to cover both Mt. Washington and Comox valley. Ideally I'd be able to stay with people that I meet along the way but I know that this is not always an option, so thank you so much for your input!

-Moritz

ha you've named some of the best spots so you don't need any recommendations. Only thing is the sunshine coast is easier to get to from north vancouver, not the island, so if you want to plan on going there you should put it in with your vancouver area itinerary

If your heading to the Island check out www.vimb.com Tons of guys on their from all over the Island who can tell you where all the best trails are and will probably even show you around.

Not sure about 'cheap', but this is the place to stay, and you can ride the Cumberland trails from its doorstep.

http://www.ridingfool.com/

Nice place, great people, right above a bike store (that is even open for 4 hours on sunday) and there is a couple of decent (if not great) places to eat within 30 seconds walk.