Whistler Bike Park 2014 conditions

who ever actually rode the old clown shoes? no one I know….the new one is fun as hell

Rode this a few times today.Awesome.

Soon you will be able to upload at Creekside, so that should result in some new trails, hopefully some new new black singletracks.

I bet the businesses and accomodations at Creekside can't wait for that!

Soon you will be able to upload at Creekside

Is this for sure? This season?

Is there any facebook groups or anything like that to meet people to ride in the park? I get lots of weekdays off and my friends all work during the week so i have no one to go with but im thinking of going up alone more often but it would be nice to have people to ride with

Mackenzie river and renegade are kinda newish trails in Garbo zone that are all singletrack. Where would you propose to put said new single track? If you look at the topo of the Garbo area there are not many places to start new trails. Emerald zone if off limits due to bear habitat. Creekside will be an option in the future for new trails on that side but who knows when that may happen. Don't forget that TOW took some time and resources to build too.

I guess I overlooked Mackenzie because it feels like a bit of an XC trail so I don't have any love for it at all. Renegade is sweet but I kinda think of that as close to one of the originals but you're right it is newer than garbo itself.

As for fitting in new singletrack, if you look at what they fit in the Afternoon Delight, Crack Addict, B line, Ho Chi Minh area, it wouldn't be a stretch to think they could squeeze something into upper garbo area. I had heard a while back that there was a bit of a line flagged up there, but nothing has happened since.

As for Creekside, I heard it was on, and then just a couple of days ago I heard it was off again now that the quotes to build have come in.

I really think that Whistler is missing a whole lot of business from people who have played out the bike park and are no longer interested in riding there. I live in Squamish and there's really only a handful of people here that ride there regularly. I know people that won't go because they rode it so much in the past and they are sick of it. So much of the new work in the last 5-7 years has been machine built, except for some really short sections, and while I understand it appeals to the masses of tourists that are new to the sport, it really doesn't do much for anyone I know. Even my wife won't ride Crank it Up or Blue Velvet. TOW is a sweet addition minus the bullshit fee, but mostly because it opens up Khyber and RDS for easy access, and I wouldn't pay for TOW without doing either of those two. It provides such a welcome change from riding Original Sin for the 500th time. It's pretty shit that my $600 pass doesn't get me up there though.

If nothing much changes in regards to new singletrack of decent length I think it won't be long before I consider just getting a triple play instead of a season pass and putting the other $400 from my pass and probably $2000 or more on village spending towards an extra road trip or two each year. As much as this could be taken as first world whining, WBP is a business and as a paying customer I am starting to see that my money could be better spent elsewhere if they keep putting all their resources into machine built trails, wood features, or single track that is limited to 30 seconds.

Edit:
I also rode Clownshoe2 a couple of times yesterday. I agree that for the style of trail it was well built. I probably will ride it again when someone else wants to, but much like Fade to Black I can't see going in there on my own accord again. That style of riding just doesn't do it for me compared to natural singletrack but I can see why other people may like it.

I guess I overlooked Mackenzie because it feels like a bit of an XC trail so I don't have any love for it at all. Renegade is sweet but I kinda think of that as close to one of the originals but you're right it is newer than garbo itself.

As for fitting in new singletrack, if you look at what they fit in the Afternoon Delight, Crack Addict, B line, Ho Chi Minh area, it wouldn't be a stretch to think they could squeeze something into upper garbo area. I had heard a while back that there was a bit of a line flagged up there, but nothing has happened since.

As for Creekside, I heard it was on, and then just a couple of days ago I heard it was off again now that the quotes to build have come in.

I really think that Whistler is missing a whole lot of business from people who have played out the bike park and are no longer interested in riding there. I live in Squamish and there's really only a handful of people here that ride there regularly. I know people that won't go because they rode it so much in the past and they are sick of it. So much of the new work in the last 5-7 years has been machine built, except for some really short sections, and while I understand it appeals to the masses of tourists that are new to the sport, it really doesn't do much for anyone I know. Even my wife won't ride Crank it Up or Blue Velvet. TOW is a sweet addition minus the bullshit fee, but mostly because it opens up Khyber and RDS for easy access, and I wouldn't pay for TOW without doing either of those two. It provides such a welcome change from riding Original Sin for the 500th time. It's pretty shit that my $600 pass doesn't get me up there though.

If nothing much changes in regards to new singletrack of decent length I think it won't be long before I consider just getting a triple play instead of a season pass and putting the other $400 from my pass and probably $2000 or more on village spending towards an extra road trip or two each year. As much as this could be taken as first world whining, WBP is a business and as a paying customer I am starting to see that my money could be better spent elsewhere if they keep putting all their resources into machine built trails, wood features, or single track that is limited to 30 seconds.

Edit:
I also rode Clownshoe2 a couple of times yesterday. I agree that for the style of trail it was well built. I probably will ride it again when someone else wants to, but much like Fade to Black I can't see going in there on my own accord again. That style of riding just doesn't do it for me compared to natural singletrack but I can see why other people may like it.

consider this more rep….I only got a twilight pass this year, and it was even a struggle to justify that.

consider this more rep….I only got a twilight pass this year, and it was even a struggle to justify that.

Cheers buddy. This is something I hear all the time. Please WBP, take note.

I always get the triple play plus the extended 3 days plus the 7th day free deal. Suits me just fine as it's about $280 or something like that. I'm noticing more Whistler bike park promo vids popping up on pb and Facebook now which means that WBP is starting to sweat a little. I bet revenue is starting to pull back as people get bored.

You guys are talking about a bit of a feedback loop though, no? If you're tired of the park because there's nothing new, isn't anything new destined to be written off before long? Especially with regards to garbanzo, most of the singletrack up there is relatively rough and "ridden in" singletrack. From a maintenance perspective, this stuff is tough as there are generally a never ending list of wheel eating holes and drainage problems/erosion nightmares that go along with these trails. Now don't get me wrong, but trails like In Deep, Fatcrobat, Original Sin, Captain Safety and Goats Gully are great and a ton of fun to ride, but I find it debatable that it's what garbo really needs. I'd make the case that it needs more singletrack period, and especially of the blue variety. Garbo was the exclusive domain of the rough and rowdy for years, and the general lack of a liftline is a reflection of that.

As far as new singletrack, Clownshoes is it this year so far, but there's a new section of no joke being built, and the year before last saw the funshine-smokeandmirrors-bluezeum built. There was also section 4 del boca vista. Some sections of existing singletrack got whole entire rebuilds last year as well. Bear in mind that maintenance has to happen and by itself can feel overwhelming and take a significant chunk of the crew's time.

As the list of trails grows, so too does the list of things to fix. This means that in a perfect world, new things built should require minimal maintenance. Letting things ride in in the bike park means going back. Alot. I hear what you're saying and relate with your desire for more new stuff but what you're asking for is more of what garbo is already saturdated with. Appreciate your feedback though and sorry the new stuff of late isn't your cup of tea, to each their own.

Looking forward to seeing the new section of No Joke. Please don't put any wood on it.

I wouldn't say anything in Garbo is written off. A new trail will still be newer to me in 5 years than anything else on Garbo is now. To say that it will just get old, or beat, is like saying you should never clean your chain because it will just get dirty again. The maintenance that is done up there is very minimal as it is, and that's just how I like it. Adding another trail that also gets no maintenance isn't really going to add a whole lot of trouble for the crew.

I agree, we need more blue singletrack. Garbo Zone or not, it doesn't matter. But it would be nice if it was on a trail of decent length. My wife, along with many other experienced intermediate riders that live in the area, doesn't like CUI or BV, can't ride Aline or DM, really enjoys the blue technical trails but there are so few.

Just for clarification from my point of view, I wouldn't call Clownshoe2 a singletrack trail. It's way more like Fade2Black in my mind than something like OS, In Deep or Cdn open woods section.

My argument would go along the lines of… the appeal of a trail like Clownshoe2 must surely be limited to relatively few expert riders that like man made features. My wife can ride Schleyer/OS/In deep on a good day but will not likely ride Clown2 because it has a drop in it. If you are saying that new black level singletrack in Garbo is not required due to limited appeal, I would say that I disagree. The stuff up there gets very little maintenance and it's awesome. It may not get the traffic of the lower mountain but it gets a sizeable chunk of the expert traffic does it not? And isn't it good to get the fast experts out of the way? Everyone I ride with, including many visitors from overseas over the years, will say the best riding is in the Garbo zone. And they are not talking about BV. Or even FT. It's OS, In Deep NJ, Goats, Fatcrobat that all get the nod from most expert riders that visit here and live here. Advanced intermediates pushing themselves will probably remember F2B and new Clown2 more so than In Deep, but guys that come here to race Garbo will be remember the singletrack up there as being the primo stuff. And of course Aline, but no ones ever going to argue against Aline being a huge drawcard to the bikepark.

I know maintenance takes money, and I know new trails cost money too. But if I'm correct in observing that many riders are tiring of the singletrack and choosing to spend less money there, than doesn't it makes sense to make efforts to get them back? Maybe there'd be more money for more crew if you just cut a few fresh lines in to draw these riders back again; the kind that could be done 5 times as long for the same effort as what went into Clown2.

Is there any facebook groups or anything like that to meet people to ride in the park? I get lots of weekdays off and my friends all work during the week so i have no one to go with but im thinking of going up alone more often but it would be nice to have people to ride with

No Facebook group that I know of.

You're never alone in the bike park though. I was up there in the pissing rain a couple weeks ago lapping the singles line by myself. Ended up doing 5 laps with a random who had the same bike as me until he got too soggy to keep riding. He even showed me a trail I hadn't ridden before.

As long as your personable you'll find someone to ride with as there are always others up there just like you.

I agree, we need more blue singletrack. Garbo Zone or not, it doesn't matter. But it would be nice if it was on a trail of decent length. My wife, along with many other experienced intermediate riders that live in the area, doesn't like CUI or BV, can't ride Aline or DM, really enjoys the blue technical trails but there are so few.
2.

World Cup, Lower Angry Pirate, Devils Club, Fantastic, Golden Triangle, Ho Chi Min, Karate Monkey, Ninja Cougar, Samurai Pizza Cat, Whats left of smoke and mirrors, Wednesday Night Delight, Blueseum, Funshine Rolly Drops.

Not many technical blue trails?? And you can link many of them up in so many different ways. After Atlantis and BLine connector are your friends to mix things up.

Add in all of del boca/shady acres, green but harder the faster you go.

Also building any new trail in the park, garbo or fitz, is never going to be quick and easy. These things take time, its not like the trail crew don't want more trails everywhere! Weather also plays a massive part in things. Really dry weather means lots (or should i say HEAPS nickel ;) ) more holes and blown out existing trails that take a lot of resources to fix. And any fire bans mean no cutting in new trails.

Hey nickel, has the park crew size been the same for the last few years? Also, are the Joyride crew completely separate from you guys? Or does my pass pay for that massive amount of work as well?

I agree, we need more blue singletrack. Garbo Zone or not, it doesn't matter. But it would be nice if it was on a trail of decent length. My wife, along with many other experienced intermediate riders that live in the area, doesn't like CUI or BV, can't ride Aline or DM, really enjoys the blue technical trails but there are so few.

It's OS, In Deep NJ, Goats, Fatcrobat that all get the nod from most expert riders that visit here and live here. Advanced intermediates pushing themselves will probably remember F2B and new Clown2 more so than In Deep, but guys that come here to race Garbo will be remember the singletrack up there as being the primo stuff. And of course Aline, but no ones ever going to argue against Aline being a huge drawcard to the bikepark.

I think you should visit the alps some time. There is so much lift- or train-accessed technical single track here you would not believe it.

On the other hand, there are only few and badly made machine-built jump trails. We have to become tourists and travel to Canada to ride those. And we greatly appreciate if even more of these are built or extended, like the Dirt Merchant, Blue Velvet, Freight Train and A-Line updates of recent years.

I guess the grass is always greener on the other side. Once you know your backyard inside-out, it's time to start traveling.