Whistler Carnage

2 minutes after watching a guy break his collar bone on manager, I hit the jump on Freight Train that sends you right - into the ditch. I did just that. Ended up with a broken bone in my hand and a dislocated pinky (same hand). Doc couldn't reset it properly, so I'll likely need surgery. No more Whizzler this year. Could have been much worse though.

Watch yourself out there, these two places are accidents ready to happen. I blame myself, but I think Whistler should take a close look at these sites. Far too many good riders going down.

your pic doesn't work for me… i'd like to see the xray

Technical problem. Refresh thread.

ouch! Hope you get your surgery and heal up soon. Any idea what went wrong for the guy on the Manager rock face (too fast, I'm guessing)?

Yep, just a tad too fast. I was just explaining to my buddy how to ride it, emphasizing how slow you need to be going when this other guy hits it.

Tough thing to watch, I was right beside him when he face planted. Likely concussion to go with the collar bone.

Typing with one finger SUCKS!!!!!

Watch yourself out there, these two places are accidents ready to happen. I blame myself, but I think Whistler should take a close look at these sites. Far too many good riders going down.

Which begs the question, how much should the landowners do to protect people from themselves?

The manager drop was closed because of the carnage ( more people were hurting themselves on this stunt then any other trail on a given day ) despite the fact that many people could succussfully ride it. They opened it unchanged but put in a BIG sign telling people that it is a VERY Difficult feature - pros only or something and to ride it SLOWLY.

Which begs the question, how much should the landowners do to protect people from themselves?

I feel that people are responsible for their own actions. That being said, If I were whistler, I would try to make it so you just couldnt ride up and roll into that rock face. Maybe a new line with a super tech skinny or something to weed out some of the riders attempting it. Signs are good, but they only work for the % of the population that can process information and apply logic to determine a possible outcome of their actions.

The problem with manager is that it's unlike any other rock face on the mountain. In fact, I've never seen anything like it. Posting signs isn't enough. There's a big sign at the bottom of Garbanzo warning people that only expert riders should proceed. There's a similar sign at the start of A-line. There's a similar sign…..you get the picture. Too many signs means people start taking them for granted. However, it's not the signs that is the problem, it's the lines.

I've never tried the Clown Shoes drop, but there's nothing special about it. Manager IS special, and the technique required to ride it safely is not obvious. It may not be a liability issue, but it's definitely a money issue. I won't be spending any money in Whistler for the rest of the season. Neither will four other people I saw in the hospital yesterday.

Where I had my accident, all they have to do is fill-in the ditch. The trail doesn't change and people stop getting hurt. They did a similar mod to a jump on Dirt Merchant earlier this year. Riders were cosistantly casing one of the jumps. They recognised the problem and fixed it. They should do the same thing with two sites I've mentioned. It is costing them more $$$ than they realise.

The problem with manager is that it's unlike any other rock face on the mountain. In fact, I've never seen anything like it. Posting signs isn't enough. There's a big sign at the bottom of Garbanzo warning people that only expert riders should proceed. There's a similar sign at the start of A-line. There's a similar sign…..you get the picture. Too many signs means people start taking them for granted. However, it's not the signs that is the problem, it's the lines.

I've never tried the Clown Shoes drop, but there's nothing special about it. Manager IS special, and the technique required to ride it safely is not obvious. It may not be a liability issue, but it's definitely a money issue. I won't be spending any money in Whistler for the rest of the season. Neither will four other people I saw in the hospital yesterday.

Where I had my accident, all they have to do is fill-in the ditch. The trail doesn't change and people stop getting hurt. They did a similar mod to a jump on Dirt Merchant earlier this year. Riders were cosistantly casing one of the jumps. They recognised the problem and fixed it. They should do the same thing with two sites I've mentioned. It is costing them more $$$ than they realise.

the problem is people don't take the time to scout and inspect lines/jumps beofre they hit them…….I did the same thing on that hit on lower FT, but was riding it blind following a friend, full speed first time…..you know what, regardless, it's my fault for not rolling the lines first time and checking things…….the manager? classic case of people not taking the time to see how it needs to be ridden…..it's actually not bad, but it does require more skill than any other rock face on the mountain, people riding beyond their abilities thinking they can do stuff they can't……so now you throw something in whistler's face like "I'm not spending any more money for the rest of the year"…and they should close it for those that can ride the stuff? I don't get it, seriously, take responsibility for your own riding, all the time, it's not like they had ripped out the ladder bridge and not told anyone, or left a sharp tool sticking straight up…..people CHOOSE to ride things, and must learn to accept some responsibility……

I don't get people eating shit on the manager… what I mean is that it is one of the hardest and scariest faces on the mountain, so why not take the time to just get off your bike and check it out. Rolling into it blind despite that huge sign is the stupidest thing ever.

……so now you throw something in whistler's face like "I'm not spending any more money for the rest of the year"…and they should close it for those that can ride the stuff? I don't get it, seriously, take responsibility for your own riding, all the time, it's not like they had ripped out the ladder bridge and not told anyone, or left a sharp tool sticking straight up…..people CHOOSE to ride things, and must learn to accept some responsibility……

Flip: It's not that I'm not spending any more money for the rest of the season because I'm pissed, it's because I'm injured. I won't be going up there because I can't ride. Plus, I didn't say they should close anything. I just said they should look at making them safer, esp the Freight Train jump. They can fix that problem without changing the flow, difficulty or the correct line.

I hate to repeat myself, but Whistler is loosing money while riders are out with needless injuries. I DID take responsibility for MY mistake, however, Whistler could make a simple improvement to the trail that would make it much safer for everyone.

manager needs nothing. people need brains.

Most of the people I've seen, or heard of crashing on the Manager have done it before, it was not their first attempt. The Manager is hard but do-able at a slow speed. Where things go wrong is when people get some confidence and try to do it faster, the faster you go the harder it is to control the kick from the ledge.

Experience as well as skill are required to know what's going to happen as you come over the lip, and experience is the what was lacking in most of the riders I talked to that have crashed there, not skill.

I still think it's the riders responsibility, especially now with all the warnings above the drop.

That sucks CM. I dislocated my pinkie a few weeks ago but reset it myself. I was lucky not to have any damage according to the doc. Its still not 100%.

Freight train seems to be suffering from 1st year roughness and needs to be re-thought in places. For instance, the sharp corner where LowerFT meets Duffman is just plain silly, especially now with the breaking chatter. You have to pedal like a madman through some spots so the grade in a few places could be steepened to help keep speed up.

It was a weird day at Whistler yesterday. I saw a few people getting rides on the bus with broken collarbones and other people getting wrists looked at. I wasn't riding sketchy or anything but I got off the bike after only 4 or 5 runs cause I felt bad mojo flying about. I'll usually turn off my brain and keep going but somedays sumpin tells you to pull the plug and find a patio to get a beer. It was a good day to pull out early 'cause the BMX stuff was awesome. Triple-Tail-whip!