Scion Whistler Report #9
There’s nothing quite like coming home after a trip, especially when your home is Whistler. After a couple weeks of trying to find some rides in between long bouts of driving, it’s really nice to be able to ride from your door, and choose from a dizzying array of options. Given the amount of time I spent sitting on my butt over those 2 weeks I decided I needed to start pushing the xc a bit harder, and after a few hours of bikepark cruising on Sunday morning I went out for a nice evening XC loop over the on the westside. Part of that loop include Danimal North and it looked like there’d been some fresh work in there. It was needed since Danimal probably gets ridden more than the other trails in the area. I also tried in River Runs Through It and made use of the new bridge. While certainly much easier than the old log ride, this one is better for a wider range of riders.
On Monday evening I rolled out of home and decided to get to the Village via Northwest Passage. It’s an old classic connector that’s little used these days but it was a nice way to get over to the bikepark and tie in the first part of the Canadian Open Enduro course. In the name of journalistic integrity I decided to hit most of the courses that we’ll see for that event on the final weekend of Crankworx. So it was up hawlback to Base II, and on up to Golden B. After a sweet lap there I rolled over and into the Zappa trails of Lost Lake where the 2nd and 3rd stages will be held. All in all I think Ritchie has done a good job of selecting a wide range of trails; from the hard, fast, and rough of the bike park to the smooth lost lake flow, and the more natural rocky tech of the Blackcomb trails. Should be a great event and I’m really looking forward to it.
Last week was the 3rd Phat Wednesday of the year, and after the tech of the previous week’s PhaSt race looks like Seb chose a bit more flow with a Dirt Merchant to Lower A-Line course. Ava Buchan was the lone Junior girl. Good to see her make it out. Zander Geddes continued him domination of the Junior Male group winning by nearly 7 seconds. In the ripper ladies it was again Sarah Leishman standing on the top step, winning a squeaker over Casey Brown by just 0.358 seconds! Big bad LenCo (Len Hornidge) took it to the Masters with a close win over Bart Brown and Mathieu Hebert. The open Male category was really close with the top 3 within 0.6 seconds of each other, Ryan De La Rue took it over Paulo Stevens, with James McSkimming rounding out the top 3. Another huge turnout with 219 riders. I’m stoked to see so many people excited for fun racing! Full results for the race are here and series standings up to this point can be found here. See you August 3rd for the next event post-Crankworx.
Bike Park Conditions
I got up for a few laps last night, before scorpion-ing myself on Little Alder of all trails and smashing my hand up, Garbanzo is definitely rough and raw right now, although that isn’t entirely surprising given the heavy snow and a focus on lower mountain work that’s been happening right now. The lower mountain has been an absolute blast though. There’s great work taking place by the trail crew, enhancing old classics and making things really fun. The Crabapple Hits rebuild is really good. Well – from what I checked out anyway. Having been out of the park for a few weeks I didn’t feel like sending it so I just rolled through beside it on the turns to check things out. Lower A-Line has been closed the past couple of days getting a pre-worx refurb. With some moisture in the forecast that should be good if it doesn’t get too wet. Trail of the week is definitely one that probably most wouldn’t think about, and probably haven’t ridden in years. It’s off B-Line and with the removal of some of the old wood work, it’s become a gem and offers another great option for linking in extra trails into a lap. Now let Gareth loose on the upper portion of Smoke and Mirrors, get rid of the shady wood bridges and make it natural!
Of course Crankworx starts this weekend so it’s no surprise that the sun has turned to showers and steady rain a few days out. There is lots going on to start off the festival, and I’d imagine that by this time next week I’m going to be feeling it. Teams and riders are rolling in steady now, and the park is getting a bit busier. Things on Friday afternoon start off with the Chromag Family gathering down at the River Jumps from 5-8pm. Just across the parking lot at the Olympic Plaza the first official CWX event will be taking place about the same time, the Fat-Tire Crit will pit racers on an 800m course around the plaza with a mix of pavement, dirt, and gravel surfaces. Should be tight rowdy racing! Be sure to stick around after as Kostaman and then K’naan will be putting on a free live show.
Saturday the Deep Summer Photo Challenge teams will be getting underway for their 3 days of shooting/riding. I’m stoked to be a part of team Barham again along with the Coastal Crew boys, Mason, Cal, Evan, and my covershot cohort Brian Earle. Should be a great event. Be sure to get your tickets soon. They will sell out in the next couple days! On Saturday evening the Dual Slalom event goes. Always a treat to watch the shredders in this event. Looks like another great course from big Peter Matthews and the trail crew which should make for close action. Head back to the Olympic Plaza following the finals for more free concert action with Current Swell and Hot Hot Heat.
Sunday is in my opinion the main event. Get thee to Hecklefest 2011 at the rock on the Canadian Open DH course. Bring your noisemakers and good cheer and lets have a blast again! Remember to pack out what you pack in to keep the park looking pristine. Signs and general tomfoolery are encouraged. Tuesday is Garbo DH on what will probably be a very messy course. Bring back a No Joke course for next year, please. In Deep is tired and played out. Wednesday you’ll want to check out the Air DH, but unfortunately not as many people will be busting out big air and huge tables as you hope, since guys who don’t have a chance think they have a chance and try to scrub things when they should be putting on a show for the beverage consuming masses! 😉 Think Lopes can take it for a 6th straight year?
As you can imagine, with so many events taking place, there will be of course be corresponding closures on trails during training and the events. WBP has put together a handy list of trail closures during CWX. Check it out and don’t be caught out.
Pemby news from JI @ BC has fresh work on the Middle Earth climb and Gravitrout descent. ME is a really nice ride that’s a bit mellower than NIMBY, and it travels through a pretty awesome old growth forest. Gravitrout of course is the only slightly less insane version of Gravitron, which is of course one of the steepest sustained descents in Pemberton….errr, corridor. If you feel like an out and back towards Owl Creek, the Xtratron climb up to the ridge is clear. There is only apparently a bit of building needed yet to connect it out to Owl Creek. That route will be rad when it’s finished! If you find yourself in Pemberton Friday evening, there will be a Friday Rasta Ride and Night, reggae, bikes, friends, sounds good.
Other stuff coming up here in Whistler is the Ride of the Valkyries on Saturday August 6, which is Grant Lamont’s replacement for the now retired Cheakamus Challenge. Expect a 28km course with some tough climbing, technical descending, and some flowy singletrack to spice it up. Betty vs. Veronica is still sold out, but you can get on the waiting list. Thanks to all the sponsors and vollies for the recent WORCA trail days, I appreciate it and I know lots of other do too!
Well, time to rest up for the onslaught that’s coming, gonna be a great week and change, hope to see you out there during CWX, race hard, race safe and party responsibly.
Who else is fired up for Crankworx? Bring on the stoke here…
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