Whistler

There is nothing to write about Whistler. It really just wasn't that great. I mean how did it become so popular? Oh who the hell am I kidding, that place is freaking unbelievable. And it's not just downhill. ALL the riding there is incredible. Everyone has seen the downhill stuff. And videos do it justice! It IS as awesome as it looks. And what isn't in the big films is even better. Yeah. A-Line is awesome. The Schleyer drop is just flat out cool. And the Crabapple hits are well; ridiculous to say the least. But put yourself on a 5-6" bike and go do the All Mountain trails, and you will REALLY see what fun, technical riding is all about. The AM trails were actually steeper and more technical than almost every trail I rode at the actual park. And there were some serious climbs to get to them!

The park. What Whistler is known for. It's incredible. You have to take two different lifts to get to the top of the runs where you descend something like 5,000 vertical feet back to the village. And almost every trail is just flat out amazing. Whether it's the blue flow trails or the double black technical stuff. It's just fun. The park has everything to ride. The infamous A-Line is just like the videos make it out to seem. Huge jumps and berms that flow together so well it's unbelievable. You can literally ride the whole trail without pedaling and never have to touch the brakes either. It completely changed my perspective on what a well groomed trail is. Then there are trails like Goat Gully. A double black technical trail that did not hesitate to do its best to throw both you and your bike off the best line. And once off that line, things got even gnarlier really fast! Then of course I had to try the Crabapple hits. No. I did not do every jump. I didn't quite have the guts for stuff that big! The first few were ridiculous though!

And the "cross country" trails were so much more than I ever expected. Miles of climbing followed by miles of steep, gnarly descents. I honestly can't believe they considered some of these trails cross country. I can't imagine riding some of these parts on a 4" bike. A 6" was rough enough! But the views, the trails, and the good times I had out on these new trails with new friends was worth the technicality and roughness. Plus a good portion of the trails really improved my confidence on my small bike. I am even more comfortable on even bigger stuff on it now, which means nothing but more fun, better trails, and faster descents!. High Society is probably one of my new favorite trails. It is a long climb up, part road from the village to the start, then nice trail from there to the end. This trail is steeper than anything at the downhill park. And although you are moving a lot slower, it is just as much fun and keeps you on your toes the whole time! And Billy's Epic is well, EPIC! Super steep terrain and spots so off camber and rocky that it was impossible to go straight down the trail. It was all so amazing!

Then of course there was the camping!!!

Short video from whistler on its way, haven't had too much time to work on it yet! Thanks for reading up guys! Van life has been awesome, and I've come all this way and am loving what I've done, am doing, and what's left to come!