| Submission declined on 1 April 2024 by
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|  |
| Whistler Mountain Bike Park | |
|---|---|
| Location | Whistler, British Columbia |
| Nearest major city | Vancouver |
| Coordinates | 50°06′30″N 122°56′33″W / 50.10833°N 122.94250°W |
| Status | Closed for winter |
| Opened | Summer 1999 |
| Owner | Vail Resorts |
| Vertical | 7,564 ft |
| Top elevation | 8,490 ft |
| Trails | 757  112 – Easy (Including Easiest) 213 – More Difficult 211 – Most Difficult 104 – Expert (Including Pro Lines)114 – Other (Access Roads) |
| Website |
www |
Whistler Mountain Bike Park is a mountain bike park in British Columbia, Canada. It is considered the largest mountain bike park in the world by many and is the home of many professional and amateur mountain bikers. [1] It spans an area of 8,171 acres of terrain over the majority of Whistler Mountain and its surrounding area. [2] The massive system hosts over 750 trails for mountain biking, over 600 for hiking, and over 200 for skiing throughout Whistler Blackcomb. [3] Because of its size, Whistler attracts a huge following every season with over 100,000 mountain bikers during the summer. [4]
Description
Whistler Mountain Bike Park is the largest and most famous mountain bike park in the world. It is famed for the beautiful and perfect terrain for mountain biking that many professionals desire. The soil and precipitation levels in the Vancouver area perfectly suit the soil requirements for mountain biking and the trailbuilding process. The main lifts at the park are Fitzsimmons Express, Garbanzo Express, Creekside Gondola, and Whistler Gondola. These all lead to different starting points at the park. Fitzsimmons is the most used at the park by far and reaches the most accessible and favorite trails of most mountain bikers. Garbanzo reaches the uppermost part of Whistler Mountain for longer runs. Creekside connects the northwestern part of Whistler Mountain down to the Nordic and Whistler Creekside neighborhoods. In total, these gondolas climb a total of 7,500 feet.
Apart from the main park, there are 7 smaller zones around Whistler with more trails: Whistler South, Whistler Sproatt, Blackcomb, Lost Lake, Whistler Village, Whistler North, and Westside Rainbow. These 8 areas including the main Whistler Branch constitute the 8,171 acre area of terrain used. In this vast area, over 750 trails are contained.
History
In 1983, a man on the Whistler administration by the name of Jim Kennedy bought a mountain bike after being inspired by the famous movie ET. He wanted to ride his bike through the forest as the characters in the movie did, and so he did. Mountain bikers had received hate from locals at the time who only accepted skiing as the sole sport at Whistler, but he continued to ride unsanctioned forest trails.
In the mid-1980s, Kennedy (AKA Jimbo at the time) and his friends decided to use one of the ski lifts to go all the way up the mountain easily. It took lots of convincing to get the lift operators to let them through with their bikes, but in the end they succeeded.
After the "preliminary" test runs of the park by Jimbo and his friends, they started to build small trails with permission from the park owners. Eventually, a few years after the first ride happened, a course that stretched across the 15-kilometer gravel access road was released to the public, albeit more skilled mountain bikers and athletes.
In 1996, Jimbo's dream came true: the bike park had continued development over a long period of time and finally saw its grand opening: 500 riders showed up on the opening day to test out the brand new trails. This new development in Whistler caused major growth in the area, and when Intrawest took over administration of Whistler, they decided to fund the project and continue building more and more trails. Of course, new safety regulations were put in place for unsuspecting riders and the park was fully advertised. [5]
Over the years, Whistler gained extreme amounts of popularity and got the attention of major race organizers, such as Crankworx, UCI, Red Bull, and Enduro World Series. Many events have been hosted there in the past 2 decades and is a favorite location of hundreds of professional downhill, enduro, cross-country, and slopestyle mountain bikers.
Events and Races
Past major races and events hosted at Whistler Mountain Bike Park are:
- 1982 World Cup
- 2004-present Cranxworx
- Red Bull Joyride
- Downhill
- Slopestyle
- 2022 Enduro World Series
- Local races and EPIC routes
- Future and possible Olympic events
- 2023 UCI DHI Men's and Women's
Trail Structure and Significant Features
Whistler Mountain Bike Park (Main)
Whistler's main branch consists of 4 lifts that link the valley to the top of Whistler Mountain. The 2 main ones, Fitzsimmons Express and Garbanzo Express, link up at 3400 feet on Whistler Mountain. From there, most of Whistler's best trail will start. If you continue up the mountain on Garbanzo Express, you will end up on the highest possible point that trails will start. This route however, does not provide the longest run. If you go up the Creekside Gondola on the western side of the mountain from the village, you will reach the origin of many trails. When ridden correctly, these trails lead a much longer path down towards the bottom then taking other lifts. A total of 154 trails can be accessed in the Whistler Main Branch that stretch a distance of 65 miles.
Whistler South CRA
Whistler South is much smaller than the main branch, only containing 44 trails and stretching a distance of 32 miles. The area is not lift-serviced, meaning climbing access trails is the only way to access certain parts of the southern side of Whistler Mountain. However, it does connect down with the valley, which hosts some trails that aren't as technically challenging as mountain trails. Whistler South is not a very ridden area, so it is not as well-known or famous as other branches. However, it does present some decent challenges and beautiful trails that are sure to give you a workout.
Data
Top 25 Trails
| Name | Difficulty Rating | Popularity (World Rank) | Elevation Gain | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crank It Up - Upper | More Difficult (Blue) | 5 | -312 ft | 0.69 mi |
| Crank It Up - Lower | More Difficult (Blue) | 8 | -537 ft | 1.3 mi |
| Samurai Pizza Cat | More Difficult (Blue) | 11 | -36 ft | 0.08 mi |
| Heart of Darkness | More Difficult (Blue) | 15 | -329 ft | 0.66 mi |
| Joy Cross | More Difficult (Blue) | 17 | -207 ft | 0.38 mi |
| A-Line - Lower | Most Difficult (Black Diamond) | 19 | -624 ft | 1.1 mi |
| Hornet | More Difficult (Blue) | 21 | -84 ft | 0.13 mi |
| Karate Monkey | More Difficult (Blue) | 23 | -236 ft | 0.31 mi |
| Longhorn | More Difficult (Blue) | 24 | -50 ft | 0.09 mi |
| Canadian Open Course - Upper | Expert (Double Black Diamond) | 25 | -200 ft | 0.19 mi |
| Lower Canadian Open DH | Expert (Double Black Diamond) | 28 | -140 ft | 0.16 mi |
| B-Line - Upper | More Difficult (Blue) | 31 | -453 ft | 0.76 mi |
| Ninja Cougar | More Difficult (Blue) | 32 | -157 ft | 0.33 mi |
| Fade to Black | Most Difficult (Black Diamond) | 34 | -101 ft | 0.11 mi |
| Funshine Rolly Drops | More Difficult (Blue) | 36 | -138 ft | 0.14 mi |
| World Cup Single Track | More Difficult (Blue) | 37 | -70 ft | 0.20 mi |
| Blue Velvet - Lower | More Difficult (Blue) | 39 | -1,117 ft | 1.4 mi |
| A-Line - Upper | Most Difficult (Black Diamond) | 41 | -463 ft | 0.75 mi |
| Monkey Hands | Most Difficult (Black Diamond) | 43 | -132 ft | 0.14 mi |
| Ho Chi Min | More Difficult (Blue) | 46 | -195 ft | 0.34 mi |
| Wednesday Night Delight | More Difficult (Blue) | 52 | -50 ft | 0.08 mi |
| No Joke - Lower | Most Difficult (Black Diamond) | 53 | -128 ft | 0.13 mi |
| B-Line - Lower | More Difficult (Blue) | 70 | -372 ft | 0.67 mi |
| Devils Club | More Difficult (Blue) | 74 | -168 ft | 0.24 mi |
| Blue Velvet - Upper | More Difficult (Blue) | 75 | -1,051 ft | 1.5 mi |
Note: All trails listed above are in the main branch of the Whistler Mountain Bike Park.
Lifts
| Lift Name | Length | Vertical | Type | Ride Time | Mountain | Make | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak 2 Peak Gondola | 2.73 mi | 118 ft | 3S Gondola 28 | 11 min | Blackcomb Mountain | Doppelmayr | 2008 |
| Blackcomb Gondola | 2.46 mi | 3,872 ft | 10 Person Gondola | 14 min | Blackcomb Mountain | Doppelmayr | 2018 |
| Whistler Village Gondola | 2.98 mi | 3,796 ft | 8 Person Gondola | 30 min | Whistler Mountain | Poma | 1988 |
| Creekside Gondola | 1.21 mi | 2,113 ft | 10 Person Gondola | 11 min | Whistler Mountain | Doppelmayr | 2022 |
| Fitzsimmons 8 Express | 1.09 mi | 1,138 ft | High speed 8 pack | 7 min | Whistler Mountain | Doppelmayr | 2023 |
| Garbanzo Express | 1.27 mi | 2,165 ft | High Speed Quad | 10 min | Whistler Mountain | Doppelmayr | 1999 |
References
- ^ "The Top 10 Bike Parks in the World / WorldBikeParks". www.worldbikeparks.com. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
- ^ "Whistler Ski & Trail Map | Whistler Blackcomb". www.whistlerblackcomb.com. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
- ^ "Whistler, British Columbia Mountain Biking Trails". www.trailforks.com. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
- ^ Davies, Dave (2021-08-02). "Fun Facts About The Whistler Bike Park". Whistler Retreats. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
- ^ "Whistler Mountain Bike Park". Whistler Museum and Archives Society. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
| Submission declined on 1 April 2024 by
Geardona (
talk). This submission does not appear to be written in
the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. Entries should be written from a
neutral point of view, and should refer to a range of
independent, reliable, published sources. Please rewrite your submission in a more encyclopedic format. Please make sure to avoid
peacock terms that promote the subject. This submission appears to
read more like an advertisement than an entry in an encyclopedia. Encyclopedia articles need to be written from a
neutral point of view, and should refer to a range of
independent, reliable, published sources, not just to materials produced by the creator of the subject being discussed. This is important so that the article can meet Wikipedia's
verifiability policy and the
notability of the subject can be established. If you still feel that this subject is worthy of inclusion in Wikipedia, please rewrite your submission to comply with these policies.
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
| |
| Whistler Mountain Bike Park | |
|---|---|
| Location | Whistler, British Columbia |
| Nearest major city | Vancouver |
| Coordinates | 50°06′30″N 122°56′33″W / 50.10833°N 122.94250°W |
| Status | Closed for winter |
| Opened | Summer 1999 |
| Owner | Vail Resorts |
| Vertical | 7,564 ft |
| Top elevation | 8,490 ft |
| Trails | 757 112 – Easy (Including Easiest) 213 – More Difficult 211 – Most Difficult 104 – Expert (Including Pro Lines) 114 – Other (Access Roads) |
| Website |
www |
Whistler Mountain Bike Park is a mountain bike park in British Columbia, Canada. It is considered the largest mountain bike park in the world by many and is the home of many professional and amateur mountain bikers. [1] It spans an area of 8,171 acres of terrain over the majority of Whistler Mountain and its surrounding area. [2] The massive system hosts over 750 trails for mountain biking, over 600 for hiking, and over 200 for skiing throughout Whistler Blackcomb. [3] Because of its size, Whistler attracts a huge following every season with over 100,000 mountain bikers during the summer. [4]
Description
Whistler Mountain Bike Park is the largest and most famous mountain bike park in the world. It is famed for the beautiful and perfect terrain for mountain biking that many professionals desire. The soil and precipitation levels in the Vancouver area perfectly suit the soil requirements for mountain biking and the trailbuilding process. The main lifts at the park are Fitzsimmons Express, Garbanzo Express, Creekside Gondola, and Whistler Gondola. These all lead to different starting points at the park. Fitzsimmons is the most used at the park by far and reaches the most accessible and favorite trails of most mountain bikers. Garbanzo reaches the uppermost part of Whistler Mountain for longer runs. Creekside connects the northwestern part of Whistler Mountain down to the Nordic and Whistler Creekside neighborhoods. In total, these gondolas climb a total of 7,500 feet.
Apart from the main park, there are 7 smaller zones around Whistler with more trails: Whistler South, Whistler Sproatt, Blackcomb, Lost Lake, Whistler Village, Whistler North, and Westside Rainbow. These 8 areas including the main Whistler Branch constitute the 8,171 acre area of terrain used. In this vast area, over 750 trails are contained.
History
In 1983, a man on the Whistler administration by the name of Jim Kennedy bought a mountain bike after being inspired by the famous movie ET. He wanted to ride his bike through the forest as the characters in the movie did, and so he did. Mountain bikers had received hate from locals at the time who only accepted skiing as the sole sport at Whistler, but he continued to ride unsanctioned forest trails.
In the mid-1980s, Kennedy (AKA Jimbo at the time) and his friends decided to use one of the ski lifts to go all the way up the mountain easily. It took lots of convincing to get the lift operators to let them through with their bikes, but in the end they succeeded.
After the "preliminary" test runs of the park by Jimbo and his friends, they started to build small trails with permission from the park owners. Eventually, a few years after the first ride happened, a course that stretched across the 15-kilometer gravel access road was released to the public, albeit more skilled mountain bikers and athletes.
In 1996, Jimbo's dream came true: the bike park had continued development over a long period of time and finally saw its grand opening: 500 riders showed up on the opening day to test out the brand new trails. This new development in Whistler caused major growth in the area, and when Intrawest took over administration of Whistler, they decided to fund the project and continue building more and more trails. Of course, new safety regulations were put in place for unsuspecting riders and the park was fully advertised. [5]
Over the years, Whistler gained extreme amounts of popularity and got the attention of major race organizers, such as Crankworx, UCI, Red Bull, and Enduro World Series. Many events have been hosted there in the past 2 decades and is a favorite location of hundreds of professional downhill, enduro, cross-country, and slopestyle mountain bikers.
Events and Races
Past major races and events hosted at Whistler Mountain Bike Park are:
- 1982 World Cup
- 2004-present Cranxworx
- Red Bull Joyride
- Downhill
- Slopestyle
- 2022 Enduro World Series
- Local races and EPIC routes
- Future and possible Olympic events
- 2023 UCI DHI Men's and Women's
Trail Structure and Significant Features
Whistler Mountain Bike Park (Main)
Whistler's main branch consists of 4 lifts that link the valley to the top of Whistler Mountain. The 2 main ones, Fitzsimmons Express and Garbanzo Express, link up at 3400 feet on Whistler Mountain. From there, most of Whistler's best trail will start. If you continue up the mountain on Garbanzo Express, you will end up on the highest possible point that trails will start. This route however, does not provide the longest run. If you go up the Creekside Gondola on the western side of the mountain from the village, you will reach the origin of many trails. When ridden correctly, these trails lead a much longer path down towards the bottom then taking other lifts. A total of 154 trails can be accessed in the Whistler Main Branch that stretch a distance of 65 miles.
Whistler South CRA
Whistler South is much smaller than the main branch, only containing 44 trails and stretching a distance of 32 miles. The area is not lift-serviced, meaning climbing access trails is the only way to access certain parts of the southern side of Whistler Mountain. However, it does connect down with the valley, which hosts some trails that aren't as technically challenging as mountain trails. Whistler South is not a very ridden area, so it is not as well-known or famous as other branches. However, it does present some decent challenges and beautiful trails that are sure to give you a workout.
Data
Top 25 Trails
| Name | Difficulty Rating | Popularity (World Rank) | Elevation Gain | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crank It Up - Upper | More Difficult (Blue) | 5 | -312 ft | 0.69 mi |
| Crank It Up - Lower | More Difficult (Blue) | 8 | -537 ft | 1.3 mi |
| Samurai Pizza Cat | More Difficult (Blue) | 11 | -36 ft | 0.08 mi |
| Heart of Darkness | More Difficult (Blue) | 15 | -329 ft | 0.66 mi |
| Joy Cross | More Difficult (Blue) | 17 | -207 ft | 0.38 mi |
| A-Line - Lower | Most Difficult (Black Diamond) | 19 | -624 ft | 1.1 mi |
| Hornet | More Difficult (Blue) | 21 | -84 ft | 0.13 mi |
| Karate Monkey | More Difficult (Blue) | 23 | -236 ft | 0.31 mi |
| Longhorn | More Difficult (Blue) | 24 | -50 ft | 0.09 mi |
| Canadian Open Course - Upper | Expert (Double Black Diamond) | 25 | -200 ft | 0.19 mi |
| Lower Canadian Open DH | Expert (Double Black Diamond) | 28 | -140 ft | 0.16 mi |
| B-Line - Upper | More Difficult (Blue) | 31 | -453 ft | 0.76 mi |
| Ninja Cougar | More Difficult (Blue) | 32 | -157 ft | 0.33 mi |
| Fade to Black | Most Difficult (Black Diamond) | 34 | -101 ft | 0.11 mi |
| Funshine Rolly Drops | More Difficult (Blue) | 36 | -138 ft | 0.14 mi |
| World Cup Single Track | More Difficult (Blue) | 37 | -70 ft | 0.20 mi |
| Blue Velvet - Lower | More Difficult (Blue) | 39 | -1,117 ft | 1.4 mi |
| A-Line - Upper | Most Difficult (Black Diamond) | 41 | -463 ft | 0.75 mi |
| Monkey Hands | Most Difficult (Black Diamond) | 43 | -132 ft | 0.14 mi |
| Ho Chi Min | More Difficult (Blue) | 46 | -195 ft | 0.34 mi |
| Wednesday Night Delight | More Difficult (Blue) | 52 | -50 ft | 0.08 mi |
| No Joke - Lower | Most Difficult (Black Diamond) | 53 | -128 ft | 0.13 mi |
| B-Line - Lower | More Difficult (Blue) | 70 | -372 ft | 0.67 mi |
| Devils Club | More Difficult (Blue) | 74 | -168 ft | 0.24 mi |
| Blue Velvet - Upper | More Difficult (Blue) | 75 | -1,051 ft | 1.5 mi |
Note: All trails listed above are in the main branch of the Whistler Mountain Bike Park.
Lifts
| Lift Name | Length | Vertical | Type | Ride Time | Mountain | Make | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak 2 Peak Gondola | 2.73 mi | 118 ft | 3S Gondola 28 | 11 min | Blackcomb Mountain | Doppelmayr | 2008 |
| Blackcomb Gondola | 2.46 mi | 3,872 ft | 10 Person Gondola | 14 min | Blackcomb Mountain | Doppelmayr | 2018 |
| Whistler Village Gondola | 2.98 mi | 3,796 ft | 8 Person Gondola | 30 min | Whistler Mountain | Poma | 1988 |
| Creekside Gondola | 1.21 mi | 2,113 ft | 10 Person Gondola | 11 min | Whistler Mountain | Doppelmayr | 2022 |
| Fitzsimmons 8 Express | 1.09 mi | 1,138 ft | High speed 8 pack | 7 min | Whistler Mountain | Doppelmayr | 2023 |
| Garbanzo Express | 1.27 mi | 2,165 ft | High Speed Quad | 10 min | Whistler Mountain | Doppelmayr | 1999 |
References
- ^ "The Top 10 Bike Parks in the World / WorldBikeParks". www.worldbikeparks.com. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
- ^ "Whistler Ski & Trail Map | Whistler Blackcomb". www.whistlerblackcomb.com. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
- ^ "Whistler, British Columbia Mountain Biking Trails". www.trailforks.com. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
- ^ Davies, Dave (2021-08-02). "Fun Facts About The Whistler Bike Park". Whistler Retreats. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
- ^ "Whistler Mountain Bike Park". Whistler Museum and Archives Society. Retrieved 2024-01-23.