Whistler Survial Guide from Bob’s Your Uncle!

I said to Bob, “..head out to Whistler and see the new Specialized Long Travel line up..”, he did some research then and while he was there…here’s his Ten Thoughts from Whistler…

1. It’s a long way from Vancouver: When you look on the map at the distance between Vancouver and Whistler it really doesn’t look that far. In reality it’s a good 2.5 hour transfer by coach. While the transfer is stunning make sure when you book your flights that a transfer is available to get you to Whistler or back to Vancouver (they are not 24 hours). An early morning flight may mean taking the bus the night before and sleeping at a hotel/airport in Vancouver.

2. Try Hotwire.com for booking hotels. I got stuck with the above scenario for flights and managed to book an overnight stay in the Vancouver Hilton for $79 using Hotwire. The Hilton has a free 24 hour shuttle to and from the airport as do most of the airport hotels.

3. Bring lots of money: Whistler is expensive, very expensive. Once you are there there really is no option to get things anywhere else. If you plan on eating out every meal put aside $100 per day for food (minimum). Self catering would be less expensive but for example: Fish and chips and a pint will set you back $25 at any bar in town. Average price for a pint of beer is around $6. Remember as well that all prices do not include Harmonized Sales Tax (add 14% to every displayed price). Your standard bike spares are plentiful but if your bike has for example, a unique dérailleur hanger, it’s worth packing a spare before you go (see point 1).

4. Get good medical coverage: Whistler mountain does not take prisoners. I saw so many arms in plaster casts and slings that it became a standing joke that if we did not see one for 5 minutes we thought something was up.

5. Go easy and watch the weather forecasts each day: Tied in with #4. If you are here for a week or two don’t go balls out on the first day and break yourself. The mountain is big and gnarly and there’s always another day to go and fight it. I’m in good shape but 3 hours riding in the morning and a couple more in the afternoon had me beat up and dog tired. Also remember to pack for wet weather, Crankworx is in early August but we went from low 60′s and wet to high 80′s and brilliant sunshine all within the same day. The Northshore bridges and ladders get very slippery when they are wet and brakes are not that effective on them. Even in August the top of Whistler mountain still has snow on it and the chairlift up can be cold and getting chilled can really spoil a days riding.

6. Ride with spares or with a buddy who has spares and a trail map: There’s nothing worse than a puncture if you are stuck halfway up the mountain without a spare tube and a pump or CO2 cartridge. Having a couple of tubes, a pump, a multi-tool, some tire levers and some zip ties (because you can fix just about anything with them) might just make getting to the bottom of the hill a little less painful. Having a map is also a good idea. Nearly all the trails can be combined with 3 or 4 other trails to get you to the bottom of the mountain. Having a map means you can create almost infinite combinations of runs. It might stop you making the mistake I did when I took a wrong turn and ended up in The Boneyard.

7. Take at least one day to go to the top of the mountain to either: Ride down (I was told it takes well over an hour) or traverse between Whistler and Blackcomb on the Peak 2 Peak gondola. You might wonder if it’s worth the $43 but it really is, we waited for the glass-bottomed gondola and looking through the viewing window over 450m to the valley floor was pretty awesome.

8. There’s not much else to do in Whistler when you’re not riding except eat and drink. The town is bars, restaurants and shops. The shops are typical of any mountain ski resort, unless you’re inclined to buy expensive souvenirs or designer clothes there’s not much else to do. Whistler has clubs but I was too tired (and old!!) to check them out.

9. If you don’t want to take your bike go during Crankworx: All the big players are in town and all of them will have demo bikes for you to ride. Why pay for a rental when you can borrow one for free? Most of the companies required a picture id and a credit card to take a bike out. You got the bike for 1 run and then returned it. While this sounds like there’s a lot of time wasted it actually seemed to have a fairly rapid turn-around. The time spent picking up the bikes also allows your body to recover a bit for the next run.

10. Never ride bareback: Whistler is jampacked full of hotties of both sexes. It’s also got one of the highest STD rates in North America, ’nuff said.