Eric and Scott’s
group, led by Jordi Lunn that day, went up to the peak. A gondola ride
up to the top and a lift chair up from there (past Garbanzo). This area
is not open to the masses, they got special permission to go up. I
didn’t get to go, and the photos they took made me wish I did! Thanks
to Scott for the amazing shots.
Eric scrunched in the gondola
First ride up in the gondola gets you this far, with the peak in the
distance. Pretty cold just at this stop! This is as far as I’ve been.
Lift ride up with Johnny
Views from the top
We come to the end of the week. Saturday was the 6th and final day
of the camp. It was a free day, so we could ride with any groups or
coaches we wanted. Eric, Scotty, and I decided to ride together and get
some riding photos. We took things pretty easy on our last day, just
opting for some fun and flow.
The weather changed for us that day with cold and drizzle. Here are some views from the lift.
Pros pushing up to practice for the Crankworx Dual Slalom to be held later that day
Section of the Canadian Open DH course
Tree stump man (thanks for the missed photo, Scott)
Fog near the top
We did a Crank It Up run for a warm up, and later Ninja Cougar to
Karate Monkey. Me on that blasted right-hander near the creek.
Something I’ll have to tackle next year.
So it was time to try the middle GLC drop. We went and took a look first. Scott did a demo for me.
Eric thought it would be best to tow me in, so I would know the best speed to take. Eric leads…
me in tow…right hand turn, extra pedal stroke…
and OFF!
Landing was flat on both wheels, all was good! It felt amazing. I
was really psyched, I had wanted to hit that drop when I first arrived.
We took a break for lunch and it really started to pour down rain.
We squeezed in one more run, but by then the trails were getting pretty
slippery and most of the fun stuff was getting blocked off for the
Crankworx races anyway. We ended up taking Slow and Easy down to the
bottom because lower A-Line was closed off! Talk about anti-climactic.
So we called it for the day of riding.
Eric going off the big GLC.
Mud wash
Eric’s muddy goggle shot
The day’s nowhere near over yet! Saturday was the start of
Crankworx. We were lucky enough to catch the Dual Slalom event. It
continued to rain lightly throughout the afternoon. Whistler Village
was transformed: packed with people, booths and sound stages set up.
Big screen TV - one in Whistler Village, one near the upper portion of the course.
Ooooh…Socom Dorado
Monster Energy booth
Course view from the top
Water jump
We watched the heats for a while. Since it was cold and rainy, we
were in need of some comfort food, Canadian style. Poutine break!
For those who don’t know, Poutine
is french fries topped with cheese curd and brown gravy. I guess it
would be the equivalent to our chili cheese fries. Mmmmmm…on a cold
rainy day, this really hit the spot!
Back to the races. It was so amazing to be right next to the course,
and to see all these world-class riders right in front of you!
Duncan Riffle and Sam Hill
Dan Atherton & Cedric Gracia
Brendan Fairclough
JD Swanguen and Sam Hill
JD, victorious and all smiles. He would take home 1st place that day.
meeting of the minds…JD, Hill, Beaumont
Kathy Pruitt
Anneke Beerten
my heroine…Rachel Atherton
It’s amazing how much we fit into one day! The entire week was like that.
Goals for next trip to Whistler:
- big GLC drop
- big A-Line drop
- right-hander on Karate Monkey
- more new trails
- more challenge
- more FUN!
Whistler is such an incredible place. I still have clear vivid
pictures of Whistler and visions of runs down my favorite trails. I
hope they never go away.