(This will be in three posts, 10 pictures each.)
I've wanted to do this trip forever and finally made it happen in 2008. Chris M. and his wife, Paula, planned this trip for themselves, me, my wife Kristin, my son Ben, and a friend Kevin. Unfortunately Chris broke himself at Pajarito one week before the trip so he and Paula had to postpone. My family and Kevin decided to stick with the trip and had a killer (in more ways than one) time! This might be more of a passion post but I'd like to share the trip with all of us people who live in Mexico (that's what everyone thinks in Canada) coming from someone many of you know. For anyone planning on going in the future just do whatever you can to make it happen. It will be worth it! Just make sure to bring lots of body armor, spare bike parts, and enough extra money to pay for the Canadian health clinics
.
We flew into Seattle Thursday using Southwest frequent flyers and only having to pay $50 per bike each direction (better than most airlines). We rented a big F150 to fit all our bikes, gear, and Kevin who we picked up in Vancouver where he and his family were visiting the in-laws and drove to Whistler.
Rental:
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Sea To Sky Highway:
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Chris lined up a good deal at the Tantalus Resort Lodge (http://www.tantaluslodge.com/index.html) which was in easy biking distance to the lifts and had a kitchen and plenty of space for four people. This also happened to be the place where the gravity camps stayed so we ran into some big name Pros including Andrew Shandro, Matt Hunter, and Jordie Lunn.
On Friday Kristin took a half day guided tour with lessons while Kevin gave me and Ben the serious tour of the mountain.
View from high up the mountain:
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For Saturday and Sunday Kristin was signed up for an incredible skills course taught by Dirt Series Mountain Bike Camps Ltd. (http://www.dirtseries.com). This course was taught by numerous big name pros (http://www.dirtseries.com/coaches.htm).
Kristin with former Olympian, Andreas Hestler:
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Kristin in Class:
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OK, onto the good stuff :thumbsup: . I really didn't take enough pictures to do this hill justice. We were having too much fun to stop for pictures very often and you didn't want to lose your rhythm in the gnarly stuff. I did manage to snap a few and crop a few from videos that Kevin or I took on my camera.
Ben on Dirt Merchant Rock Drop to Table
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Me on Dirt Merchant Creek Gap
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Kevin on the Crank It Up wall ride:
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Me on the drop near the bottom:
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Kevin on a Rock Wall Ride
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I've wanted to do this trip forever and finally made it happen in 2008. Chris M. and his wife, Paula, planned this trip for themselves, me, my wife Kristin, my son Ben, and a friend Kevin. Unfortunately Chris broke himself at Pajarito one week before the trip so he and Paula had to postpone. My family and Kevin decided to stick with the trip and had a killer (in more ways than one) time! This might be more of a passion post but I'd like to share the trip with all of us people who live in Mexico (that's what everyone thinks in Canada) coming from someone many of you know. For anyone planning on going in the future just do whatever you can to make it happen. It will be worth it! Just make sure to bring lots of body armor, spare bike parts, and enough extra money to pay for the Canadian health clinics
.We flew into Seattle Thursday using Southwest frequent flyers and only having to pay $50 per bike each direction (better than most airlines). We rented a big F150 to fit all our bikes, gear, and Kevin who we picked up in Vancouver where he and his family were visiting the in-laws and drove to Whistler.
Rental:
Sea To Sky Highway:
Chris lined up a good deal at the Tantalus Resort Lodge (http://www.tantaluslodge.com/index.html) which was in easy biking distance to the lifts and had a kitchen and plenty of space for four people. This also happened to be the place where the gravity camps stayed so we ran into some big name Pros including Andrew Shandro, Matt Hunter, and Jordie Lunn.
On Friday Kristin took a half day guided tour with lessons while Kevin gave me and Ben the serious tour of the mountain.
View from high up the mountain:
For Saturday and Sunday Kristin was signed up for an incredible skills course taught by Dirt Series Mountain Bike Camps Ltd. (http://www.dirtseries.com). This course was taught by numerous big name pros (http://www.dirtseries.com/coaches.htm).
Kristin with former Olympian, Andreas Hestler:
Kristin in Class:
OK, onto the good stuff :thumbsup: . I really didn't take enough pictures to do this hill justice. We were having too much fun to stop for pictures very often and you didn't want to lose your rhythm in the gnarly stuff. I did manage to snap a few and crop a few from videos that Kevin or I took on my camera.
Ben on Dirt Merchant Rock Drop to Table
Me on Dirt Merchant Creek Gap
Kevin on the Crank It Up wall ride:
Me on the drop near the bottom:
Kevin on a Rock Wall Ride
