Enduramil said:
If you need to stop get to the side of the trail. DO Not Stand like a lemming in the middle of the trail. It's a good way to get smoked by other riders.
And hurt other riders as they crash trying to avoid you.
A lot of people make a big stink about riders on the wrong trails, but really if you observe the
aforementioned protocol you'll be fine.
So to break it down for you:
-Getting on the lift: easy. If you're a single guy get into the skinny line marked single (it's faster).
When you get to the front, there's three bikes go into the cradles (roll on) and one gets hung
up on the hook (left side of bike lift). Don't forget to make suer you're not hanging your bike
on the tire stem (rotate your tire before hand). Some people like the bar down, other not, just
remember to get your leg out of the way of the stopper on the bar (it'll pinch like a sob).
-Trails. They are well marked green/blue/black/double-black, green is easiest double/triple is
hardest. If you've been riding a while start on some blue runs like Crank it up > Heart of Darkness.
Then if you are clearing all the jumps and maybe giving some style, hit up Aline.
Not all of the "hard" trails are jump trails, so if you're not into jumping but you can handle really
steep rocky/rooty gnar then trails like Original sin might be a place to start. By far the hardest trails at the park are the gnar ones not the jump trails (Goats gully comes to mind).
-Speed. You gain A LOT of speed in Whistler A LOT. Remember that before you go to a harder
trail.
-Jumps. All the jump trails (aline, Dirt merchant and even the blues like HOD, blue velvet and
CIU) you're adding jumping with lots of speed. A bad landing can clean you out an going slow
will only get you landing on the flat of the table top.
-Attitude. There are a few that have the "rockstar" 'tude, screw 'em. I've never personally
experienced any of it (in the lines or even on the trails). If you're on a green or blue run and
someone come flying up behind you and gets on your ass, don't panic, they can wait till you
find a good place to either pull over or they can pass you safely. Places like AL and DM are
a bit trickier, and you will no matter how fast you are will be passed by someone faster (unless
your name is Brian Lopes). The bigger jump trails are pretty wide, so if you just move to the
far right side when you hear the scream of someone elses hub come up behind you, you're
fine.
-Stopping. Don't stop in the middle of ANY trail. If you need to look at a stunt, pull your bike
off to the side of the trail (in the bushes), and make quick looks keeping an ear out for those
people that go chainless (all you're going to hear is the whir of the tires). And when you get
out of the way for that person, you need to be
completely off the trail.
-People. I've met some great people on the lifts. I've had locals show me good lines and took
me onto trails I wouldn't have thought about riding (and had a great time).
-Water. There's a drinking fountain in the waiting area on the Fitz chair. Drink lots of water.
I need a camelbak, others I ride with just drink a little every run, either way drink lots of water.
Don't let any of this scare you, WBP is a great place and a smile will be plastered on your face for many days after you leave there.
Have fun!
