LIFT TICKETS

Lift tickets are £30–35 per day per adult depending on what time of the season you go. If you plan to ride for more than 14 days then get a season pass which usually cost around £300. You can also get samplers which are valid for three lifts (one Fitzsimmons and one Garbanzo counts as two, as does one complete Village Gondola) but are perfect for the riders experiencing the other Whistler trails but want to tick the Bike Park off too. These cost £16.

Riding the valley trails is free but do try to sign up to local MTB super club WORCA (www.worca.com) and go along to all the dig days you possibly can.

WHAT BIKE TO BRING

Bikes take a beating in Whistler. You will be riding everyday all day and the amount of mileage that you will be capable of doing on constantly challenging terrain is going to put a strain on any bike. The two main things to consider are: do not bring an exotic bike where spare and repairs will be hard to come across, and make sure whatever bike you bring over that it has been thoroughly serviced and repaired before you come. I have seen people turn up with no spare mech hangers for their bike and have to go days before a replacement is found or machined (The Fix is a bike shop with a CNC machine if you become desperate). If you have paid all this money to come over then even one day is an agonizing and expensive day missed. Everybody rides bikes in Whistler so the fact that you aren’t will be rubbed in your face at every turn.

The kind of bike you bring will depend entirely on what kind of rider you are or how much riding you want to do. If you come to just do laps of the Bike Park then the only bike you need is a full downhill bike: triple crowns, a new set of good tyres, and sturdy wheels. If you really want to experience the real riding of Whistler during your holiday then you need a tough bike that pedals. Seriously, the climbs are long but the descents outside of the park are exceptional. The perfect bike for a Whistler holiday would have to be a 150–160mm bike with chain guide, 1×10, small ring (32 tooth), and dropper post. The kind of bike that doesn’t cripple you up the climbs and can be treated almost as roughly as a DH bike on the downs, and even get away with a few days in the park…7” tanks and flat bar 27 speed bikes need not apply.

GETTING FIXED

Whistler is blessed with many bike shops, all of which are great in their own way. Here is the top three picks. Bike Co. (www.bikeco.ca) is the local bike shop with all the local trail knowledge. If their staff haven’t ridden it then it doesn’t exist. Fanatyk co. (www.fanatykco.com) has current BoXXer World Champ, Len Horridge, in their workshop. If you need the best then go straight to him. For retail duties go to the cavernous Summit Sport (www.summitsport.com).