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 Whistler
MountainBike Park
General Information:
Whistler is made up of three villages – Whistler Village, Whistler Blackcomb
and Lower Village.
The Fitzsimmons Express, which is based is in Whistler village is the main Lift
for carrying bikes up Whistler Mountain. The Whistler village gondola also carries
bike, although it is mainly for carrying people to the top of the mountain. All
good shops and restaurant are in Whistler Village, although no-where is too far
away and a bus operates constantly throughout the resort.
Whistler Mountain Bike Park
The Mountain Bike Park is open from May 21st – October 10th from 9am –
5pm daily. If this isn’t enough riding, you can go for extended play from
Wednesdays – Friday, where you can extend your lift pass to 8pm . The Garbanzo
however finishes at 7pm during August due to insufficient light
Lift Pass Information
(All prices are for adults 18+ however discounts are available from youth and
children.
Single day $41
2 day $75
3 of 4 day pass $100 (any 3 days within 4 consecutive days)
4 of 5 day pass $125 (any 4 days within 5 consecutive days)
Extended play $30
Full day plus extended play $50
Getting There…..
Flights
There’s are a number of airports close enough to Whistler. Flying to Seattle
has not be unheard of, although not recommended as border crossing adds a lot
of time onto your journey and also adds about 2 hours onto the drive.
The most obvious route is flying to Vancouver . These days, many airlines fly
direct to Vancouver, but this is mainly via London. It’s also cheaper to
fly from the UK, so if your planning on booking the trip, the most advisable way
is to fly via mainland UK city, one which you’ll be able to transfer easily
into. Checkout Aer Lingus or Ryanair to see they’re cheapest routes to the
UK .
The best example of online flight bookings is
Expedia can book direct from Belfast or Dublin so takes the hassle out of booking
flight to mainland UK. (TIP – when the price appears, always select the
flight as the price usually decreases, especially the bigger prices)
Travel Republic flies direct to Vancouver from London Gatwick, Manchester and
Glasgow, although not ever day! They fly Air Transat and there is very little
leg room with the seats!
Fly Zoom has great prices and also fly direct from Gatwick, Glasgow and Manchester
and flies regularly. Fly Zoom do not charge for properly packaged bikes.
Canadian Affair is particularly cheap and gives to options to fly every day. They
fly from Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester, Gatwick and Glasgow. For Bike Travel
Canadian Affair charge £40 return to bikes.
Air Canada can be expensive but not if booked in advance, although only fly from
London Heathrow which can be expensive to fly to. For bike travel Air Canada charge
$65 CAD each way.
(Bike charges are subject to change)
Getting to the UK
Try any of the following
From Dublin www.aerlingus.com;
www.ryanair.com;
From Belfast : www.easyjet.co.uk;
www.flybe.com;
FROM VANCOUVER - WHISTLER
Travel time to Whistler is approximately 2 hours. There are a number of ways to
get there:
By Car; - Car hire is pretty cheap in Canada and should cost around 250 euro for
an economy car. Bookings is advisable in advance. Although you do need to have
a full driving licence with you as well as be over 21.
Shuttle – A Shuttle drops passengers directly at most major hotels in Whistler
from Vancouver Airport . More information is available from the Whistler website.
Accommodation:
Your never going to have trouble finding accommodation in Whistler, as it accommodates
for thousands and thousands of skiers every year. During the summer the cost of
accommodation drops considerably!
For mountain biking if you want to be close to the lifts, find somewhere in Whistler
village, although it may be difficult to get somewhere quite cheap with all the
‘extras’, pool, Jacuzzi, etc. Blackcomb Village is also quite close
and also has a lot of good accommodation.
The best thing to do, if you don’t mind waiting until you get to Whistler
is go to guest services based in the centre of Whistler Village. They have all
the information of availability for Whistler in the time frame you want to stay
and can recommend anything of you taste and show you exactly how far away it is!
For example, a stay in the Horstmans House, upper village, an excellent brand
new apartment, 2 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, sleeps 8, TV, stereo, DVD, dishwasher,
fridge costs the equivalent of 22 Euro per night if split between eight people.
If in doubt try http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/accommodation/a-z/index.htm
for more information. Here you can choose from self catering, B&B’s
hotels, guest houses, everything or call the freephone number on the website.
Spending Money:
Food is relatively cheap, in comparison Ireland , so a good meal would cost you
between $10 (pizza) - $30 (steak) each evening.
Shops are copious, with loads of good clothing shops such as Oakley, Billabong,
Raceface, you name it – they’ve got it, so if you wanna kit out with
some new gear, bring the credit card!
When your not mountain biking
Where do we start…… Whistler is a resort, not just known for mountain
biking but where thousands of visitors go to each year for as a popular holiday
destination. Here is just a sample of the activities:
- Ziptrek Ecotours – Enjoy the Ziptrek tours on a series of five different
ziplines between Whistler and Blackcomb
- ATV Tours – There are loads of ATV tours for both snow and on mountain.
- Bungee Jumping – Whistler Bungee provides a 160 foot drop from a bridge
into a river gully – you gotta try it.
- Climbing – Whether a pro or novice – there are a number of climbing
centre in Whistler.
- Flightseeing – Spectacular flightseeing tours with glacier landings!!!
Both plane and helicopter – you choose!
- Glacier tours – Guided 3 and 5 hour glacier hikes to Blackcomb
- Golf – 3 excellent golf courses
- Hiking – For all ages and abilities
- Horseback Riding – For beginner and experienced riders
- Off Road Hummer 4x4 tours
- Tennis – 3 indoor and 9 outdoor courts
- Whitewater Rafting – A must for all – an excellent experience, especially
for beginners.
-Snowboarding – The glacier above Blackcomb is open all year round so you
can carve a few turns.
Nightlife:
Loads of it – Whistlers reputation for nightlife is well established around
the world and after a great day on the trails the bars and clubs have all the
ingredient for celebration!
The Mountain Biking
You’ve heard the rumours – now go experience them for yourself! | 
