May 14/12 17:00 pm - Whistler Mountain Bike Park opens Friday May 18

Posted by Editoress on 05/14/12
 

Mountain bike enthusiasts have been eagerly awaiting the opening of the Whistler Mountain Bike Park and this week the anticipation comes to an end. On Friday May 18 Whistler Mountain Bike Park will open 11 signature trails ranging from easy to advanced.

With the phenomenal sunshine and warm temperatures over the past weekend, and forecasted for the coming week, the Whistler Mountain Bike Park will open with 11 trails; A-Line, Crank It Up, B-Line, Heart of Darkness, Ho Chi Min, Monkey Hands, Hornet, World Cup Single Track, Samurai Pizza Cat, Karate Monkey and the Joyride Jump Park. Whistler Mountain Bike Park’s current early-season conditions are recommended for intermediate to advanced riders but more beginner, intermediate, and advanced trails will be opened daily.


Anticipation: part one




“Mother Nature has really helped us out over the past few days and will continue to this coming week,” says Brian Finestone, Whistler Mountain Bike Park Manager. “With some hard work from our trail crews and the warm temperatures we’re looking forward to a great opening weekend and Bike Park season.”

Early Bird Bike Park Season Passes, Twilight Triple Play Passes and Triple Play Cards are available now for $499 CDN, $249 CDN and $139 CDN (plus tax) respectively. Riders who purchase their Season Passes before May 31 will receive $50 off the regular Seasons Pass, one free Peak Ride ticket and one free early season bring-a-friend ticket valid until June 26. Early Bird Twilight Triple Play Pass or Triple Play Card purchasers will receive an additional free day for use before June 22 as well as the option to load an additional 3 days on to their card or pass for $99 before May 31. Guests can purchase passes online at whistlerbike.com, in person at Village Guest Relations, or by calling 1-800-766-0449.

Starting this Friday, May 18 the Whistler Mountain Bike Park will be open daily from 10am until 5pm. On May 18 access into the Whistler Bike Park will be available via the Fitzsimmons Express with the Whistler Village Gondola opening May 26. Extended play hours, 10am-8pm, kicks off June 16 through September 3. The Whistler Mountain Bike Park is open through to Oct 8, 2012.

Riders can also practice indoors in the Air Dome starting May 18. The Air Dome is a 8,400 square foot indoor bike training facility with various jumps, wooden ramps and a foam pit. Full details can be found online at www.whistlerbike.com/information.

For guests looking for rental bikes and gear, Garbanzo Rentals in the Whistler Gondola building will be carrying a selection of Giant full suspension downhill mountain bikes including the Glory and Faith, Kali full-face helmets and Alpinestars body armor. Meanwhile, Garbanzo Bike and Bean (GBB) in the Carleton Lodge will be open from 10am to 6pm daily. GBB offers rental, repair services and features a retail section filled with top-end mountain bikes, clothing, equipment and a coffee bar.

Returning this year to the Whistler Mountain Bike Park is the Demo Centre which will be located inside the Garbanzo Bike and Bean. The Demo center will allow guests to demo a selection of high performance downhill bikes from; Giant, Cove, KHS. Lapierre, Scott, Devinci, Kona,Trek,and Santa Cruz.

This season there are plenty of exciting bike related things to get involved with including the Whistler premier of “Strength In Numbers” taking place at the conference center on May 18th as well as The Crud 2 Mud Downhill race which will be back again on May 27, 2012. Full event details are available at Whistlerbike.com/events.