Whistler Whereabouts: A walk in the park

WILL COLFORD, SnowSeekers Inc.

Welcome back to Whistler Whereabouts where I ride specific sections of the mountain each day and tell you about them.
You cannot come to Whistler without checking out one of the two Nintendo Terrain parks. Having one on each mountain, Whistler Blackcomb has every level of rider covered when it comes to all things park.
If you’re just starting out, hit the Whistler park; the jumps are mellow to medium and the rails and boxes will let you progress without taking a trip to the hospital.
Once you have your intermediate skills down and you want to begin infusing some creativity and challenge into your tricks, then pop over to Blackcomb and head up the solar coaster chair. There is a dedicated lift specifically built for park laps.
Unlike any other mountain I can think of – save maybe the T bar at Red Mountain – the Cat Skinner chair is only as long as the park itself, so there’s no mucking about getting to the hits.
The Blackcomb park is spit into two sections, an intermediate park with good jump, rail, and jib lines. Then there’s the pro park.
You need a special pass for this park which you can get from the guest relations desk in the village. These are the Hollywood big guns. Often the cheese wedges are taller than a grown man, and the tables start at 12 metres (40 feet) and go up from there. You can see these monsters from the intermediate line which helps motivate riders on difficult tricks.

After all, if you’re trying to progress your board slide from a straight rail to a 270 on, and you look over to see someone hurtle themselves 15 m (50 ft.) through the air, spinning like a falling cosmonaut, suddenly your trick doesn’t seem so impossible.
Even if you don’t ride park, it’s worth it to take a ride up the chair to see something you’ll hardly ever get to see on any other mountain: pros going big.

Stay tuned to www.snowseekers.ca/olympicnews for daily blogs, videos and more throughout the Olympics.

• Photos courtesy TOURISM WHISTLER 

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