The first heli drop of the season for anyone in Whistler and I was on it! An awesome experience being the first ones to land on that patch of snow and to ride the trail that's been untouched since the snows started to fall last October.
8am breakfast at the main lodge and at 9 we headed to the heli-port. Brakes and shifters were loosened on our bikes and then bikes stacked on the heli-pad and strapped together. We signed our waivers for a one way ticket no pick-up, meaning we have to find our own way off the mountain!
I managed to ride shotgun for the first heli up so I had an awesome view and was able to film it. Headsets on and harnessed in we took off in what feels rather wobbly fashion as we headed backwards then turned 180 to start climbing over the forest, over Green Lake and up into the mountains. At one point I looked down through the bubble window in the floor and suddenly realised I was suspended in mid-air- this is really flying!
We landed on a tiny patch of snow again a little wobbly and I struggled to get out of my harness but could not ask the pilot for help as he was balancing the chopper on the snow so was rather busy.
We crouched down on one knee on the snow as the pilot took off above our heads and then in a woosh was gone back down the mountain for the next load. We were alone and stranded!
After a few pics of the amazing views the pilot was back with our bikes dangling on a rope below the helicopter. He skilfully placed them on the snow, released the cable and Chris was waiting to untie them. Off flew the pilot again and we were less stranded as at least now we had bikes to ride down on!
Brakes and shifters tightened and checked we hiked across the snow to the trailhead, then headed down a rocky descent, we hit quite a few patches of snow at the top which we mainly had to hike our bikes across which was tough work. Eventually the snow was gone and we had some rolling singletrack through meadows until we hit the treeline. At the treeline things got a little steeper and we hit some very loamy steep rooty descents that had my back wheel drifting all over the place. Another case of just point the bike and hang on to the bars and hope you make it!
In between the steep chutes were a few nice rock slab rolls some steeper than others, I rode round the one that Tom rode after I saw him nearly go over the bars! We popped out onto the Flank Sproatt trail about 50m above Billy's Epic trail a great black diamond descent with an awesome viewpoint. Also a trail I have not ticked off yet. (There are 135 trails in my guide book and I've ridden 112 so far)
This led us down onto descend 27 switchbacks, fast and tight then onto Bob's Rebob a lot wider but very fast and swoopy until we hit Alta Lake Road and pedaled down to Rainbow Park on Alta Lake for a Canada day picnic.
Great runs down and a superb experience.
I pedaled home and got Dan to fix my Stroker brakes as the damper on the back lever had gone and the front disc rotor was rather bent and dragging. All fixed in double quick time I went for a few gentle runs in the park (Ninja Cougar and Angry Pirate and Crank it Up) and to watch the race down Schleyer and Rock City. I rode til 8pm then joined everyone in the GLC for the prizes and beers.
Exhausted... tomorrow I must REST!
1 comment:
i had a quick, thinking about doing rainbow as a full climb! you mention you joined the flank rail right above billy epic. i see that billy epic is off a side trail from the flank, not the main flank. just trying to figure it out, thanks.
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