Photo Story: Another Fall Day In Whistler

After the roar of Crankworx has passed and the hoards of tourists have returned home comes ‘Fall’. A season in Whistler that comes with its own unique flavor, where waking up could bring sideways rain, sun or the odd snow-storm, where shorter days force you to pack in riding whenever you can and winter feels well on it’s way and with it the end of the biking season.

So in an attempt to get one last trip in before it all ends, we looked not to the Chilcotins or the long road trip to warmer, drier climes but to the ultimate backyard adventure. To pack your overnight gear and ride out of the driveway into the mountains and not stop until we’re at the top of a mountain with a long ribbon of trail below us.

Rainbow Mountain sits across the valley from the Bike Park, it’s lower half often home to EWS stages but above it lies a single trail descending from the high alpine elevation of 1,918m and 7.5km descent back to the valley below. A trail that only bears the name ‘Whistler Heli Drop Trail’ as it is normally accessed via helicopter and ridden with downhill bikes. We did not choose this way to the top, we choose to pedal or rather hike to the top. With heavy packs and trail bikes, we definitely had the beginnings of an epic adventure.


Lets be honest riding up hill for the most part isn't why we ride bikes, riding up hill with roughly 20lbs on your back made it all lot more interesting. After an hour of trying to keep your front wheel on the ground, the fire road ended and suddenly the pack was the least of our worries. The first segment of trail was a wet slippery shoot and but our minds to winter boot packing just concentrating on not loosing your footing each step you took.

As it got tighter going into the trees it wasn't long before the bikes were on our backs, which made hiking a lot easier but made some of the gaps a little trickier. It's very rare in Whistler that you hike up the trail you ride, as most of the time its fire road access, climbing trails or for some people everyday is a park day. Seeing the trail from this different perspective allows you to grasp how steep the trails we ride on a daily basis really are.

Climbing Ricks Roost in your easiest gear and still struggling (left) This is where the pedalling ended. James stopped at the bottom with a fearful look on his face, all that was left to say was "yes that is the way".

"We're going straight up, that means we're going the right way".


"Now it's a mountain!" Huw, Mack, and James make the final push to the top.



Getting to the summit where you’re going to camp is always a great feeling and as we left fairly late in the afternoon we didn't have much time to prep before it went dark. So when we finally got there we took in the awesome views of Whistler Blackcomb, Pemberton and Mount Currie and prepared our food, which was a small learning curve.

Everyone who’s done a trip like this knows that the shop for the food is a team effort. In Whistler it’s a little trickier as everyone is on a budget (mainly because toys and beer come before food). On this adventure we learnt never to skimp on canned salmon, I've seen better cat food!

Once it went dark the night sky awakened and we laid wrapped up tight in our sleeping bags, loosing count of the shooting stars darting across the sky above us.


"Cheap salmon will be fine it's going in soup!" Learn from this, never buy the cheap salmon.


Campground at night, getting ready to hit the sack.



Huw contemplating winter ski descents or maybe other bike epics.

"See, I told you we didn't need to pay for a heli".


The Shimano ace of spades.

Alpine snowball fights aren't so bad.

Finally, the descent. What makes this trail unique to Whistler is not only its length but the the variety of terrain you’ll encounter on the way down. From rocky alpine, to slick mudded meadows to rooted forests chutes, each made more difficult by packs that rendered brakes all but useless and made us really think we should have set our sag before setting off with the extra weight. But damn it was fun!

Our first taste of alpine dirt.




Josh not going OTB yet (right).

Huw making all the wrong shapes, drift gang for life.

James rolling with a pack the same size as him.

Mack did not crash and we're still unsure how!

Back at the valley bottom in one piece, sore, jacked on adrenaline and in need of a shower. A state that finds you content both in it’s pure exhaustion and you're almost instant desire to do it all again. Hands weak from clutching at screaming brake levers raised for one last high five, each of us oddly proud of our own personal epic. Only one thing weighs more important in the mind burgers and maybe a beer.

What are we doing next week?

Words: Mack Rankin and Huw Thomas
Photos: Josh McGarel
Random Stats: James Stapleton

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MENTIONS: @Joshmcg

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