Westridge at Snow Summit - oh, yeah

There was a nice fluffy crater there just off the ramp. Was it tasty?

 

Thankfully, I didn't have to taste it ~

 

@ Surleygal: Are you ok?

 

Yes thanks for asking! Was able to pull it off, had a friend right behind me that couldn't belive I didn't crash

 

new sig!!!

 

Looks like you squashed the jump so as to get the wheels back on the ground quickly so you could hammer on the pedals again and set up for the next corner. :clap:

 

I hit that hole off that ramp a few times. I didn't think I came close to crashing, but I definitely didn't like it. I started hugging the inside of the little turn and intentionally not jumping too much so I could avoid that hole. Glad to hear that SurlyGal didn't taste it, but someone surely is going to.

 

Yeah that hole is a good enough reason to soak up that drop and not air it out anymore than necessary.. it's also a pretty loose landing if I recall correctly.. of course what isn't loose up there

 

Look what I found on Facebook.. great shot of Neil taking care of business on Westridge

 

Is that a Ripley?

BTW, I just scheduled a super-secret product test session on Thursday this week. Anyone gonna be there? As I've demonstrated earlier, I am the ultimate test for equipment. If a product can handle my manly moves, it can handle anything!

 

Chris I will be thinking about you as I'm jumping on the lift Thurs in Whistler.. :bang:

 

Don't be too jealous, Whistler's pretty nice too! :lol:


Bastard.....

 

Neil's bike? No it's a Kona Carbon Hei Hei.

 

Yeah, those step downs nearly caught me...

The first week MM was completely smooth, it is so much more chunky, rooty, and steep now I really like it.

 

OK...so I just rode Whistler for the past couple days and SS this past Saturday....Westridge jumps are NOTHING like A-Line at Whistler currently....The Westridge jumps are closest to B-Line or Crank it Up....As far as the Westridge trail rating "Blue" it is accurate and on par with how the blue runs are at Whistler....I have ridden both in the past week....

 

Thanks for your up to the minute review! :lol:

 

Ya' know, it occurs to me that everyone comparing this SS trail rating to that mountain's trail rating hasn't read a ski/snowboard map or trail rating map in a really, really long time.

Trail ratings are about context, and in relation to the other trails on the mountain, not comparing one run to another mountain.

To put it in perspective, in the Winter, Snow Summit has a bowl of Double Black Diamond Runs. In snow parlance, they are less steep, less icy, much less difficult than most of the black diamond runs at Mammoth (Cornice or Climax, virgin groomed, is waaaaaay more difficult than anything Summit or Bear has on offer). Go to Whistler (or Kicking Horse or Sunshine in Alberta or Jackson Hole), and same said Mammoth Black Diamond is a Blue Run there.

To sum up for the same level of winter rider:
Summit's Double-Black means failure is recoverable, and you'll feel it in the morning.
Mammoth's Double-Black means failure is a trip to the hospital, but you'll survive.
Whistler's Double-Black (and the others) means failure is a helicopter ride and lengthy recovery. They are no-fall zones.
Europe only rates groomed trails, anything off-groomed is at your own risk, and hazards are unmarked. You won't know about the no-fall zones until you go missing.

Saying something is justifiably rated as a blue at SS because its at a comparable level to a blue on a mountain most of the people at SS will never see is not only a disservice to those of us on the board, but a disservice to the many more people who aren't on this board. If its the hardest run planned on the mountain, call it black. If its the easiest, call it green. If its in the middle, call it blue. Catering only to the top means your customer base is top-heavy, and not sustainable. Pyramids are built from the bottom up. Bike shops make money on people who buy their accessories and second bike from them. Resorts make money by making sure the largest population base keeps coming back, and not the feeling that a 90-minute drive up to get beat up and then the 90-minute drive back in traffic is not worth the c-note being shelled out for gas, food, lift-ticket, and possibly more for bike rental.

Keep that in mind when selling the SS and trail ratings to people. Better to use a local trail as a reference than Whistler (think about that feeling you get when you have no idea what I'm talking about regarding the winter trail ratings).

In the absence of a true easy way down to the base of the lift (since long way home isn't able to be built this year), safety and conflict reduction mandate a P-line around features. They exist in the winter, they need to exist in the summer on the mountain. If the entry-level is alienated, then the whole thing falls apart.

Me, I'll keep riding uphill and earning my descents. Much more satisfying (in summer and winter...fewer people, fewer conflicts, fewer tracks, fewer people listening to my ranting).

Angry man needs a beer. (and because he hasn't been to Whistler since 2006)

 

The good thing about Westridge is that you do not need to do the lippy jumps. You can just roll them. Less-skilled riders may misjudge the speed they need to get up the ramp and have to push, but oh-well. My point about the severity of the kickers and lack of a true table in favor of something that resembles a moderate double is that people like me aren't as confident practicing jumping at speed to get to the next level. The "knuckle" presents an issue if I can't clear it.

I saw lots of beginners and intermediates on the trail again today. They were mostly in over their heads, but seemed to be managing without trauma.

I was riding with two extremely skilled riders today (one who owns KOM on Cruiser, for what that's worth) and they both agreed the jumps are a little too abrupt and unforgiving for the run. One guy (an extremely talented rider) didn't jump them any better than I did, and Strava Boy cleared them with ease - and steez!

I'll eventually grow a pair and nail them at full speed.

JD - Glad you are enjoying Whistler. That's one way to get very good at jumps, doing 20-45 of them per run.

 

So there are unmarked step downs in blind and crank it up and wow b lines jumps must have really been increased in size.

 

I would say the Westridge jumps are smaller than most jumps on B-line and Crank it up as well as Blue Velvet at Whistler. The Jumps and step-downs are not marked by signs but there are flags on them. A-line jumps are much taller and lippier than Westridge and 2 1/2 -3 times the length. Westridge was a great warm up to the Blue runs at Whistler....not even close to the length or quality...but still a great warmup. One thing to note is that the landings of the tabletops of WR are not as good....they landings should roll, not have an edge...this would be good for the safety all riders. After ridering Whistler for a couple days now....I can still say I had fun on Westridge

One thing SS needs are the signs that read "No Stopping on trails"