The 2006 Lift Extravaganza: Ride it like a Whore.

[TheRob]

Finally after almost 5 months of planning, the 2006 Lift Extravaganz went off without a hitch.

After booking holidays and calling in sick ;) six(Clown, thedude, dude, me, Steve, and Wilby)of us hit the road on Friday morning. First stop; Whistler. It was hot. So hot. And dusty. But beautiful. We didn't get as many runs in as we had hoped due to an unprecedented amount of mechanicals. Too many to count. We got around 35k's in though. Not too shabby. Original Sin/Goats Gully/In Deep/Fatcrobat/Too Tight was the run of the day for me. I love that line. Had a chance to talk to the rock master Peter Morin on GG. It was a pleasure. We rode until around 5pm with Upper and Lower Joyride closing it out for us. Over to Lost Lake for a dip and some "people" watching then in the trucks and off to the rented chalet in Sun Peaks.

Duffy Lake = Death. I would NOT want to drive that road at night.

We arrived in Sun Peaks at around 11. Q'd up some dinner, had a few and hit the rack. Up at 8 for breakfast then hit the hill.

It was mentioned somewhere, and I tend to agree. SP needs to step things up a bit. I noticed some new work and maintenance on Sweet One, but none anywhere else. Their signage is awful, and a First Aid/Patrol guys seems non exixtant. The lift sucked and stopped way too much. One trip up took 35-40 minutes because of all the stopping. That being said, the lifties were top notch friendly, and the trails are wicked. Our warmup was a dusty Cat Trax followed by a dusty and steep KAboom to Arm Pump. Then back up to Sugar/Sweet One. I love that line. Log rides and skinnies everywhere. Just a super fun rip. Three of the crew hit the SP golf course at around 4:30. thedude, Clown and I got a few more in. Insanity One/Arm Pump and then back up for an epic. Big Rock Ride to the resivoir. Then Heffers Grunt to Way out. To Ty Trail and Arm Pump. We got some wicked shots along this route that I will post when I get them. Around 42k's on day two.

Back to the chalet for some Q'd up steaks, then off to Mac Daddy's where we were fortunate enough to hook up with a stagette. Good times. Mmmmm....Sexy Lexy.....:p

Anyhow, we got drunk and missed the 6:30am wake up call. So it was up at 8:30 and three of us went to Silver Star, while the other three stayed at Sun Peaks.

We(thedude, Clown and I)got to Silver Star around noon. A little groggy but away we went. None of us had been there before so we didn't know what to expect. I guess if you are a jumper, this mountain is for you. LOts of jump trails. The line of the day seemed to be World Cup for us. I absolutely love the first section of that trail. I guess a lot of trails actually. The section from the lift to the intersection is wicked. We rode most of the blacks and some of the blues. Superstar was fun. Flow should be called No Flow. Well, not really, but after two days of hard riding Flow was just too long. Double Dog was cool. We never got to hit Downtown. Next time. Add 36 more K's to the weekend.

We rode until close and started for home around 5:30. We drove through an intense storm in Westbank. The rain was crazy. It was 42 in downtown Kelowna and 22 in Westbank. Strange.

So all in all, it was a wicked weekend. A lot of driving but every mile was worth it. I cannot wait until next year!

Pictures to come.

[jonny.zee]

Thanks for posting that little report. That's a great summary of SP vs. SS.

Anyway - I was at Silverstar on Friday and at Sun Peaks on Sat and Sun. I bumped into thedude on Saturday - it was nice meeting you!

The reason for the lift delays at Sun Peaks is they were taking old people up and down the mountain to see a symphony which was playing up top. Why they would do this on one of the hottest weekends of the year is beyond me, but anyway. The old folks needed to be assisted off the lift while they were stopped. An inconvenience, yes but it was necessary. Some od the old folks were on walkers. Also the slowness was only for one period in the am and one in the aft. Most of the day, the lift moved along.

SP customer service was really cool about it. They handed out free cold drinks on Saturdy and on Sunday they gave us a full cash refund at the end of the day when we brought the issue to their attention in a respectful manner. Props to them!

[heckler]

Am I reading right? three days, three mountains? That's pretty hardcore! Nice work!

[heckler]

PS - the whore's would have been too drunk to drive between the mountains.

[Dude]

Well, have to say, this weekend was epic.

Last year, Wilby and I went out solo, and hit Silverstar Saturday, and Sun Peaks Sunday. Sunday morning we managed to get in 18 holes before riding, too.

More company made this year more fun, and the combined resources allowed for the comfort of one of the nicest chalets I've ever stayed in up there in SP. I don't know where or how TheRob got that deal, but underpriced gem. I absolutely love that hill and everything the area offers. Too bad it is quite a tough hike from Vancouver, but I will get up there more in '07 w/ the wife and kids.

Whistler was fun, as always, up top. But, wow, busy! And hot! Simply put: impossible to go hard full time up top, with all the terrain, without suffering heat stroke. In between runs, we drank water like it was going out of style. I simply love OS/GG/In Deep/Fatcrobat. GG wasn't closed, even though Morin was putting a crew through their paces. He still looked grumpy when we rode through, though.:D Gotta love old Pete! Some very nice work they are doing to that section, which I suppose was castrating too many guys. Cory: Morin found your balls on the 1st gnarly switchback, and placed them to the side for your retrieval this weekend. ;)

I think for Wilby and I, SP has a special place in our hearts, because of the steeps. Afternoon Saturday, and all day Sunday, that's all we rode: Honey Drop, and Insanity 1 (easily the most fun trail on the hill, especially when you pin it), the super highway, then Arm Pump. Fond memories of Nationals and Canada Cup 2001, but the difference being that that year I had a horrific crash on the Twisted Sister and badly re-injured a separated shoulder. They have since changed that line (I think to make it even sketchier w/ the long ladder entrance, because dropping in before wasn't that bad, just scary), and I had some serious demons to conquer. Face them I did, and conquer them I have. :agree:

Saturday afternoon, Wilby and I still got in our 18 holes during twilight. Great fun, bad round for me. Many foot wedges, and many more balls for the local hunters to fish out. But, nothing like pinning it during the day, then relaxing on the course in the evening. The bar was a blast, the theme for Wilby, Steve, and I: get TheRob and the, erm, thedude :rolleyes: double fisting in hopes of avoiding that 6:30 wake up call. ;) Mission accomplished: Clattered. :D

In the end, the three of us decided we'd like to ride SP one more time. Tough to resist that temptation. We lazed around the chalet, watched Tiger win the Claret Jug, went for a nice breakfast, and casually found our way to the hill. The heat was insane, but cloud cover later did help, too. Done and knackered by 4:30, we hit the pool, had a shower to clean up, and enjoyed the drive home.

Great company, great weather, great riding. And (knock on wood), no body parts left out there.

[TheRob]

Am I reading right? three days, three mountains? That's pretty hardcore! Nice work!Three days, and three mountains. Hardcore indeed. My tricepts are freaking killing me.

I should mention that I do love Sun Peaks. A lot. I just wasn't impressed with a few things. Those things are easily forgotten once I was out on the trails. Especially the "epic back country ride" feeling I got by being way out by the resivior.

Next year, maybe we make it four mountains in four days and add Mt. Washington in there. :D:D:D