A walk in the park

WILL COLFORD

Whistler's Nintendo Terrain Park offers some serious air. Courtesy of TOURISM WHISTLER

WHISTLER, BC – You cannot come to Whistler without checking out one of the two Nintendo Terrain parks. With 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.

An emotional Solar Coaster

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 RED Mountain with its T-bar – the Cat Skinner chair is only as long as the park itself, so there’s no mucking about getting to the hits.

Whether you can pull off table tops or not, you'll enjoy the Terrain Park. Courtesy of TOURISM WHISTLER

The Blackcomb park is spit into two sections: an intermediate park with good jump, rail, and jib lines, and then there's the pro park.

This park requires a special pass, 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.

Worth every minute

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.

Regardless of whether you'll hit the park or not, there's plenty more riding you'll want to do while at Whistler Blackcomb. For some tips on where to go, check our stories on God's Glacier and Whistler Bowl.

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