Whistler Vibe

Whistler Vibe: Tourism Whistler's monthly media newsletter

Welcome to Tourism Whistler's media newsletter, featuring information on what's new and noteworthy, upcoming events as well as quirky and interesting Whistler story ideas.

August 2010

August is stacked with events including the famous Kokanee Crankworx  mountain bike festival, Slow Food Cycle Sunday and the Canadian National BBQ Championships.  Seemingly endless weeks of sunshine have been slowly melting the massive alpine snowpack and warming up the lakes in the Valley.  

WHAT'S NEW

Nita Lake Lodge transforms the Creekside dining, drinking and culinary experience

Whistler's Creekside has reinvented itself with a fresh new dining, drinking and culinary experience at the recently transformed Nita Lake Lodge. Under new ownership and management, the Nita Lake Lodge welcomes the sophisticated Aura restaurant, featuring the culinary talent of Executive Chef Tim Cuff. The refreshed Cure lounge and patio offers inspiring cocktails, fine wines and artisan-made charcuterie. When time is of the essence Fix deli sells organic, gourmet meals-to-go, coffee, sandwiches and pastries - perfect for lakeside picnics or balcony snacks.  Both Aura and Cure take advantage of expansive outdoor patios where diners can enjoy their meal while soaking in tranquil views of Nita Lake and surrounding mountains. nitalakelodge.com

The Mammoth has arrived - 10 ziplines in one tour with Ziptrek Eco Tours

Whistler's Ziptrek Eco Tours continues to be a world leader in the development and operation of zipline based eco tours. Ziptrek wowed the world with a 550 foot urban zipline above Robson Square, in downtown Vancouver, during the 2010 Winter Games (regular wait times were often in excess of eight hours!) and a 600 foot zipline above Embarcadero Square, San Francisco - a feature attraction of Tourism British Columbia's ‘BC Experience'. Ziptrek's new permanent operation in Queenstown, New Zealand has also been an instant success.

For those who are never satisfied with the standard offerings, or who have an enlarged appetite for adrenaline and eco-exhilaration - Ziptrek Whistler now offers The Mammoth. The Mammoth half day tour combines the Bear and Eagle Tours - ten ziplines, nine treetop bridges, a fully guided interpretive canopy adventure and boxed sandwich meal at their A-frame cabin. ziptrek.com

Whistler Golf Club re-opens new and improved driving range

On July 31 - August 1, Whistler Golf Club will officially open ‘The Range' a completely renovated practice facility, located on the outskirts of Whistler's pedestrian village. Grand opening celebrations will include two for one practice balls, Nike closest to the pin and putting contests, free tips from CPGA teaching professionals, live music and more. 

Renovation features include a recontoured driving range with five target greens and bunkers, putting green that has tripled in size, chipping green with expanded practice bunker, new grass tee deck, and state-of-the-art Fiberbuilt synthetic tee system. The Range continues to offer lessons and clinics for all ages, as well as many practice ball package options. The grand opening follows on from a soft launch on July 17. 

This past winter season, the driving range's prime location was utilized to fill an acute parking shortage as a result of the 2010 Winter Games. An agreement with VANOC ensured a full renovation of the space to be returned from a car park to its original use as a driving range.whistlergolf.com

FACES OF WHISTLER

Profile: Brandon Semenuk - local teenage freerider proving he is one of the world's best  

Many riders - be they on dirt or the snow - call Whistler home, but few can say they were born there. Brandon Semenuk can and the young Canadian has taken full advantage. Semenuk's resume is an impressive read, proving he's asserted his position as one of the world's great mountain bikers. In 2008 at the tender age of 17, he beat out several of the world's top freeriders to take the crown at Red Bull Rampage - arguably the toughest freeride contest on the planet. At Crankworx 2009's Monster Energy Slopestyle, Semenuk was narrowly bumped back to second place on the podium. This August, there's no doubt the 15,000 strong crowd will be rooting for the youngster to take the title on his home turf.

Semenuk has travelled the globe riding some of the most epic lines and challenging slope style courses, yet he first honed his skills here in the famous Whistler Mountain Bike Park, Whistler Dirt Jump Park and the Air Dome foam pit. Alongside other local teenage biking sensations including Alex Pro (first to land a double backflip in competition), Tyler Allison (2012 Olympic Games hopeful) and Ian Morrison (current NSBM AIRprentice finalist) all a byproduct of Whistler's impressive mountain biking offerings - the future of the sport is bright.

View video footage of Semenuk here and here.

WHISTLER NEWS

Kokanee Crankworx - the biggest event of the summer returns August 7-15

The seventh edition of the world's biggest mountain biking festival, in one of the world's best mountain biking destinations, is sure to please with new events and a loaded roster of pro athletes. Featuring nine days of gravity-defying freeride competitions, pro riding demos, pro photo contests, demo and tech zones, music, entertainment and much more, this festival is a highlight of North America's downhill mountain biking calendar. Major events include the Monster Energy Slopestyle (now a diamond level event on the Freeride Mountain Bike World Tour), Giant Slalom, Monster Energy Garbanzo Downhill, Canadian Open Enduro, Canadian Open Downhill, Trialsworx, Saint Deep Summer Photo Challenge, Canadian Cheeserolling Championships and the Deraylor Music Series to keep the party rolling through the night with 40+ bands and live acts across three nights and six venues (one wristband required).

New this year - the Ultimate Pump Track Challenge will take place on a specially built track at the top of the Whistler Mountain Bike Park's Boneyard.  Pump tracks are an endless loop of steeply banked corners, doubles, gaps and rollers; the track built for the event is 70 feet by 90 feet, translating into a spectator-friendly and compact arena for insane mountain bike action. To boost the festival's creative offerings PechaKucha Night (drawing its name from a Japanese term for the sound ‘chit chat') includes an artistic presentation of 20 images, shown each for 20 seconds with narration.

With an attractive prize purse of $80,000 in cash for the pros and $50,000 in prizes for the amateurs - big names in the biking industry set to compete at Crankworx this year include The Atherton Family (Gee, Dan and Rachel), Greg Watts, local hero Brandon Semenuk, Cameron McCaul, Darren Berrecloth, Andreu Lacondeguy, Brian Lopes, Jill Kintner and Micayla Gatto to name a few. The famous Atherton Family will compete with cameras filming for the exclusive online reality series ‘The Atherton Project 2010'. whistler.com/crankworx      

Slow Food Cycle Sunday returns for 2010 - August 15

The Pemberton Valley's Slow Food Cycle Sunday is the original back-to-the-land bike ride through beautiful Pemberton Meadows farmland. Riders meet local growers and sample fresh produce with the successful formula of pedaling, snacking, socializing and slowing down. Maps will guide cyclists to prime locations along a 26-kilometre (16-mile) stretch (one-way): bite into juicy beef burgers at Pemberton Natural Beef, marvel at the potato creations at Helmer's Organic farm, nibble ice cream sandwiches at Shaw Creek farms and sip award-winning organic Pemberton potato Schramm vodka at Across the Creek Organic Farm (tip: bring your bike or rent your ride in town).  Start your day with potato pancake breakfast at the Lillooet River Lodge and finish with a salmon BBQ at the Pemberton Valley Vineyard. After-party beer-garden "Augustfest" will raise funds for the Community Kitchen, at Pioneer Park in downtown Pemberton.

The Worldwatch Institute reports that the average food item eaten in North America has traveled 2500-4000km from farm to table, but this 50 km bike ride will take riders straight to the farm-gate. Fill your boots...along with your panniers, bike baskets and milk crates at this al fresco
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