RIVALS: Whistler VS Blackcomb

[Music] thank you [Music] behold the Majesty this is Whistler black home 8 000 Acres of skeeble terrain more lists than you can name a great Village one of the best resorts in the world yada yada but here's something you might not know these two mountains have a history of being competitive adversaries Whistler and blackcomb were not always one for decades they competed to entice writers to Grace their own respective slopes when black home came on the scene in December of 1980 Whistler had been operating for 14 years blackcomb certainly was the was the underdog but being number two gave us something to really Chase we've been the Alpine office with our binoculars looking across the valley look at it they're probably planning something much bigger so we better get our act together through this game of King of the mountain each pushed the other to become what they are today and inadvertently created factions of loyalists on both sides we are on black home the dark side we're black home people oh you're a black hole kid I'd rather be on wrestler it's in my blood no ton of History here unless they're such a big playground look at Future and it goes right to the peak I feel like that just gets you hiding we have Alpine for one for Alpine it's not just Tree Line yeah let's give them treason back on we've got burnt trees old growth pillows place I wouldn't really know I don't go over there whistler's home I'm kind of a black home kid baby [Laughter] lacom sucks man the patrol always get the albino oh the list goes on I don't know if we have time for this guys definitely genetic everyone knows rivalries help push Innovation and Improvement think of the rivalries that have defined the day Federer versus McDowell Los Angeles versus New York City mustard versus ketchup each side has pushed the other forwards in the spirit of competition to finally lay claim to the coveted title of winner and ruler of the universe or at least best condiment foreign [Music] [Music] so what gives why does one have to pick can't everyone just ski both I'm gonna track down some locals to get or ski to the bottom of the sibling style rivalry once and for all oh foreign where do you guys want to go we're thinking like just to start off maybe just mellow to test things out and see how you go Anna Siegel and Alex Armstrong are two Die Hard Riders who claim black home has the best trees bar nut show me the way and I'll try to keep up okay [Music] hey what about these trees because these aren't trees but it's okay yeah um and those trees weren't good no we want to [Music] wanna wow [Music] they're just way better train like steeper more fall line and the backcountry off of it is great Crystal trees are my like go-to spot on storm day so I just come here there's lots of little secret spots you can find this is a cool feeling like waving in and out of them and I guess it's gonna sound really cheesy but like being part of the forest foreign aspect and you can ski trees over there [Music] good definition on a paday so when everything else is white out you can see where you're going in the trees [Music] we're not out of the woods yet we've tested the trees on black um and let's just say our skis weren't complaining but that's only half the story I've got to keep digging for Clues how you ask while I'm heading across the valley to hear the other side I'm paying a visit to whistler's famed old growth Cedars [Music] word on the street is at Yuki Sabara and Jake Carney know their way around the block [Music] I've been riding myself for my whole life and you and me I don't know I've been skiing here since I was about three years old [Music] this facing of an old growth forest how is that different from like the forest between the trees there's lots more room yeah you can ski way faster in the old growth as well which I like so did your parents also ask us oh yeah yeah parents I didn't ski over there until I was a teenager and I just knew whisper by the time before I even went over to Black home my parents met here I was put into with their kids and I just remember skiing Whistler all the time at mid station I've been like instructors had like you had like a listing instructor or maybe a black woman I definitely had a listener okay I was a ski instructor I think what it was I enjoyed the people it was a big mountain but it was very small in a way that you knew everybody was up there some wrists are die-harders loved Whistler they were there since day one they were attached to it they were emotionally attached to it I just like coming to Whistler I like to feel because Wishes the skiers mountain is where I ski and I'm happy to be there well that didn't tip the scales the trees on whistling ski like a dream and her chocolate block with snow too it might be time to dig into another rumor that's echoed through the valley the black home is the home of progression always at the bleeding edge of the sports limits imagine an ancient place Jagged Peaks clawing Skyward you're standing on the edge of Black Comb Mountain our goal was to be uh more youthful and edgy and Along Came snowboarding we had focus groups we had groups of them into the Board Room finding out what it is that they wanted what it is they liked we traveled around and benchmarked in the U.S at the big ski areas to try and learn everything that we could about the sport its culture this big wave that was coming and snowboarding's tidal wave of progression hit black hole hard and brought everything including skiing along for the ride [Music] Mikey ciccarelli and Alex Belgium Marshawn better known as ABM our two leading Progressive Riders are going to State their case for why black home raises the bar hahaha black home park has always been the mecca it's been where I've learned all my freestyle tricks I'm sure abm's the same it's it's kind of the place to be it's the big jumps you know the big booters the big part that's where you go and send it if it's a powder you go rip great great lines and have good sick hits and then you're like hey let's go rip the park the parks more progressives you know the features are here I think the most Progressive skiers are ski and lacking for me the movies that always stood out were sandboxed like the sandbox film I remember watching those Sunset shoots and being like if I could ever ride that feature it'd be like you know dream come true so getting to do stuff like this is like full circle foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] how exactly my Whistler reply to this good question it's long been said that whistler's racing pedigree is unmatched having perfected the art or Arc if you will of the turn we heard it from the guests I've gone to Black home it's so much better the food's better the service is better lifts are better and I'm never coming back and opened up our eyes there was a really going an ongoing drive to just do more and more and more we were constantly caught by surprise if anyone has a scoop it'll be veteran Racers Robbie Dixon and Meg I'll try to catch up as they put whistler's finest runs through their Paces Shelley [Music] foreign [Music] amazing programs the waste department started and that's something black owned could not touch [Music] growing up all my competition was always from Whistler now coaching it it's really amazing to see how good our athletes are we've got a few races this year and man they sweep podiums like no other came up skiing and went throughout my whole life broke my way up through the rankings and ended up racing the World Cup speed events primarily about 10 years The Whistler program brings up all around good skiers racing obviously a big part of it is training but a large part is being good at everything on the mountain and we have so many powder days here it is insanely impressive such a big playground yeah you know Big Mountain skiing Boomers trees and yeah like you're saying like there's so many elements of skiing that you can access here and it just makes you a well-rounded skier we were still fortunate that in 82 we had a World Cup race the one and only World Cup race that finished in the village so Worcester Mountain gave everybody a big boost here's the best skiers in the world we're worth them from all over the world filming this and the place was packed the village was just busting up the seams so so we still had our our moments of uh in the in the in the spotlight [Music] [Applause] this is the first time the Canadian has ever wanted downhill in his own country all right so Hallelujah bloody I told you there man honing your turning radius and satisfying your Need for Speed leads to one place the wide open expanse of the Alpine we've seen and sampled what Whistler has to offer but what's waiting for us back on blackcomb are you thinking what I'm thinking it's time to get above the trees and a little closer to the sky [Music] Maddie Richard and Ian Morrison are two locals with deep ties to Black Ops Alpine let's see if they can uplift its reputation when you're learning this ski they actually get you to do it over on Whistler the family resort because everything's a little flatter more green blue train you know once you're proficient skier you just come on over to the better ski hill and off you go [Music] we are on 7th Heaven Trail on black home the dark side I have been living in Whistler since March 20th 1991. my birthday actually 31 years I moved here in 98.99 met these types of characters and fell in love with the place get ready [Music] we tried to be uh out there um try to be a little bit spirited and edgy get you where you want to go on top the summit [Music] Whistler seemed to be somewhat conservative Whistler Resort now it's your turn it was actually a fun marketing rivalry that we had going on yeah we've had a softer approach I would think we weren't as aggressive because of black homes fall line for for good skiers is amazing but for the majority of the people it's hard work you get a lot more tired skiing black home in one day than this King was and so we tried to focus on on enjoying the variety of listener can I go over there it's nice and easy I agree mellow Aaron's kind of kick back relax happy family orientated here is Hardcore things are extreme on black home man you know I like to push myself as a skier but you mean where all those tracks are yeah oh no [Music] but you know what my personal favorite thing of Whistler is the view of black home well that proves that the Rivalry is still alive and kicking after an afternoon of pro black home propaganda it's time to hop back across a valley to Whistler I've heard about a group of overachieving high-flying youngsters cutting Laps on Peach air from Bell to Bell The Whistler Free Ride Club I'll track them down so they can have their say on whistler's Alpine Terrain well it's a competitive Big Mountain program basically 12 to 18 year olds um we ski every Saturday and Sunday and then some days through the holidays and yeah we train for the ifsa Free Ride comps across Canada solid what's the plan here hopefully survive Peak chair is pretty steep for Whistler I know I'm surprised people even use it over there pretty gripped you know there's that big scary Cliff to go over at the top that's really keeps people on their toes I don't like going there it's too scary and there's Open Fields And there's trees and there's pillows and there's tacky run so much options there's always really great terms [Music] what is the talent level like in Whistler um very high [Music] very impressive what these kids are doing these days it's pretty awesome to be a part of it watch these kids grow oh my God it's never like too serious we're always like trying to have the most fun fun yeah it gets us out and then we have like a healthy competitiveness and we like on days or maybe we wouldn't all be skiing together we still find a way to push each other you're like your own little Community you go to columns together I feel like it's different than just our normal ski school it's like a family yeah what a good Sunny palette I'd definitely go feature yeah all the time yeah the hyper crowd yeah I really like the crowd it makes everything so much more fun someone does something super dope and everybody sees it from the chair it gets everybody stoked and then everybody's in that amp mood [Music] [Applause] foreign as far as their their strategy of just go go use what I call a real driver he was just out there ongoing I think he stayed up all night thinking of new ways of of how to improve and how they could take as much out of this as possible he was always a few steps ahead of us first thing we did was hire Paul Matthews from ecosign a local planning company and he came up with an amazing plan for Wizard solar and 7th Heaven Express we also added The Horseman t-bar Horseman hot doubled the size of Rendezvous Restaurant and a whole new base area down right across from Whistler Village this was a significant game changer for black home the Rivalry was really on after Hue put in the 7th Heaven we had to go up in the Alpine we have to because that's going to really clever us that's a death blow if we don't react to this we've got to put a lift up to the peak [Music] I've always thank you because of with his work of a black home he's the one who got us the peak chair I would say it's probably my favorite chair on any mountain I've ever been to [Music] so here we are ready to tackle the seminal question of the day Whistler or blackcoat why the heck can't you love both how can so many riders be set in their ways why pick one zone let alone one mountain how can my human size brain comprehend the great Mysteries of the universe wait if there's so much terrain one Rider can't possibly have all the facts nobody's right and everybody wins it's an unlimited playground with unlimited zones foreign we've just seen Western black home go ski boot for ski boot from their distinctive flavors of tree skiing to the Legacy and characters that Define their mid-mountains all the way to the Alpine we've traversed the history of these iconic mountains to the up-and-coming charters pushing the mountains forward today and here's the rep but with mountains have been made better thanks to this rivalry there's been a little bit of a Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better going on here and despite now being one Resort Whistler black home has never stopped trying to redefine what is possible I mean the mountains are literally connected with the peak to Peak Opera the result though well I think it speaks for itself skiers and Riders all have their favorite types of terrain some love to shred forested hallways or beneath giant Cedars While others pray to the altar of ski racing Park skiing or anything in between so go ahead pick your side beat the drum however you darn well please this playground isn't going to explore itself [Applause] [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music]

Channel: Whistler Blackcomb

Views: 97,072

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Id: rat3ooRvcI8

Length: 24min 15sec (1455 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 08 2022