Whistler Blackcomb / Vail Resorts is planning a big lift upgrade to increase bike park rider capacity in the future. But the change might make 2023 a bit more interesting for mountain bikers. The resort announced Wednesday that it is replacing the Fitzsimmons Express chair in order to upgrade it to a eight-person high speed chair.
That means the Fitz chair, the main chair out of Whistler village, will be closed during at least part of summer 2023, the resort confirmed In a post on Instagram.
Fitz closed during 2023 season
“Yes — Fitz will be closed during construction,” the post made clear, adding “There’s never a perfect time for an upgrade like this, but these projects are important for the future of accessing our mountains and for overall guest experience. The new lifts will set us up for decades to come.”
Whistler’s Fitz upgrade is intended to double the lifts capacity during the summer, once construction is completed. (Whistler Blackcomb claims it will increace winter uphill capacity by 73 per cent, if you’re also a skiier or snowboarder).
Access via gondola
With Fitz closed, mountain bikers will only be able to get out of the resort’s two base areas, Whistler Village and Creekside, via gondola. The Whistler Village Gondola will continue to provide one uplift option right in the main village. The recently upgraded Creekside Gondola will get riders up from that base area. The Garbanzo chair will continue to service the upper mountain.
Creekside Gondola was closed for all of the 2022 season while the resort upgraded that lift. That meant that the entire Creekside area of the bike park was also closed, since trails that passed under the gondola were deemed unsafe during construction. The resort has not yet stated if the same closure will happen to all the trails that pass under the Fitz chair (which is … most of them).
Whistler Blackcomb did add that it used the 2022 Creekside closure to expand that side of the bike park. Which is good, since riders will likely be focused on that area in 2023.
For winter visitors, Whistler Blackcomb / Vail Resorts is also planning to upgrade the Jersey Cream lift during 2023 summer.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…