Whistler begins construction on Fitzsimmons replacement

Whistler Bike Park kicked off it’s planned 2023 construction project this week with the demolition of the long-serving Fitzsimmons Express lift. With the Fitz chair usually being central to bike park operations, this summer will obviously look a little different. Whistler Bike Park also provided more details on exactly how operations will adjust – and what trails will be open – for the 2023 season.

What’s the future of Fitz?

First, Fitz chair will be closed for the entire bike park season, as expected. It’s being replaced with an eight-pack chair with significantly increased capacity. When that chair is eventually in operation, it will significantly increase uplift capacity. The plan is for the new chair to be able to stall, allowing riders to load their bikes on the chair in front of them, then geting on the next chair.

“The difference is every single chair is carrying bikes,” Whistler Blackcomb’s vice-president of mountain operations, Doug MacFarlane told Whistler’s Pique News. “So, you get on the chair, and then there’s somebody loading bikes behind you on the back of the chair you’re on.”

What does that mean for 2023 bike park operations?

With Fitz out of commission, mountain bikes will be split between Whistler Village Gondola and the newly-upgraded 10-person Creekside Gondola to get up from the base of the mountain. Sightseers will upload via Blackcomb Gondola, to make the Village Gondola bike-primary.

“It will have an impact, not being able to ride Fitz, so we’ve had to do a few things to offset that,” MacFarlane says, “I just ask for a little grace from our bike park fans.”

What trails will be open?

The 2023 WBP trail map will look a little different than years past. That means closures, but also new openings. While the Creekside Zone was closed for the gondola upgrade, bike park trail crews added several new trails and upgraded existing trails on that side of the mountain.

In the Fitz Zone, riders can expect rolling closures, espeically on trails that cross the Fitz Chair’s path. And yes, if you’re wondering, the majority of A-Line will remain open (with rolling closures).

MacFarlane also told Pique that construction crews are already planning around a project shutdown mid-July to make room for Crankworx and its iconic Joyride slopestyle competition to continue uninterrupted.

Whistler Bike Park…