If you live in Whistler, or visit the bike park more than once a summer, it’s probably safe to say that between you and your pals, you have bets on who can do the most laps or days in the park in a season. It’s a challenge that everyone’s willing to take on, because let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to ride endless lift-access trails in one of the best places on earth? There is one person, however, who is taking this concept to the next level: Adam Billinghurst. Note: For best viewing results, change quality to 1080p!
“I've wanted to ride 1,000,000 vertical feet in the bike park for almost 10 years now. You don't get to do a million of a lot of things. The things you do, you rarely think about: how many breaths you've taken, grains of rice you've eaten, said the word 'and'. It just seemed like a good number."
"Having lived in Whistler since the inception of the Whistler Bike Park has given me a pretty strong connection with it. My list of why I love this place could go on for days, but at the top of that list would probably be the Bike Park’s easy-to-fun ratio, and I don’t mean easy in the sense of riding difficulty—I’ve been bitten by this place more than once. But, having a chairlift that is open 6-10 hours a day right in your backyard (literally—I can coast to my front door from Aline) is what makes this challenge attainable, at least in my eyes."
"I feel like I've put in a really strong start but I still have a long way to go. I've been getting a lot of mixed reactions: some people think it’s crazy, while others seem unfazed. If there's anyone out there that thinks it’s easy, I invite them to come join me.”
Currently Adam is at 650,000 vertical feet, and he is on target to achieve his goal of one million feet by the end of July. Follow Adam's progress on Twitter (@AdmBillinghurst) and Instagram (@billinghurst), or by searching the hashtags #dreamcapture #onemilliondown to see what it takes to ride one million vertical feet in less than 100 days.
