This trail was one of the first lines I ever built back in 2013. The idea came from my filmer friends wanting to shoot something unique. After brainstorming ideas amongst each other we set out into the forests around Whistler, searching for the perfect terrain. It didn't take long before we stumbled upon some of the lushest rainforest in the area. We walked the zone for hours dreaming up potential gaps and drops before we finally settled on this section.
It took a few months of weekends to complete due to snow, heavy rain, and a healthy amount of beer breaks. It was a much more ambitious build than it looked. There was next to no dirt or quality cedar for ramp building nearby meaning everything had to be walked in from elsewhere. The surrounding terrain was steep and difficult to navigate on foot let alone with heavy buckets of dirt or arms full of milled cedar. Our goal of leaving the surrounding flora in pristine condition led to questionable routes and many falls. The resulting dirt and wood spills were often followed by taunts and laughter.
Once this first line was done we went to work building more. Next thing we knew, 3 years had gone by and we had built 3 separate lines and one full trail. We hadn't filmed any segments on any of our builds yet. Snow, winter, injuries, and the desire to build more and better kept putting off shooting. Finally in late 2015 and 2016 we began filming.
The shooting part was relatively simple. After shooting all our lines on DSLR, I went back to shoot everything on GoPro. I wasn't a big fan of the chest mount until I discovered the Zhiyun Z1 Rider V2 gimbal. I got a hold of one and have been hooked on it ever since. The stabilization allowed the chest mount to realistically portray what it felt like to actually ride the line. The GoPro Hero 4 Black is almost fully automated, so all I had to choose was the frame rate. I went with 24 fps and the widest view available to add motion blur to capture the feeling of speed.
To this day the trails, videos, and photos we created in this zone remains one of the most rewarding projects I've ever undertaken.