If you’ve been slowly building up the courage to tackle Whistler Village’s infamous rock jump, you’re out of luck.
The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) confirmed its resort operations team removed a certain rectangular-shaped boulder from a particular icy-blue stream in Whistler Village earlier this month, on Thursday, Aug. 3.
According to a member of the RMOW’s communications team, the decision to remove the rock was not in response to one specific injury or an especially gnarly failed attempt after a busy last weekend of Crankworx. Rather, “We had been planning this removal for a while because of safety concerns about people trying to jump onto the rock,” the RMOW staffer explained.
Officially listed as “The Village Park East” stream on the RMOW’s Village Stroll map, the municipal spokesperson estimated the small, man-made waterway that lies under a pedestrian bridge was constructed near Whistler Olympic Plaza around 1999 or 2000.
It took just over two decades (and, let’s be real, more than a few drinks) for Whistler locals to realize the unique opportunity that was right under their noses all that time: climb over the bridge railing, spot the landing, and launch a couple metres over to the small-but-pretty-much-flat-topped decorative rock below.
A high-consequence cliff jump it was not, but that’s not to say there weren’t stakes. Stick the landing and you’d be rewarded with cheers from however many spectators were gathered on the bridge next to the Brewhouse, but substandard balance or buckled knees earned you a humbling spill into the shallow water and a soggy commute home.
Turns out, there are a lot of locals who’ll have to answer “yes” the next time their mom asks if they’d jump off a bridge just because their friends did. The trend caught on quickly, fuelled by footage of mostly unsuccessful attempts by everyone from pro athletes to village dwellers to ambitious weekenders making the rounds through Instagram stories, TikTok and local meme accounts.
Chalk it up to a mild case of cabin fever brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps?
The village’s main rock jump line might be gone, forever relegated to local lore, but as Sea to Sky-ers have proven time and time again, they're always down for a challenge—especially if it involves airtime.
Already, Whistler’s corner of the internet has been graced by videos of some locals looking to “level up,” leaping over the stream onto even further and substantially smaller rocks.
Or, as @whistler.blower put it, “Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.” (Not that we’re advising it.)
