Snowboarding

The Early Season Whistler Adventure

As you’ve likely read I headed to Whistler last week for a bit of
snowboarding and a lot of drinking. Or maybe it was the other way
around. Regardless, it was great to finally get on the hills for some
serious riding! Below are the higlights of the trip. Well, of the
riding anyway…

Conditions

This was my third consecutive Whistler trip in early or
spring conditions. Can you tell that it doesn’t matter much to me? Any
run that’s five minutes long or more is paradise to me. It was
generally sunny and warm, which was great.

When we got to Whistler, the mountains were reporting a base of
approximately 82 centimetres. It is now down to 77, although I noticed
today they have reported a centimetre. It didn’t snow much while we
were there, and it showed. The snow was hard-packed and very icy in
spots, though the groomed runs were pretty fun first thing in the
morning. On the last day things got pretty warm, and the snow started
to soften up, making it a bit too soft in certain places.

That said, there were generally no rocks, mud or sticks, and it was
good, clean riding down to midstation at Whistler and the top of
Blackcomb gondola. Those made for better conditions than when I went
last March.

Interestingly, I had a chat with someone at work today who recommended
make my next trip a Colorado trip. He said the mountains are a little
further inward and the conditions are a little more predictable. Mental
note made.

The runs

We rode four days: three on Whistler, one on Blackcomb.

Whistler Mountain

All the major chairs on Whistler were open save for the peak
chair, which I was told by an employee only opened on weekends. Because
of that, we only got one day on the peak. I guess that wasn’t such a
bad thing, as the only things up there I really like doing are The
Saddle, a neat run that cuts right through the centre of the mountain’s
glacier, Whistler Bowl and Highway 86, a neat road that runs from the
top of the mountain to the base – popularly known as ‘Peak to Creek’.
The bowl was pretty cut up due to a lack of snow and lots of skiiers,
and Highway 86 was closed – leaving me with an extremely icy Saddle,
which I slid down the first part of on my ass. Upper Franz, another
historically icy run that skiiers love, also kicked my ass around a few
times.

Harmony chair was awesome and empty, so I spent a fair bit of time
there riding Harmony Piste and Harmony Ridge. Harmony cuts along the
side of the mountain up top where the bowls are, making for some
fantastic runs.

The upper green runs were also alot of fun – Whiskey Jack and Ego Bowl
in particular – because of the sheer speed at which you could ride on a
relatively gentle slope. There are lots of slow zones/caution areas on
these runs, however, due to learners – making it a bit of a tough run
when it’s crowded with people taking lessons.

This was also the first time I felt comfortable trying the Dave Murray Downhill,
a local favourite that will be a course in the 2010 Olympics (Upper
Franz, mentioned above, will be too). Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to
do all of it due to the conditions (it stopped at the top of Creekside
gondola), but it was a very fun run regardless – wide open, pretty
snowy, and very fast. It also cuts over to some good green runs if you
want to duck out of the run early. Orange peel, which runs parallel for
a while, is also a fun run that’s a blue run instead of the Dave Murray
black diamond.

Blackcomb

Blackcomb is typically regarded is a more rider-friendly
mountain (because of less flat roadways) and a little more difficult.
Although I only did this mountain one day, I had a ton of fun. Perhaps
the coolest thing was the fact the FIS Nokia Snowboard World Cup
was taking place at the same time, so you could watch both the
half-pipe and snowboard cross competitions from the lifts and the runs.

My one big disappointment about Blackcomb was that the 7th Heaven area
up near the peak wasn’t up and running. This is a can’t-miss if you
ever ride Blackcomb. The upside, however, was that there was no-one on
Blackcomb the day I rode it. No-one.
This is the third time that has happened to me; there never seems to be
anyone on Blackcomb. Maybe it’s my timing, or maybe it’s me! Or maybe
it’s just that Whistler is slightly more beginner-friendly, from what I
can tell.

Anyway, there is lots more to report but I’ll have to put some thoughts together first..

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