Snowboarding

On The Way Home From Whistler Blackcomb

Well, another Whistler vacation has come and gone. I’m writing this from Vancouver’s airport, and should be back in the t-dot around 10pm.

Overall, I had a great time. And although the conditions weren’t outstanding they weren’t terrible, either. So I’m a pretty happy camper.

Here’s a few thoughts about the trip.

I hit Blackcomb’s glacier for the first time. And I don’t mean just hitting the runs around the glacier lift; we actually hauled ass up the lift, up the t-bar, hiked into the glacier, strapped in, and rode down the other side. Would you believe I’d never done that before? It was an amazing experience; so much fresh snow compared to the rest of the resort. The only slight downside was the 5km ride out back to the lift, which was mostly on a flat, icy road. I thought of taking Spanky’s Ladder into the glacier but it looked pretty rocky – so I took the bowl instead.

In the future, I’m doing more bowls and glacier stuff.

Conditions off the groomers pretty sketchy. Snowbase was about 130cm and dropping when I got there. Areas like Seventh Heaven were open, but venturing off the groomed runs meant run-ins with lots of ice and rocks. They need another dumping of snow bad. Moreover, the Peak, Symphony and part of Harmony were all closed due to avalanche danger. The upside? Runs that aren’t necessarily groomed daily – like Upper/Lower Dave Murray Downhill, Upper/Lower Franz’s, and others – were generally always groomed and open in order to maximize available terrain.

The locals are sad about the weather. I can’t believe the number of times I heard a local employee say, “I haven’t been up the mountains in two weeks because the conditions suck” or “‘I’ve ditched my snowboard for skis until it snows.” But you know what? If you work in a Whistler cafe or restaurant and you’re pissed about the conditions, how about you keep it to yourself? It doesn’t make the people who paid money to be there feel very good.

The Pacific Coach Lines bus from Whistler is pretty good. $51 and three hours after leaving the bus loop,  I was at the airport. Not bad.

Whistler’s new trail map still sucks. I know, I know… I’ll quit complaining.

The Peak to Peak Gondola is simply amazing. What a great idea. I rode it four times, and it scared the living bejezus out of me every time. But it totally changes the dynamic of your day. Getting between mountains is now a 10-minute ordeal, so we would do things like ride Blackcomb for half a day, take the gondola, then ski out of Whistler.

I’ve updated the Whistler Guide with some fresh experiences.

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