Whistler/Blackcomb - December 27, 28 and 29, 2011

[snowmonster]

Date(s) Skied: December 27, 28 and 29, 2011

Resort or Ski Area: Whistler/Blackcomb

Conditions: Powder/Packed powder; 30 cms+ of new snow fell during the days I was there.

Trip Report: I found the snow!

It was cold and raining for three days in Whistler Village and the cloud cover was so low that you couldn't see halfway up the mountain. Yes, it was miserable in the valley. All we could do was sit around in the Garibaldi Lift Company and Amsterdam Cafe and eat poutine or Zog's Dogs accompanied by pints of Kokanee and shots of Jack. The women were pretty fine too. Truly miserable time in the valley.

Anyway, all this precip in the valley translated to a lot of snow up top. We were up on the chairs by 8am and the amount of people on the mountain would make Killington on a Saturday look like a ski-on lift day. I never saw so many skiers in my life. A fifteen minute wait was short and I began to wonder whether I would prefer long lines on a powder day to ski-on on icy groomers.

I basically followed my friend around. Did Whistler on Day One, Blackcomb on Days Two and Three. We never got to the glacier though because of the fog (I don't think I saw the sun for three days) which was unnerving on all those wide bowls. I made sure to hit Symphony Bowl on Whistler and Seventh Heaven and Jersey Cream on Blackcomb. Seventh Heaven was closed for two days so when we hit it, there was a lot of untracked goodness especially in the trees. The wind was also whipping and that weeded out a lot of the skiers. People kept complaining about how it was so cold on Seventh Heaven chair with the wind. My reply to them was: If you think this is cold, wait 'til you get to the Green Mountain Flyer! It was a great three days. I still have some unfinished business in Whistler/Blackcomb but I guess that means I'll have to come back. Happily.

Lastly, no matter what you do, if you're from Boston, do not bring up the Stanley Cup. Just don't. Trust me on this.

 

[oakapple]

We loved our trip to Whistler/Blackcomb last year over spring break, and I hope to be able to return at some point. One definite drawback, though, is that large parts of the terrain can be closed for days at a time. We were there for 5 days, and I think the fifth day was the only day that the glacier and Symphony Bowl were open. Luckily, we were able to hit both, but had our trip ended a day earlier, we would have missed out.

 

[xwhaler]

Did you prefer Blackcomb over Whistler? We were out there in March of '09 and had an awesome time. I liked Whistler a bit better and spent 2 of the 3 days over there. Blackcomb seemd to have steeper terrain up high and narrow chutes while Whistler was more about the open bowls.
I loved the Peak Express Chair. The bowls up off that ridge are awesome.

Would love to make it back there someday. The Sea to Sky highway coming up from Vancouver is really amazing as well.

 

[snowmonster]

^ I preferred Blackcomb to Whistler -- Seventh Heaven and Jersey Cream, in particular. However, it's like making a choice between two good looking twins, right? You can't go wrong with either.

I agree on the Sea to Sky Highway. Gorgeous views. I was glad that somebody else was doing the driving so that I could take it all in.

 

[oakapple]

^ I preferred Blackcomb to Whistler -- Seventh Heaven and Jersey Cream, in particular. However, it's like making a choice between two good looking twins, right? You can't go wrong with either.

I had a very slight preference for Whistler, but we bounced back and forth between the two. The glacier, which was at Blackcomb, was the single most awesome thing we did, but Whistler had a ton of amazing terrain.

Seventh Heaven was closed for most of our visit, so we didn't get to experience very much of it.

 

[Huck_It_Baby]

Great pics!

Too bad you didn't make it to the glacier. I found some sweet pillow lines out there!!

BC is truly magical!

 

[jaja111]

The pics made me weepy. I can't wait to go back. Its such a fun pair of mountains. Thinking about maybe two days when I'm 3 hours away the last week of Jan.

Crazy can be found if you want it but you'll never end up in it without a lot of noticeable signs that you're coming to it.

I like the glacier, but the road out can go F#$%..... er....... juggernuaght itself. Never really had such a definitive moment at a resort of "This is f-in great!" followed by "This f-in blooooows!". And I wasn't even on a snowboard.

 

[snowmonster]

Great pics!

Too bad you didn't make it to the glacier. I found some sweet pillow lines out there!!

BC is truly magical!

Thanks, man! I was bummed not to make the glacier. But, there'll be other times. Gives me something to look forward to. My friends and I resolved to make this an annual pilgrimage. We shall see.

The pics made me weepy. I can't wait to go back. Its such a fun pair of mountains. Thinking about maybe two days when I'm 3 hours away the last week of Jan.

Crazy can be found if you want it but you'll never end up in it without a lot of noticeable signs that you're coming to it.

I like the glacier, but the road out can go F#$%..... er....... juggernuaght itself. Never really had such a definitive moment at a resort of "This is f-in great!" followed by "This f-in blooooows!". And I wasn't even on a snowboard.

My friends have better photos and vids. I can't get this place out of my head even two weeks after returning to this coast. It is a wonderful place!

 

[ChrisRich]

Did you prefer Blackcomb over Whistler? We were out there in March of '09 and had an awesome time. I liked Whistler a bit better and spent 2 of the 3 days over there. Blackcomb seemd to have steeper terrain up high and narrow chutes while Whistler was more about the open bowls.
I loved the Peak Express Chair. The bowls up off that ridge are awesome.

Would love to make it back there someday. The Sea to Sky highway coming up from Vancouver is really amazing as well.

Personally, I totally prefer Whistler over Blackcomb. I found some great Whistler accommodation recently, which made the trip. I prefer rentals over hotels, but that's just me. Anyway, it just snows more on Whistler than Blackcomb...that's enough for me.

 

[MadPadraic]

Personally, I totally prefer Whistler over Blackcomb. I found some great [URL="deleted"[/URL] recently, which made the trip. I prefer rentals over hotels, but that's just me. Anyway, it just snows more on Whistler than Blackcomb...that's enough for me.

This post seems a bit commercial.

 

[Edd]

Nice report Snowmonster. You picked the right part of the season to go considering our conditions.

I went there for a week 5 years ago, first week of April. We got very little fresh pow but they were 100% open and conditions were extremely decent. I believe it was the first year Symphony Bowl had opened and I really loved that. Can't wait to go back.