Pacific NW/AK/BC Whistler

[noncrazycanuck]

with all the snow in forecast there could well be some slow alpine openings but there are plenty of other good areas below the tree line.
don't worry skiing will be good to base , have fun

 

[scott43]

They're going to get crushed..I hope you guys out there get some good stuff..lots of avy and wind problems I bet..

 

[AJP]

I will be skiing whistler Jan 30- Feb 5 if anyone wants to take a few laps, cheers!

 

[noncrazycanuck]

I am usually at whistler a few days most weeks send me a pm closer to when your there. same for anyone else, sometimes the timing might work out

 

[trailtrimmer]

Yesterday was pretty incredible. We found untouched and lightly touched stashes all morning and early afternoon.

Hope the peak opens today.

 

[trailtrimmer]

Winter finally showed up at Whistler. Over 140 cm of snow during my visit and fresh tracks on Whistler bowl twice when the alpine opened. Tree runs like crazy off emerald express and a couple fun trips down the blackcomb glacier.

Visibility was mixed, winds were high, but the fresh was incredible.

 

[scott43]

Nice! That's awesome man.

 

[agreen]

I'm thinking of heading up for an Extremely Canadian clinic the weekend of Feb 3rd/4th. Any cheap lodging options outside of Whistler as I don't think much is available this late? Any shuttles run outside the town to nearby towns? This would be my 1st time there. Thanks for any info.

 

[trailtrimmer]

I'm thinking of heading up for an Extremely Canadian clinic the weekend of Feb 3rd/4th. Any cheap lodging options outside of Whistler as I don't think much is available this late? Any shuttles run outside the town to nearby towns? This would be my 1st time there. Thanks for any info.

Pemberton is north of town by 30 minutes and you can likely find lodging for a lot less, but you may need to rent a car or drive as I'm not sure about shuttles.

Buy your lift tickets now, it will save quite a few $$ over the window rate.

 

[Christy]

There are ways to get from Squamish to Whistler, but I'm not sure any are particularly convenient or work with the times of the camp.
http://www.squamishhostel.com/blog/squamish-to-whistler

We used to do a lot of last minute weekend trips to Whistler without paying a fortune for a hotel or condo, but unfortunately that seems really hard to do anymore.

 

[peterm]

Pemberton is north of town by 30 minutes and you can likely find lodging for a lot less, but you may need to rent a car or drive as I'm not sure about shuttles.

Buy your lift tickets now, it will save quite a few $$ over the window rate.

Pemberton Valley Lodge is nice, reasonably priced, and has a free shuttle. I stayed there over Christmas and it was a good experience.

 

[agreen]

Thanks for advice above. Interestingly expedia shows NO rental cars available for that weekend. Not sure if this is common out if YVR. I'll look for busses to Squamish or Pemberton but timing could get tricky.

 

[Kit]

Is there a convenient shuttle or bus service from Vancouver airport to Whistler/Blackcomb resort?

We are getting desperate with the lack of snow and toying with traveling to ski. Grand Targhee was fist choice because it's closer but air fare to Vancouver is half the price it is to Idaho Falls and Jackson is even higher. But we are only going to ski so we don't really want to rent a car only to pay for parking.

there are many ways to get to whistler from YVR.
some hotels / resorts have shuttles -
there is a bus that leaves two times (sometimes three times) daily from downtown and North Vancouver.

Whistler is great - it's HUGE and gets a ton of snow... which sometimes has the consistency of elephant snot... but it is expensive (even with the USD to CAD conversion)

if whistler is not your only option - fly to Calgary
rent a car and do the Powder Highway

Banff https://www.skibanff.com/ and https://www.skilouise.com/ (Sunshine Village / Lake Louise) to
Golden (Kicking Horse) https://kickinghorseresort.com/ to
Fernie - https://skifernie.com/ then drive to
Revelstoke - http://www.revelstokemountainresort.com/

drive back to Calgary

The Interior of BC is going off all year as well!
you might want to look at flying into Kelowna and skiing Big White http://www.bigwhite.com/ - one of my favorite mountains and always gets snow!

 

[Jimdh]

Well, the day of our Whistler/Blackcomb trip has finally arrived! We’ll be skiing Thursday-Saturday. Any update on conditions? Any “don’t miss” runs (no outrageous black diamonds!)? Any “don’t miss” things to see? Thanks!

 

[Magi]

Any “don’t miss” runs (no outrageous black diamonds!)? Any “don’t miss” things to see? Thanks!

Do a Peak (top of the saddle) to Creek (bottom of creekside village) lap as nonstop as you can.

Hike to Blackcomb Glacier at least once.

 

[raytseng]

Peak to peak Gondola at least once. Walk through the village at least once including to the Olympic plaza.
Eat poutine, eat tim hortons donuts. Have a legit flat white from an Australian Barista instead of what Starbucks calls a flat white.
For the glacier, you can utilize the free tour, and a volunteer will show you the way there and then his/her favorite sequence of runs after coming out of the Glacier. You can drop out afterwards or whenever you like.
https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/e...ts/winter-activities/free-mountain-tours.aspx

 

[mmascolino]

Just got back from WB at the end of last week. The snow base is incredible. I don't think I've ever seen so few rocks at a major resort in a long time. They were having mechanical issues with the Harmony chair the entire week we were there. I think that has been resolved. As far as snow quality goes, it is hard to report since the place is so huge you are going to have a different experience based on recent snowfall, elevation, aspect, time of day and grooming.

 

[noncrazycanuck]

be flexible as to where you ski, don't make a fixed plan before your on the hill
there will be a zone which will be best on any day. Usually not hard to locate.
it can be anywhere, alpine, mid hill or mid hill down north or south facing don't overlook any of them.
Pay attention to snow condition at base, freezing level and wind forecast as you upload
Watch for changing cloud levels though out the day to avoid skiing by braille
There is an easy way down from all chairs so don't worry about getting over your head.
and don't stay in the usual "intermediate" areas there is much better skiing for intermediates off most chairs.
skiing to base is best on Creekside, try it at least once.
have fun.

 

[trailtrimmer]

Hit the T bar on Blackcomb, climb the glacier, see the ice cave. It's a wide open bowl so you can traverse it back and fourth if it's a bit steep for you. As others have noted, Peak to Creek run if the peak chair is open, on the same side, Dave Murray downhill is silly fun.

If you get blasted with snow, the Blackcomb side will usually open first, it's runs are mostly a little steeper and narrower, which is fine on a powder day. The whistler side has the Peak chair which is super fun to simply watch at when they open the top of the mountain if it's been closed. You get to watch some serious cliff drops and really awesome skiing while waiting. The Whistler side feels wider and less steep than Blackcomb overall.

Agadashi Tofu and Sake margaritas at Sushi Village.

 

[Lofcaudio]

Peak to peak Gondola at least once. Walk through the village at least once including to the Olympic plaza.
Eat poutine, eat tim hortons donuts. Have a legit flat white from an Australian Barista instead of what Starbucks calls a flat white.
For the glacier, you can utilize the free tour, and a volunteer will show you the way there and then his/her favorite sequence of runs after coming out of the Glacier. You can drop out afterwards or whenever you like.
https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/e...ts/winter-activities/free-mountain-tours.aspx

Agree with most of these suggestions, especially the Poutine! (I'm also partial to the nachos and Caesars at Merlin's).