Conditions Report
The start of a new ski season has arrived here at Whistler Blackcomb! For the last few weeks I have been digging through my garage among bikes, surfboards, unlabeled boxes, and other random things in search of my ski gear last seen in May. After piecing together everything I need, I sat and waited for the mountain to open. My roommates and I slowly started to get more excited, watching ski flicks more and more often. And then finally opening day was announced! We made plans to head up to Whistler for opening weekend.
Loading up on the new Whistler Gondolas
We got to the mountain a little late to avoid the morning rush. By the time we got to the new gondola there was only a short line that took about 5min. As expected, not much was open with people crowded on the Emerald and Red chairs. Due to some new snow the previous night, there was some fresh turns to be had off of the main snow blown runs. You just had to be sure to watch out for lots of rocks and bushes that were sticking out from the weak 44cm base.
After riding the same runs for a bit and getting our legs back underneath us we went on a short hike towards Harmony chair. It was nice to get away from the crowds for a bit and hit some pretty good snow pockets. I was even able to get a faceshot or two.
After skiing all day, it was time to download. The line was pretty huge at the end of the day to get back on the gondola. If you wanted though you could ski down to red chair and take the service road, which had some snow on it, down to midstation to avoid the crowds.
The following day Whistler received another 10cm of snow to freshen things up. Was definitely fun to get rip around the mountain. You just had keep an eye out for some freshly covered rocks and other snags. Overall opening weekend was a blast as usual. Lower snow levels than last year called for some interesting skiing if you went off trail, but there were definitely some stashes to be had, especially if you were willing to hike.
WHISTLER SNOW TOTALS:
WHISTLER FORECAST:
