Day 4 - midweek solidarity

The Thanksgiving crowd has returned home, unfortunately, the cold is still here to stay. 10 degrees Fahrenheit on the Alpine. Luckily the winds had died down a bit. Day 4 was a quick run during my lunch hour.... solo. Everyone else felt it was too cold. Oh well. I'm on a quest. It took a half hour to get to the top of Blackcomb via the gondola and then a couple chair lifts. The runs were practically bare and the lift lines .... well, there were no lift lines. I did nothing strenuous, mostly green runs down. I wasn't sure how long it would take to get back to the office so I didn't dilly-dally. 30 minutes later I was back at my desk. Not the greatest conditions today, but hey ... it was another day on the mountain!

Days 2 & 3 - wit my boyz

Day 3 was cold, cold, cold, cold, and did I mention how cold it was?? -25 degrees Celcius on the Alpine (with the windchill). Loading up the Creekside Gondola, I couldn't help but think the boys could have used the day off and the cold weather would have been a perfect excuse. Obviously, we made it up to the Alpine, and even though we were all still tired from the day before, we made our way down to the Garbonzo chair with hopes of getting back to the Creekside Gondola asap so we could get back to the comfy cozy car. We had no idea what was waiting for us at the top of Garbonzo... tons of lite fresh untouched powder!! It was amazing. Si'Aire got stuck a couple times and had to unclip and hike out. Poor boy has only snowboarded on the East Coast where powder is hard to find. He quickly found out how we do it West Coast style! There was so much fresh snow and we wanted to stay out longer, unfortunately, we were all so cold, we had to call it a day. But it was a great day!! It took a while to get to Day 2 but it finally came, and with my two most favoritest guys .... Si'Aire and Kevin. We woke up early, took the Village Gondola up to the Roundhouse and proceeded to "shred it!!". Si' was ripping up the blues, riding through the trees and was looking to practice his jumps. His snowboarding has greatly improved since our last adventure. It was Thanksgiving weekend and it was crazy crowded. Especially in the Roundhouse at lunchtime. We spent most of the day on the trails around the Emerald Chair but took the Creekside area of the hill down to the Village Gondola where it took me and Si about an hour to wait in line and download. Kevin chose to ride his board down to the Village and found the ungroomed conditions below mid-mountain worse than waiting in line. Live and learn I guess.

Day 1. Early opening ....

It's been snowing its azz off the last week so the decision was made to open Whistler early. Thus beginning the countdown!! After being sick for a week with the flu, (and about 10lbs. lighter) Kevin packed the truck and we headed North. The snow conditions were great and no one could wipe the smiles off their faces! It was crowded..... with limited runs open, the lines at the Emerald Express chair were past the fences, but no one cared. It was opening day and it was awesome.

It's Official: Opening Day Saturday Nov 18th!

WHISTLER, BC- November 13, 2006 – A massive winter storm that has blanketed Whistler resort since Thursday night in 75 centimeters or 30 inches of snow, has precipitated the announcement that the resort will open earlier than expected. Whistler Mountain will open for the season this Saturday, November 18th from 8:30am to 3pm.

SWEEEEET!!!!! : )

Looks like the quest for the 100 day season will begin shortly. For those needing more information about what makes Whistler Blackcomb the #1 Ski Resort in North America, here are some stats: Whistler Blackcomb is blessed with an average of 9.14 metres / 360 inches / 30 ft of snow per year on the summit. WB also has over 8,100 skiable acres with more than 200 trails, three glaciers and 33 lifts. Not to mention twelve alpine bowls, a 5,020 foot vertical rise and the longest run being 7 miles (one on each mountain). The hourly lift capacity between the two mountains is 59,007 skiers per hour!!!!

The next time you read the blog, it will be on opening day!

Ready and Waiting!

The length of a typical ski season varies by mountain, and by location. The average length is five months with normal temperatures and average snowfall. RIDING A 100 DAY SEASON means being on the mountain an average of 5 days a week. Not an easy task, especially when I live an HOUR from the slopes and only work a 4 day week!!