Whistler mags: advice needed

[forum8fox]

Im comming up from the 23-30th of december and I had a few questions.
I looked into the advanced guide online but could not get a copy untill after I left so that is not going to work, I read somewhere you could buy it in town.... If so where and what are the chances of it not being sold out? Also what about the backcountry map/ guide?

On a more important note I would really love to meet some locals to show me around, We tossed the idea of heli skiing around but decided it was a waste of money as we would be farming pow on low angle shit. I figured I would maybe hire a guide to show us around or maybe try to look into cat skiing somewhere near by with sick terrain.(could only pay 250-1000)

If some capable skiier's/ boarders would like to show me some nice chutes and pillows I would gladly pay for some rounds and burn the garnj with ya. This offer would apply for some backcountry touring action also. Just looking for the steep and scary/ skinny type of runs mostly.

PS is DOA in at this time of year?

Thanks in advance.

[Samwich]

Go to the Escape Route by the village IGA (grocery store) for the advanced guidebook and any backcountry maps/guides/info. The guidebook will not be sold out, it never is.

I don't know when I'll be in Whistler, but if you have a phone number I can reach you at I'd be happy to show you around a little bit. I'll probably be getting back into town around the 27th/28th. Send me a PM.

DOA is good to go, but it's been super icy. I've actually never skied it myself, so I wouldn't be comfortable taking anyone else down it, but apparently people have been skiing it.

[forum8fox]

nice I'm not sure about the phone # sittuation yet I don't think I have coverage up there but who know's maybe I can get back on the board and post up later.

I'm pretty sure I saw DOA from 7th heaven about 5 years back, it looked crazy then but I think im down for it now. How do you access it? Oh yea and shoud I bring my snowshoes? I'm assuming yes.
Also I'm assuming the advanced guide doesn't include flute? What might I miss there?

[downarmy]

this wont end well!


DOA is sweet just dont go first!

[TNKen]

Over on Cypress Mountain across the valley from Whistler you will find

http://www.powdermountaincatskiing.com/

Ken

[dre66]

flute is in the guide... it's inbounds. there are only a few lines inbounds that aren't listed (air jordan, mixed fear, the coffin, to name a few... not all, but most are pretty intense and can only be hit in the right conditions imho...) for the majority of whistler (and blackcomb) you can see the fun stuff right from the lift. as for backcountry... some is hike to, some is tour to.
i'd show you around what i know (which isn't nearly everything whistler has to offer) but i'll probably be skiing baker or somewhere in the interior between xmas and new years.
good luck with your trip.

[grapedrink]

heli-skiing is the biggest waste of money, for the price of one full day of heli-skiing a person can buy avy gear, take an intro course and get a used AT setup. regarding doa, i skiied it last week and it was pretty raw, even the apron.. but a lot can change in two weeks. its also pretty mellow, if you want steep have someone take you to disease ridge if it snows some more. otherwise your best bet is husume.

[postman22]

the whistler guide is a huge waste of money. all it shows is the w/b map with names of runs on it.

if you can't figure out where spanky's is by the regular map then you need some map reading lessons.

a lot of the stuff thats on there cbc trees, kybers, fragile rock (maybe) you need someone to show you anyways or you can get real lost and in some serious cliff exposure.

where you from because it takes a lot of time getting comfortable out here. everything that samwich skis is steep and scary so if thats what you want hook up with him. samwich by the way doa has been skied its a rock field, we tried to ski disease ridge and thats a boneyard, skied teetering rock the first day. nice 6 foot cliff drop in. sent the middle cliff and hit avi debri and ice and just tomahawked

[grapedrink]

when i first moved here that book was my bible for two months. i haven't looked at it since but it was worth every penny to me. you get detailed maps of the alpine, names of all the lines, difficulty ratings and a little blurb about each one. you don't need it to get around but it definitely makes learning and remembering the alpine much faster/easier.

[watanabee]

the whistler guide is a huge waste of money. all it shows is the w/b map with names of runs on it.

For the 20 bucks or whatever it costs I think the book is a great investment for someone that isn't familiar with the specific lines. You said yourself that it takes a long time to get comfortable out here and looking over the lines at night can only help someone get familiarized with what they want to ski. There are some decent close up shots of areas and it shows some of the bootpacks to the tops of lines.

Sometimes I look at the book at night before a day of skiing just to get amped on where i want to go the next day.

For a tourist this book is worth every penny.

a lot of the stuff thats on there cbc trees, kybers, fragile rock (maybe) you need someone to show you anyways or you can get real lost and in some serious cliff exposure.

As far as I know there is no mention of Kybers in the book, and it warns skiers to go in CBC with someone who knows the area because of the cliffed out issue you mention.

[forum8fox]

Thanks for the info I'm gonna grab the guide just to get an idea what areas will be best for me with out doing alot of time exploring. Anyone know how the fissile is looking?
Roughly how long does it take to get to disease, husume, fissile, doa?

I understand where you all are comming from about getting cliffed out, when I was at WB last I was 18 and riding alone cause my family is too mellow. I was going down the ridge off the top of whistler right of the main chair that goes to the top, wanting to drop some steep lines facing the lift. I kept working my way down the ridge and had no idea where to drop due to being a rookie to riding steep lines and the intensly steep blind roll. I ended up following the ridge to it's termination where I got funneled into a akward 15 foot cliff with a bigger cliff on my left side and an ice fall on my right. I sat there for about 20 min working up the sack to do a jump turn off a wall that I was sitting and standing on(simultaneously) and land on this diving board and jump the cliff.

Anyway I am more experienced now and can handle couloirs upto 50* and I have dropped cliffs upto 30 feet but I do better in the 20 range. Needless to say it would still be nice to have someone to show me and my friends around since we don't huck really huge. We are from colorado and to get an idea of what we like to ride then scroll through some of my posts.

What is your take on hiring a guide to show us the backcountry, would we be able to ski what we want?

Thanks again

[watanabee]

The sidecountry/backcountry is great around W/B but if the snow is fresh then you should be able to satisfy your steep and knarly desires inbounds without all the searching and hiring of guides. Not to say you shouldn't skin up and try some of the more obscure lines but get the book and check out some of the steeper lines in it. I've skied whistler for years and many of the inbounds lines are still on my checklist. Plus with flute inbounds you can get your skin on to satisfy the urge for uphill exercise and peace from the masses.

[nesta]

For the 20 bucks or whatever it costs I think the book is a great investment for someone that isn't familiar with the specific lines. You said yourself that it takes a long time to get comfortable out here and looking over the lines at night can only help someone get familiarized with what they want to ski. There are some decent close up shots of areas and it shows some of the bootpacks to the tops of lines.

Sometimes I look at the book at night before a day of skiing just to get amped on where i want to go the next day.

For a tourist this book is worth every penny.




As far as I know there is no mention of Kybers in the book, and it warns skiers to go in CBC with someone who knows the area because of the cliffed out issue you mention.

As it should be. The Khyber is sacred Whistler terrain. People who even call it Kybers should be skiing over by the Blue Chair, actually maybe even the Green Chair. Its not really that difficult terrain even though there's a damn good chance of getting 'lanched there given the right conditions, it's just that you could end up skiing into the wrong subdivision or no subdivision at all (really lost) And it's OB, so you're on your own. BTW when we first started skiing the Khyber, we did so because A) it was really good, untracked skiing for several thousand vertical feet B) we knew our way home and C) we could ski right to Dusty's without skiing thru a subdivision. In 2007, none of the above hold true, except maybe B for a token few.

[LeeLau]

You can still kinda ski to Dusty's without going through a subdivision but the route is a little... contrived.

You are on snowshoes forum8fox?

[forum8fox]

yea shoes, I'm pretty used to them too as I don't really ski resorts much anymore. The same holds true for my bro and 2 of the 3 friends that will be with us.

[powder11]

As it should be. The Khyber is sacred Whistler terrain. People who even call it Kybers should be skiing over by the Blue Chair, actually maybe even the Green Chair. Its not really that difficult terrain even though there's a damn good chance of getting 'lanched there given the right conditions, it's just that you could end up skiing into the wrong subdivision or no subdivision at all (really lost) And it's OB, so you're on your own. BTW when we first started skiing the Khyber, we did so because A) it was really good, untracked skiing for several thousand vertical feet B) we knew our way home and C) we could ski right to Dusty's without skiing thru a subdivision. In 2007, none of the above hold true, except maybe B for a token few.

Sorry to report "the khyber" is now pretty much known as "kybers" and the blue chair is gone . Khyber is only good for an hour or two after peak opens before it gets pounded out just like everything else on the mountain. Japanese tour groups go down there like its Whistler bowl. My favorite is Cake Hole. That one really fucks up a tourists day. If they're lucky they end up at Cheakamus lake without getting cliffed out only to have to slog all the way to function and figure out which bus takes them back to the village. I always chuckle when I see the lone skier tentatively make their way down into Cake Hole off the cat track. Like theres no reason why the powder is still relatively untracked down there.