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Thread: Whistler 2019 - 2020
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01-06-2020, 10:00 AM #151
Book a shuttle Monday from Airport to Whistler
No need for a car in Whistler if your accommodation is in/close to the village.
Avis Rentals has an office in Whistler. On your departure day rent a minivan or Suburban one way for a drop-off at the the airport for $219ish.
The Hwy to Whistler is designated a Mountain Hwy, so by law you need winter rated tires to drive there, and all the vehicles at the Avis Rental in Whistler will have those tires on them.
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01-06-2020, 10:24 AM #152
I'd verify winter tires when you book...they should have them, but from all accounts they only have a few cars with them and are regularly booked out well in advance
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01-06-2020, 11:09 AM #153
The B.C. law unfortunately allows for fake winter tires, aka M&S (mud & snow), which have a deeper tread than all seasons but are still made from a rubber that is rock hard in cold weather. I believe the rental companies offer those to comply with the law.
Looks like some more snow the next few days, hopefully doesn't get too warm. Could be some decent touring in the slack next weekend depending on how the snowpack reacts, most likely heads up hockey. Hopefully some of the citiots that paid a lot of money to stand around in line all weekend experienced enough frustration to give up on skiing for the season.
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01-06-2020, 11:31 AM #154Registered User
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Plenty of All Season tires have the required M&S rating on them nothing "fake" about it. The tires pass the rating requirements. The idea is to keep Summer tires off the road.
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01-06-2020, 11:34 AM #155
I get tire envy every time I hear studded Hakapolitas.
OH, MY GAWD! ―John Hillerman Big Billie Eilish fan.
But that's a quibble to what PG posted (at first, anyway, I haven't read his latest book) ―jono
we are not arguing about ski boots or fashionable clothing or spageheti O's which mean nothing in the grand scheme ― XXX-er
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01-06-2020, 12:41 PM #156
True, it’s within regs and modern M&S is fine for Sea to Sky to Whistler 90% or mire of the time. I just don’t like that the BC govt didn’t require full winter compound/snowflake like they do in Quebec.
In my fantasy world they would require real winter tires, check at Alice Lake every storm morning and turn people around with fines for not complying. This would result in less bad cars on the road and/or more tourists on busses instead. Fantasy world.
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01-06-2020, 12:48 PM #157
Big difference in performance between m&s and winter tires. Also Avis gave my neighbour’s visiting family a mini van with summer tires that were 50% worn; no joke!! They had asked for winter tires!! Great for the Whistler to Pemberton highway.
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01-06-2020, 12:59 PM #158Registered User
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I don't think it would change the volume of traffic. Years ago I did a couple trips to California and they have mandatory chains control to get up into the mountains and people just figure it out and deal with chains unless the have 4wd and snows.
Recently bough a used vehicle that has some nice Nokian WR G4 all weather tires on it, looking forward to seeing how they handle. We deal with so much more slush and rain getting to WB than we do actual compacted snow on the road.
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01-06-2020, 01:01 PM #159
last few times , ive used enterprise , great price and great service large suv or mini van would be fine , everyone says no car needed in whistler , but if parking no issues , a car gives you a good bit of flexibility for other activities and is greta for the return days in northvan and Vancouver
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01-06-2020, 01:45 PM #160Registered User
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Hearing that Glacier Chair and Spankys both opened today.
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01-06-2020, 02:04 PM #161
and Whistler T-bars
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01-06-2020, 02:13 PM #162
Winter driving facts:
- the new highway since 2010 is very safe & easy to drive, even in storms. It's low elevation so for almost all of the winter is wet; no slush, no snow.
- driver skill & judgment is everything. I've seen guys in old Civics with skinny, worn rubber zip back & forth and $150k SUVs with $3k of winter Contis or Michelins slid off in the ditch.
So beyond those variables, the only fixed thing that matters is the arbitrary LAW, which is not designed to determine the level of driveability. It is designed to make incident investigations & court proceedings easy. For 6 months:
The Van area (Lower mainland) highways DO NOT require winter tires at all; only a minimum 1.5 mm tread-depth is needed. On other BC highways (like 99 - Sea2Sky), a passenger car:
- requires winter tires on drive axles (min depth 3.5 mm) (Most new tires are 8 mm)
- allows summer tires on non-drive axles (min depth 1.5 mm) (that's only 1/16 inches !!)
Take-away message? The law is a low bar, but you it's critical that you clear it, for 2 reasons; one is inconvenient, the other devastatingly financial. Cops don't check often, but when they do, if you DON'T have winter tires on Hwy 99, you can be fined $121 and turned back. Less than 3.5 mm tread is fine $109 and turned back. That's just a hassle.
But if you DON'T have tire type & depths (because you're a great driver) and there are NO police checks (because you're lucky), AND you wipe out (or some idiot causes you to crash), the arbitrary, minimum law (like fuckin' law of gravity) becomes everything ... when a simple investigation determines your car insurance is invalidated because you breached the policy, or worse, the family of your forever, always-has-my-back, best-friend hires an ambitious personal-injury lawyer while your passenger-side buddy still lies in coma.
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01-06-2020, 03:00 PM #163OH, MY GAWD! ―John Hillerman Big Billie Eilish fan.
But that's a quibble to what PG posted (at first, anyway, I haven't read his latest book) ―jono
we are not arguing about ski boots or fashionable clothing or spageheti O's which mean nothing in the grand scheme ― XXX-er
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01-06-2020, 04:54 PM #164Meadowskipping old fart
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In fact I would be amazed if you could find ANY all-seasons sold in BC that don't have the M+S stamp (basically I think it only requires some grooves across the whole width of the tire). At least the 3.5mm tread requirement is SLIGHTLY better than allowing summer semi-slicks or all-seasons worn down to 2mm - if not much better.
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01-06-2020, 06:51 PM #165
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01-06-2020, 07:21 PM #166Registered User
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01-06-2020, 08:04 PM #167
Noted.
OH, MY GAWD! ―John Hillerman Big Billie Eilish fan.
But that's a quibble to what PG posted (at first, anyway, I haven't read his latest book) ―jono
we are not arguing about ski boots or fashionable clothing or spageheti O's which mean nothing in the grand scheme ― XXX-er
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01-07-2020, 09:31 AM #168
Welp - problem solved. Renting a compact 'ford focus or similar' and will give it to my brother in law to use for the week while I take his giant Toyota work truck to whistler. I told him I owe him a handy or something for this gesture, and I really don't want to do it myself so anyone wanna help out with that?
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01-07-2020, 10:36 AM #169
Stoked that winter has finally shown up. Anyone know what happened to that ops website that used to let you see the weather station data raw feeds? Don't have the URL handy but I tried it earlier this season and link did not work.
Fingers crossed it doesn't get too toasty today.
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01-07-2020, 10:50 AM #170
https://secure.whistlerblackcomb.com...r/default.aspx
been above zero at pig alley since 6pm yesterday, still 30cm in the valley overnight too from what people are saying
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01-07-2020, 01:48 PM #171
Raining from bottom of Garbo to the top. Since the Alpine isn’t open, best skiing is lower part of mountain where it is still colder and snowing like its winter or something. Of course there isn’t actually anyway to just ride the good part, so packed white ice or heavy tracked snow up until then. Might be the only day of the year where the Magic chair has the goods.
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01-07-2020, 03:10 PM #172Registered User
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any chance the alpine is opening tomorrow? or should i just go to baker?
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01-07-2020, 05:08 PM #173
Winds are supposed to calm down, snow fall stop this evening. However given the amount that fell, and the winds I doubt anything opening tomorrow.
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01-07-2020, 06:13 PM #174Registered User
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01-07-2020, 07:29 PM #175
Did the afternoon shift today instead of waiting for upper lifts. Hoping for free refill spankies laps but alpine never cracked. Crystal reopened at around 2. Late afternoon laps were some of the best! Snowing SO hard.
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