Whistler TR 4/1-4/3

[The AD]

Thursday, April 1st
Left the house at about 5:00 am. My wife had to drop off something at work first, so finally start heading north at 5:30. Heard the Howard Stern prank, but didn't buy it for a minute! Got to Whistler about 10:00 and got on the lift about 10:30. There had been some snow earlier in the week, and the report was for high pressure building beginning today. I expected some clouds to start the day, but it was bluebird from the start. Very warm in the village even in the morning.

I skied Blackcomb on Thursday and conditions were good. Still lots of snow and ski-outs to all base areas still possible. Here's a picture of Whistler from the 7th Avenue run on Blackcomb:
http://home.comcast.net/~seussnelson...r040104-01.jpg
The large bowl on the left is Harmony Bowl and Whistler Peak is to the right.

In the afternoon I decided to follow the throng hiking through the gate past Blackcomb glacier. There were still some fresh tracks to be had, as you can see in the next two photos:
http://home.comcast.net/~seussnelson...r040104-02.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~seussnelson...r040104-03.jpg
I hiked up to the saddle below the peak you can see in the first shot. Here's the view from there:
http://home.comcast.net/~seussnelson...r040104-04.jpg

As a matter of principal I skied all the way to the village each day. There are plenty of bare patches down low and the snow has the consistency of a Snow Cone, but it's still possible!

I even went to the Meadow Park pool to get in a swimming workout with the Whistler masters team from 7:00-8:30 (I was the fastest person, of course ), so I was definitely tired by the end of the day.

Friday, April 2nd
My wife doesn't ski much. Usually when we go to Whistler she shops and figure skates. Unfortunately for her, there was a hockey tournament going on at the rink, so she only got to ski for about one hour Thursday and that was it. Anyway, she had decided to try skiing one day, so this was the day. We went up early for the Fresh Tracks breakfast (not that there were any fresh tracks to be had). I figured there were a few routes down from the Roundhouse that a beginner would be comfortable with. Well, maybe, but we didn't take it! She did fine until we got to a fairly narrow, twisty road leading to the red chair. She lost it going around a corner too fast. That was about it for her confidence. Ever noticed how most places mark some twisty cat track as the "easiest way down?" They never seem that easy to me. It seems like a true beginner would be more comfortable on a wider, straighter run, even if it's a little steeper. Anyway, we downloaded on the gondola to the midstation and took a couple laps at the true beginner area. That was more her speed. I just don't see her becoming a skier

Anyway, another absolutely beautiful day at Whistler. Pretty crowded, though, for a Friday in April. I think there were lots of people up from Vancouver. Here are a couple shots from Whistler.

I believe this is a shot looking over the cornice of McConkey's (named for Shane's dad, not Shane) into Harmony Bowl:
http://home.comcast.net/~seussnelson...r040204-01.jpg
Here's a shot of the mountains surrounding Whistler from Harmony ridge:
http://home.comcast.net/~seussnelson...r040204-02.jpg

Saturday, April 3rd
I made plans to meet up with Viva at the Glacier Creek lodge on Blackcomb at 9:30. He was pretty much right on time. We went up the Glacier Chair to the Horstman t-bar and skied 7th Heaven. It was very icy in the morning. Not much fun at all! After we rode back up Viva's binding released while he was walking in the flat. Not a good sign, but he thought maybe it was fluke. Unfortunately it wasn't! He released again when we skied down the Horstman glacier. At this point he realized he should probably get them checked out. I continued to ski. Did a lap down Blackcomb Glacier and acouple cruisers around Solar Coaster. I got Viva on the radio a couple hours later. He brought his skies to a shop and the guy there took one look at them and said "I'll take them into the back." Viva was like, "wait a minute, only one binding has a problem." The tech informed him his Atomic bindings have a known problem and he could replace both heel pieces under warranty.

So, when we met back up we skied another hour or two, but it wasn't Viva's day. He said he never really felt good on his skis, so he quit around 2:00. Nice skiing with you, Viva! I skied until 3:00, then hit the road to drive back to Seattle. Saturday was probably the hottest day yet, and it was busy. Here are a few pictures.

The masses hiking up to Blackcomb Glacier:
http://home.comcast.net/~seussnelson...r040304-01.jpg
View across the Glacier. Lots of tracks all over on the far side:
http://home.comcast.net/~seussnelson...r040304-02.jpg
Looking back up from the bottom of the glacier. The terrain you see here is all accessible by hiking up Spanky's Ladder. If the summit goes to W/B there will be lots of maggot activitiy here!
http://home.comcast.net/~seussnelson...r040304-03.jpg
Finally, here's a shot of Couloir Extreme (or Saudan's, if you prefer):
http://home.comcast.net/~seussnelson...r040304-04.jpg

In summary, excellent spring skiing. Yes, it was pretty crowded, conditions varied, and everything got very tracked up, but I had a great time. Whistler is the kind of place that, when the weather's good, you say there can't possibly be any place better. When it rains, or half the mountain is shut down to winds or low visibility you say "what's the big deal, again?" This trip was definitely in the first category.

Sorry to ramble...

[wahama88]

Nice TR man, those bowls look sweet, must be awesome with about 2 feet of fresh smoke.

[Showtime06]

looked like an awesome trip with beautiful weather...wish i was there

[tibaher]

Nice TR and PICS, glad you had a good trip dood, and it sounds like at least-some-freshies too

just out of curiosity, how long was the hike to that saddle?
I've contemplated it before but never done it

[lax]

Originally posted by The AD
[http://home.comcast.net/~seussnelson...r040104-03.jpg

makes em want to shoot myself in the face for skiing the east and not there my whole life (18 years)

[Son1cdeth]

Awesome pics. Those glacier shots brought back some great memorys of last year!

[The AD]

Originally posted by tibaher
Nice TR and PICS, glad you had a good trip dood, and it sounds like at least-some-freshies too

just out of curiosity, how long was the hike to that saddle?
I've contemplated it before but never done it

I didn't really pay too much attention, but I'm guessing it was something like 20-30 minutes. There were people that hiked up beyond that, but I wasn't sure where that would take me so opted for the route where I knew I'd end up back in the glacier!

From up there you can see over to the next ridge and there were tracks there too. I think the heli operation takes people to that area.

[xboat]

very sweet TR and pics dood.

[bad_roo]

I've often written Whistler/Blackcomb off as a poor facsimile of European skiing but those pictures realy whet the old appetite. Given that it looks like a toss up between Whistler and Jackson for the 2005 Summit, I'm pinning my hopes on Whistler if only because it means I don't have to make that ball-buster three flight journey to Wyoming...

[Phil]

Sweet report AD. Still getting some !

But where are the pics of the wife figure skating. Now come on you can't just drop that and not follow up with proof. Give it up.

[Big E]

Damn. Now I'm really pissed my knee prevented my from getting to W/B this year.

Great pics!

[The AD]

Originally posted by Phil
Sweet report AD. Still getting some !

But where are the pics of the wife figure skating. Now come on you can't just drop that and not follow up with proof. Give it up.

How's this?
http://www.webwinds.com/kwan/kwan85309large810.jpg

OK, that's Michelle Kwan, but she looks something like that

[Viva]

Doood, it was great hooking up with you...again! I never guessed that I knew you from Gapic. The next time, I look forward to spending a full day with you.

Kirstan and I got totally chit-faced that night- drunken darts makes for some interesting sport. Yesterday, I made it back to PDX in time to spend a couple of hours with the Icemang.

Although I'm bummed that I didn't get in much skiing, that hottie I met on the lift from Renton e-mailed me this morning, so it's all good.

[The AD]

Originally posted by Viva
Although I'm bummed that I didn't get in much skiing, that hottie I met on the lift from Renton e-mailed me this morning, so it's all good.

Viva: the man, the legend!

[PulverSchwein]

Hey AD I was up on Blackcomb Staurday as well, what a sweet spring day. Here's some of my pics also from the Glacier Chair side. First three are from the skier's left along Glacier Chair (secret chute area) where we found best snow all day. The last two are a couple more views of Blackcomb Glacier. Man I love that place.

http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic21680.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic21681.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic21679.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic21678.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photos/blpic21677.jpg

[The AD]

Interesting how much different the glacier looks when the clouds move in!

Yes, I did a couple runs in the Secret Chute area and it was pretty nice. I also liked the little face that drops off the cat track between the two t-bars. I guess any north-facing aspect was good, which was to be expected.

[BurmaShave]

Sweet photos and TR, AD. How's the snowpack compare to last year at this time? I hope to get to W/B sometime before the end of the month.

[The AD]

I'm sure the base depth is greater this year than last. However, I think this spring has been abnormally warm, so it's probably melting off faster, too. Coverage is still excellent on the top halves of both mountains right now.

[fiddler]

I got up early and left Bellingham at 6 and only hit one red light once I crossed the border on the way to Hwy 1. The usual Port Mann traffic mess wasn't too bad and once past the bridge traffic moved along. I made it past the road construction without stopping and got to Creekside just after 9. While I was putting my boots on and getting stuff together I kept seeing people leave with their skis and then come back. Finally I asked someone what was up and it wasn't the gondola, it was broken down. Off came the boots for the drive in socks to the main village. The gondola had a HUGE line so I took two chairs which had no lines up to the alpine. Getting a later start didn't hurt much as everything was rock hard. With daylight savings time you get more hard, less soft. Did several fast top to bottom runs on the Saddle before going over to Burnt Stew and dropping into some not quite slushy bowls. It wasn't bad but the runout wasn't much fun. By around noon the bowl under the top of Harmony was pretty good so I headed over to the Peak chair and spent the next few hours skiing Whistler Bowl, Shale Slope and Left Hook back to the chair. It was good. For awhile hardly anyone was on it but it got a little more traffic as the afternoon wore on. At the end of the day, I skied all the way to the village and managed to dislodge a good size rock that did some minor damage to one ski. It was fun but there isn't much snow left near the bottom.
There was nothing left to do but eat fish & chips at the Dublin Gate and listen to some live music before hitting the road. Both border crossings took a minute at most. With the clear skies and unlimited visibility it was a great day to be in the mountains.