Whistler Blackcomb BC - Feb. 14-20, 2015

CMR, the kids  and I headed out to Whistler for President's week this year. We had been watching the snow conditions for weeks and things did not look good, but we decided to keep our travel plans, especially after seeing the brutally cold forecast for NY at the same time.  We are glad that we did, as we had spectacular weather and a great time, even if the snow was disappointing.  

I had been wanting to go to Whistler for a long time, but it's not the easiest place to get to from NY. The sole nonstop flight to Vancouver from NY is an overnight both ways, which was a little daunting especially with kids, but it worked out fine.  The drive from Vancouver to Whistler is beautiful, as the road snakes along the coast for a while before heading inland to the mountains.


Due to the poor snowfall, the only decent skiing was up above the treeline, so we didn't really experience anything on the mid-or lower mountains.  We spent most of our time at the top of Whistler off of the Saddle and in the Harmony and Symphony areas, as the snow there was slightly softer than elsewhere.






We did venture across the Peak-to-Peak Gondola one day to ski the 7th Heaven area at Blackcomb, but the conditions there were not as good, so we didn't spend a lot of time on that side of the resort.


Looking across Whistler to 7th Heaven:



Riding the Peak to Peak:


The scenery at Whistler is spectacular. No matter where we looked, the view was beautiful.



Whistler village is a lot of fun. It has a large pedestrian-only area, with many shops and restaurants, as well as a skating rink and playground.



 I had heard that Whistler was going to be really crowded this week, but it really wasn't too bad.  The Sunday of President's weekend was the worst, but after that, we rarely waited more than a couple of minutes at any lift.  The groomed runs were  a little crowded, but anything ungroomed was wide open. That could be due to the poor conditions though.  Our last day was cold and the snow never softened. There were signs all over the mountain urging people to stay on the groomed trails.  We saw some major wipeouts that day. Here is a picture of our kids on one of the bowls. Our daughter's (in black) skis are hanging on by a thread:


Whistler still has one trail that allows you to ski to the bottom, but it was crowded and slushy, so we usually downloaded from the gondola at the end of the day.  You can see how bare things are. I hope they get some snow soon.

I've spent two weeks there and only saw the sun for like 2 hours

Great views

Where did you stay?

Thanks for the report. Like I said, my upcoming adventure be a fun trip regardless, but I hope we get a change in the weather pattern before April 14th. Otherwise, I will also be downloading the Gondola.

I'm also kinda hoping that if the weather continues like this, they'll allow me to exchange a day or two of skiing for mountain biking. Always heard it was great there.

Coach, we stayed in a condo in the far end of the Village North area.  It was perfect, as it was far enough away from the crowds and clubs to be peaceful but close enough to walk to town. We kept our skis at the ski check in the Carlton Lodge so we didn't have to haul our gear back and forth. I almost booked a ski-in condo up on Blackcomb, but I'm glad I didn't, as it didn't look like there was any ski-in/out in these conditions.  

When the conditions are sketchy there, it is a lot of fun to rip a freshly groomed "The Saddle" for sure.

mattchuck2 wrote

I'm also kinda hoping that if the weather continues like this, they'll allow me to exchange a day or two of skiing for mountain biking. Always heard it was great there.

I took a trip out there in the Summer one time and the mountain bike trails looked GNARLY (you'd love them I'm sure). Many of the young locals who worked in the village at restaurants, bars etc. were sporting casts and/or bandages.

YUKON CORNELIUS wrote

I took a trip out there in the Summer one time and the mountain bike trails looked GNARLY (you'd love them I'm sure). Many of the young locals who worked in the village at restaurants, bars etc. were sporting casts and/or bandages.

Yeah, I'll avoid the crazy stuff, but it'd be fun to rent a big bike and some gear and do the classic MTB trails like A-Line.