I unfortunately haven't had too many exciting stories to share from this season, as it has, well, been a fairly dull winter for us skiers. We did get pretty spoiled these past few winters, so I suppose a less-than-epic winter was bound to happen.
While the rest of the Pacific Northwest was getting hit hard with all the snowstorms in December and January, Whistler somehow managed to stay magically dry. We therefore kept our eyes open for what was happening at other nearby resorts, and heard that the snow had found its way to Mount Baker down in Washington. We therefore bolted down south of the border for their opening day, and wow, what a good call! Mount Baker is only about a 3.5hr drive from Squamish, and well worth the drive. Here are some photos and a video from the Opening Day at Baker:
Since then, we’ve been making the most of the season with the minimal amount of snow that we have received at Whistler Blackcomb. The avalanche danger has been incredibly high the past few months, so we had no choice but to take it easy and stay in bounds in avi-controlled areas.
The Peak Chair and the rest of the alpine on both mountains finally opened two weekends ago, and it’s been great having more terrain to ski. We also finally rode the new PEAK 2 PEAK gondola spanning the Valley, connecting Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. This new gondola just opened in December 08 and has broken all kinds of records, including ‘longest unsupported lift span’ at over 3km, and it’s also the highest lift of its kind at 436m above ground at the highest point. Two of the 28 cabins even have glass bottoms! We should have waited the extra few minutes for the glass bottom – maybe next time. PEAK 2 PEAK is definitely not recommended for the faint-hearted!
At least the weather has been sunny and gorgeous these last few weeks. Some keen Quest students have been taking full advantage of the good weather, and getting out climbing most days! Yep, you can actually climb outdoors in Squamish in January believe it or not!
And the good news is that Winter 08/09 may still have hope – it snowed 25cm over the past 24hrs, so let’s pray that Ullr and all the other snow gods keep sending us more of that fluffy white stuff!!
