Whistler Blackcomb, BC: 3/8/21

[takeahike46er]

If I learned anything from my first visit to Whistler as a new resident of BC, it was A) avoid weekends at all costs, and B) if I do go on weekends, be prepared to lineup at 7:30 to get to the alpine at a decent hour. So when three feet of snow fell over the period from Thursday night to Sunday afternoon, I opted for A): Monday leftovers in the sunshine.

The southeastern exposure of the Sun Bowl made for heavier snow


The lightly tracked faces in the Flute Bowls immediately caught my attention. While in line for the Symphony chair, a guy was raving about his run in the Flute Bowl. That sealed the deal for me. I was hiking!

The start of the hike to the Flute summit on the right

On the Flute ridgetop

Blackcomb and the 7th Heaven Chair from Encore Ridge

Nothing but cold, deep fluff on this face

Even the lower mountain at the end of the day was skiing well

 

[Ripitz]

Those are some yummy leftovers. Sweet shots!

 

[Harvey]

Spectacular.

Boy those pics are nice.

 

[Endoftheline]

Nice. haven't been there in a few years, makes me want to book a trip, NOW!. Last trip I had a local who brought us to stashes of nice boot deep many days after it had snowed, and that was in early April.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

View attachment 8603
The start of the hike to the Flute summit on the right

Man, I loves me a good cornice jump to start a run. HUA!

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Whistler/Blackcomb shut down due to COVID:

‘We’re devastated’: Whistler reeling amid ski resort closure, rise in P1 COVID-19 variant - BC | Globalnews.ca

Whistler's mayor said the resort municipality is saddened by the news of the closure, but it needs to remain vigilant about the rise in cases linked to the Brazil variant.

globalnews.ca

 

[Kingslug]

Nice!

 

[jamesdeluxe]

It appears that Whistler is this season's Ischgl. Would be interesting to hear the local POV from @takeahike46er and where he's been skiing recently.

Canada ski resort linked to largest outbreak of P1 Covid variant outside Brazil

Whistler, in British Columbia, has nearly 200 of 877 confirmed cases in the province but officials have only a murky idea of how widely variant has spread

www.theguardian.com

 

[tirolski]

From the article:

Whistler’s notorious housing shortage has also probably played a role in the spread.
“Because rent is so crazy, you have people living in closets and sometimes as many as eight people sharing a place,” said Koch, who shares a flat with three other roommates.

And this: F*ck Vail.

Whistler Ski Resort’s new ownership is damaging its reputation

Multi-billion dollar ski company Vail, is lowering salaries by almost half and targeting their sales towards non-local skiers.

8forty.ca

 

[jamesdeluxe]

From the article:
Whistler-Blackcomb was formed by Intrawest, a company that originated in Whistler itself, was run by local residents of the town, and employers of the company knew people in the community. As this ownership was a part of the town for more than 20 years, earning the respect from locals with deals and good salaries.

Maybe Intrawest was respected at Whistler; however, I remember it being mentioned on ski forums during the 00s with the same disdain as American Ski Company.