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| New Snow | 1 cm | 7 Day Snow | 7 cm | Snowbase | 126 cm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine Temp | -2 °C | Valley Temp | +1 °C | Conditions | Hard Packed Groomers / Decent Off |
Today was one of those days where at the end of a run you either thought ‘Hey that was pretty good’ or ‘What am I doing being up here?’. It all depended upon whether you had just skied a foggy run, or a non-foggy run.
To be fair, there was really two fog layers, one around mid-mountain level, and the other was right at the top. I was on Blackcomb today, and the T-bar area was pretty much a no-visibility zone, as was the very top of 7th Heaven. The rest was quite good, until you got down around the top of the gondola level. Once you went even further below, the very bottom of the mountains had good visibility with very soft snow (due to the + temperatures).
The snow off-piste is surprisingly good, considering we have only really had a light dusting. I also heard that Harmony Ridge was decent today, with the Horseshoes becoming nice skiing
My pick for today was the Crystal Zone, good visibility (mostly) and nice runs (even well groomed…) I did find Rock n Roll had a lot of small loose rocks on it, don’t know why…. Unlike Wishbone, where all the loose rocks were because of a burst water pipe that the mountain had to dig up to repair, and under the bottom of the Glacier Express chair, where all those loose rocks had fallen down during the end of the heatwave we had a week or so ago.
Most other runs were in decent (or at least better than they have been) shape. Even some of the ‘bumpier’ runs had been groomed recently (best example – Catskinner).
The forecast is for 5 – 10cm tomorrow and another 5 – 10 on Sunday. If that comes true (along with a few flurries in between) than I think we shall be in for decent skiing next week. We might even get some good powder runs in 
Speaking of next week, it is the Whistler Winter Pride week. Which is a week long festival promoted as a Gay and Lesbian event. The main ‘attraction’ is the 4th Annual International Mr. Gay Competition. So if you are this way inclined, I recommend you check out that website, and consider joining us next year. Whistler is a very welcoming and friendly place, with many gay people making the journey every year.
While this week is definitely marketed towards the gay population of the world, don’t let it put you off if you are not. In fact, for the true skiers out there, it is actually a decent time to be here (when the conditions are good) due to the fact this event draws gay people from around the world as a ‘gay’ week. NOT a ‘ski’ week. So ‘most’ of the guests are intermediate skiers at best – so if you want to have the majority of the steep and nasty terrain all to yourself, this is a good week to book. Especially if we get dumped on, you can get powder runs all day long !!!
Just something to think about……
Are you saying ‘the gays’ can’t ski? :-p
I remember last year there being a lot of people in pink on the hill
Hey Greg. I was up today for the first day of my trip. Things are a bit rough out there. We did find some good runs here and there though. A lot of stuff is definitely in need of a resurfacing. I definitely dodged some “blown edge” type rocks and bare spots today on otherwise groomed trails. Hoping for some good snow this weekend. Should I expect it to be a zoo come Monday with Winterpride starting?
Hey Scott, No I am not saying that ‘gays’ can’t ski, all I am saying is that most of them that come here for the WinterPride week are here for the festival first, and skiing second. As such, they tend to ski the ‘easier’ terrain.
Chris, things are a little ‘rough’ and as you mention, watch out the occasional rocks, even in the middle of some ‘groomed’ runs. I think it will be a lot better after some snow this weekend *fingers crossed*. Also, I don’t expect next week to busy – which is why I am telling people it is actually a decent week to be here.
Nato, I didn’t like the ‘vibe’ of your post, so I deleted it. Even if it was a bit sarcastic.
Hi Greg
Appreciate you are not a weatherman, but what is the general vibe for a big dump next week? Am arriving next friday for a 3 week holiday and praying each day for fresh snow.
I assume the off piste is a little crusty at the moment?
cheers
Hi Greg,
Thanks for all the blogging! We are heading towards the airport (Amsterdam) now for our week of ski/snowboaring. Looks like it’s going to be a good one!
Just venting here, but is it just me, or does Whistler’s weather forecast always seem to say 10-20 cm long term, and then as the dates get closer that turns into a trace-2cm. I’ve learned to ignore the other weather forecasting sites, but it would be nice to see those numbers revised in a positive (i.e. larger) direction. We will be there Sunday – Thursday, hopefully the snow gods will hear our pleas!
Just yanking your chain Greg
With all that ice and snow quality so far, is it possible that the conditions may never get back to “Whislter 5-star” this season (LOTS of prime quality snow and steady cold temperatures)?? I want to plan something for the end of February/start of March, but I do want to have a high degree of confidence that the conditions are going to be GREAT again – its expensive for me to go there from the East coast, and not worth it otherwise. Not asking for guarantees, but are there any long-range forecast sources that can make some degree of predictions based on real objective data/historical evidence??
d’a
Check out Brett Anderson’s long range forecast on his blog. Should be out with the next one this weekend. 15 day on Accuweather looks good, but changes frequently. In last week’s report Brett indicated that a good pattern was setting up for BC long term. You can find that in his archives. I will be out on Mar 1 – 7 so I have my fingers crossed.
http://www.accuweather.com/canada-index.asp
Historically, Feb has minimal snowfall compared to other months at Whistler, but this year is not typical.
I have a question: Do your memories (or actual data) give you a feel for how the current 49″ base compares to average? My real reason for asking is to predict late season conditions. I ASSUME that is really thin and therefore portents that the chance of finding ride-able terrain late season (first 2 weeks in April) is looking grim unless better than average snowfalls/temps are felt in Feb and March. Do I worry needlessly, or does the measly 49″ close to guarantee a rock-field awaits?
Man, there was so much rain at the bottom of the hill today. soooo lame. I was drenched by the end of my day. Actually my socks are still wet.
Russ – thanks for the link. He was right predicting above-normal temp and below-normal snow for BC for January. He’s talking about above-normal snow in February. Of course, normal for Februrary is not great to begin with. It looks like it would take snowing like crazy within the next couple of weeks in order to cover all that ice and make the conditions great by end of February… before spring instability start settling in March.
Keith, There isn’t much hope for a ‘big’ dump in the near future, but if you are going to be here for 3 weeks, I am fairly confident you will see some decent skiing and a few powder days.
Phil, that’s the way forecasts go – don’t bet your house on them !!
D’a and Tom, I think that Spring is going to be a pretty short season this year, with the ski out to the valley being closed a lot earlier than normal (before the end of March is possible). Currently the snow base is as low as I have seen it, with a lot of rocks and boulders exposed that are normally buried.
So, I highly doubt it will be a ‘Great’ Spring, and will struggle to even be ‘Good’ in my opinion. Unless of course we have an ‘abnormal’ February with lots of snow – March is often a snowy month, so that could save us too.
As it stands, the conditions are below ‘average’ – that being said, almost everyone I speak to are ‘pleasantly surprised’ with what we have. You need to understand that Whistler simply kicks other resorts in a normal season – so now that we are having a ‘below average’ season, it just means we are falling more in line with most other resorts ‘normal season’ conditions.
Compared to east coast conditions, Whistler is good right now. There isn’t that much ‘ice’ out there, just hard packed snow, which has been ‘polished’ in some of the higher traffic areas.
Just to make me feel better – coming over from Aussie land from 13 Feb – what should I expect?
I guess even a below average season would be better than a great season in Aus.
Lorence,
I was just out here for a week from Australia and in my opinion Blackcomb felt more like an Australian conditions (hard packed, icy in some places) – but with way more variation then anything you get back home it was still fun.
Whistler seemed to have the better snow and grooming conditions and there were great runs to be had there.
Any snow between now and when you arrive and you’ll have a blast.
Gregg: Thanks for the reply. BTW, what do you mean “ski out to the valley” might be closed? I’ve been to Whistler twice, and I have a jpg map, still…this isn’t exactly terra familiar to this Flat Lander. Do I assume correctly that you mean only upper runs will be ski-able? Does mgmt. then pile snow for a couple ski-out lanes to the base?
Hi Im coming to whistler march 7-12th was wondering if you think that the snow conditions will be better than the current conditions??
Tom, I mean being able to ski all the way to the valley floor, and thus the village. As the snow melts from the bottom of the mountain, we have to start ‘downloading’ on the chairs at the end of the day – rather than skiing down.
So, yes, it means only the upper mountain is able to be skied (which is the best terrain anyway)
Also, yes the mountain does its best to maintain the ski out – by snow making and grooming to push the snow around to form ‘snow roads’.
Dave, I have no idea about the weather over a month from now….