Comments on: Slightly cloudy but still quite bright and warm http://whistlersnowreport.com/slightly-cloudy-but-still-quite-bright-and-warm-523.htm Unofficial Snow Report for the Whistler ski resort Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:14:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Greg (admin)http://whistlersnowreport.com/slightly-cloudy-but-still-quite-bright-and-warm-523.htm/comment-page-1#comment-438 Greg (admin) Sun, 18 Jan 2009 17:57:52 +0000 http://whistlersnowreport.com/?p=523#comment-438 Hi Dan - thanks for the donation ! Firstly, Symphony is yet to open, but the Harmony chair has, and hopefully it will continue to stay open - in which case I would expect Symphony to open fairly soon. Whistler is a huge resort, and you can always find some decent runs on any given day. I always feel let down when I visit other resorts, they just don't have as much as we do. You are not the first person who has enjoyed skiing here, even in this less than average season. Wait til 2010 when you come back, it will have to better !!! If you want me to show you a few runs, regardless of the any fresh snow, drop me an email and we can organize a meeting. Also, I have now been made aware that this weekend is the USA Martin Luther King long weekend. So expect it to be pretty busy until Monday. Hi Dan – thanks for the donation !
Firstly, Symphony is yet to open, but the Harmony chair has, and hopefully it will continue to stay open – in which case I would expect Symphony to open fairly soon.
Whistler is a huge resort, and you can always find some decent runs on any given day. I always feel let down when I visit other resorts, they just don’t have as much as we do.
You are not the first person who has enjoyed skiing here, even in this less than average season. Wait til 2010 when you come back, it will have to better !!!
If you want me to show you a few runs, regardless of the any fresh snow, drop me an email and we can organize a meeting.
Also, I have now been made aware that this weekend is the USA Martin Luther King long weekend. So expect it to be pretty busy until Monday.

]]> By: Dan Bhttp://whistlersnowreport.com/slightly-cloudy-but-still-quite-bright-and-warm-523.htm/comment-page-1#comment-437 Dan B Sun, 18 Jan 2009 11:10:15 +0000 http://whistlersnowreport.com/?p=523#comment-437 Arrived in Whistler on the 14th. Not the best condtions but some good skiing/boarding to be had (great fun boarding on the slush). Missed out on riding the Sympony Express today because of the weekend crowds but hopefully will remain open for the next few days.....what do you think Greg? Anyone coming out here in the next few weeks who may be a tad worried about the lack of snow please dont fret. I thought the same but the amount of terrain is so vast there is fun to be had, you just have to find your favourite spots and enjoy! All in all this place is awe inspiring and the lack of fresh snow doesnt ruin the experience (some freshies would be more than appreciated lol). Fingers crossed a new front will bring snow in from weds onwards.....if not I will be planning the next trip for Whistler 2010 as soon as I get home. It really is sh@t Hot here...enjoy! Greg, If it dumps before the 28th would you be willing to show a couple of ntermediates some nice runs? Cheers Great Work Greg Arrived in Whistler on the 14th. Not the best condtions but some good skiing/boarding to be had (great fun boarding on the slush).

Missed out on riding the Sympony Express today because of the weekend crowds but hopefully will remain open for the next few days…..what do you think Greg?

Anyone coming out here in the next few weeks who may be a tad worried about the lack of snow please dont fret. I thought the same but the amount of terrain is so vast there is fun to be had, you just have to find your favourite spots and enjoy!

All in all this place is awe inspiring and the lack of fresh snow doesnt ruin the experience (some freshies would be more than appreciated lol).

Fingers crossed a new front will bring snow in from weds onwards…..if not I will be planning the next trip for Whistler 2010 as soon as I get home. It really is sh@t Hot here…enjoy!

Greg, If it dumps before the 28th would you be willing to show a couple of ntermediates some nice runs?

Cheers

Great Work Greg

]]> By: Greg (admin)http://whistlersnowreport.com/slightly-cloudy-but-still-quite-bright-and-warm-523.htm/comment-page-1#comment-436 Greg (admin) Sun, 18 Jan 2009 05:48:26 +0000 http://whistlersnowreport.com/?p=523#comment-436 Inversions do happen here regularly, but normally it is a case of something like -8 in the valley and -2 at the top (numbers made up, but you get the idea). Inversions do happen here regularly, but normally it is a case of something like -8 in the valley and -2 at the top (numbers made up, but you get the idea).

]]> By: yvonnehttp://whistlersnowreport.com/slightly-cloudy-but-still-quite-bright-and-warm-523.htm/comment-page-1#comment-435 yvonne Sun, 18 Jan 2009 05:38:47 +0000 http://whistlersnowreport.com/?p=523#comment-435 Is this the weirdest place in the universe ? Its 9.15pm Sat 17th Jan and its PLUS 11 degrees C at the top of Whistler Blackcombe. Its colder at Thredbo, Australia at the height of summer at exactly the same time!!!!! Caught Creekside Gondola today with WB ski team locals who said this temp inversion happens regularly????!!!!!! Yes Harmony was open today and it was impossible to ski and full of insane maniacs. Skied here in Jan 2007 - a totally different skiing experience. WB hospitality however, remains 10/10. Is this the weirdest place in the universe ?
Its 9.15pm Sat 17th Jan and its PLUS 11 degrees C
at the top of Whistler Blackcombe.
Its colder at Thredbo, Australia at the height of summer at exactly the same time!!!!!
Caught Creekside Gondola today with WB ski team locals who said this temp inversion happens regularly????!!!!!!
Yes Harmony was open today and it was impossible to ski and full of insane maniacs.
Skied here in Jan 2007 – a totally different skiing experience.
WB hospitality however, remains 10/10.

]]> By: Greg (admin)http://whistlersnowreport.com/slightly-cloudy-but-still-quite-bright-and-warm-523.htm/comment-page-1#comment-434 Greg (admin) Sun, 18 Jan 2009 01:35:35 +0000 http://whistlersnowreport.com/?p=523#comment-434 Simon, the conditions right now are actually really good for skiing, the only bad part is we can't access the steep terrain. Still, we want a lot more snowfalls ! Dan, everything on Blackcomb except for Spankys, the Blackcomb glacier and Lakeside bowl is open. This means there is a lot of terrain that is open - but as you suspect a lot of it is 'blue' terrain. That being said, some of our 'blue' terrain would be considered 'black' at a lot of other resorts (not sure about comparing to Vail). There is still quite a lot of 'challenging' terrain that is not quite steep enough to be classified as 'black'. As far I know, the only 'double-blacks' that are open are the Couloir Extreme,Pakalolo and Cougar Chutes, all on Blackcomb. I believe Chainsaw ridge is also open, which has a few 'runs' of it that would all be considered double-blacks. Hawaii 5-0 is a well known 'triple-black' off Chainsaw ridge, and right now it is nearly vertical and I doubt anyone has skied it (it also has a big rock band right at the top) Whistler has a lot of terrain open, but not much steeps. Today they re-opened Harmony chair on Whistler, so depending on what accessible areas they opened, there might be some steep runs to be had there. (Horseshoes/Sun Bowl/Gun Barrels and the list goes on - IF they are open). Then again we also have the Dave Murray Downhill which is a groomed black run that is around 1000m of vertical goodness. Hi Andy and Tracey, glad to hear you enjoyed yourself despite the sub-average conditions - I hope you manage to come again and sample how good Whistler really can be. As for the comments regarding Jersey Cream Bowl / Chainsaw ridge - I am 99% sure it is open, I have skied Couloir Extreme recently and it is a part of JC Bowl. I have also seen some Extremely Canadian Clinics and Ski Schools come down 'Bushrat' which is off Chainsaw ridge. I am pretty sure those clinics/schools are not allowed to ski runs that are beyond the ski area boundary (for liability reasons). Steve, thanks for the comment about what you heard regarding Symphony and Peak - lets hope they open up !! Simon, the conditions right now are actually really good for skiing, the only bad part is we can’t access the steep terrain. Still, we want a lot more snowfalls !

Dan, everything on Blackcomb except for Spankys, the Blackcomb glacier and Lakeside bowl is open. This means there is a lot of terrain that is open – but as you suspect a lot of it is ‘blue’ terrain. That being said, some of our ‘blue’ terrain would be considered ‘black’ at a lot of other resorts (not sure about comparing to Vail).
There is still quite a lot of ‘challenging’ terrain that is not quite steep enough to be classified as ‘black’.
As far I know, the only ‘double-blacks’ that are open are the Couloir Extreme,Pakalolo and Cougar Chutes, all on Blackcomb. I believe Chainsaw ridge is also open, which has a few ‘runs’ of it that would all be considered double-blacks. Hawaii 5-0 is a well known ‘triple-black’ off Chainsaw ridge, and right now it is nearly vertical and I doubt anyone has skied it (it also has a big rock band right at the top)
Whistler has a lot of terrain open, but not much steeps.
Today they re-opened Harmony chair on Whistler, so depending on what accessible areas they opened, there might be some steep runs to be had there. (Horseshoes/Sun Bowl/Gun Barrels and the list goes on – IF they are open).
Then again we also have the Dave Murray Downhill which is a groomed black run that is around 1000m of vertical goodness.

Hi Andy and Tracey, glad to hear you enjoyed yourself despite the sub-average conditions – I hope you manage to come again and sample how good Whistler really can be.

As for the comments regarding Jersey Cream Bowl / Chainsaw ridge – I am 99% sure it is open, I have skied Couloir Extreme recently and it is a part of JC Bowl. I have also seen some Extremely Canadian Clinics and Ski Schools come down ‘Bushrat’ which is off Chainsaw ridge. I am pretty sure those clinics/schools are not allowed to ski runs that are beyond the ski area boundary (for liability reasons).

Steve, thanks for the comment about what you heard regarding Symphony and Peak – lets hope they open up !!

]]> By: Stevehttp://whistlersnowreport.com/slightly-cloudy-but-still-quite-bright-and-warm-523.htm/comment-page-1#comment-433 Steve Sat, 17 Jan 2009 22:21:30 +0000 http://whistlersnowreport.com/?p=523#comment-433 Yeah, Harmony did open today. I didn't go up today but some of the people I'm staying with did, and they came back with good news regarding Symphony and the Peak. Apparently all the tracks into Symphony and off the Peak at the top of Harmony are freshly groomed at the ski patrol guy at the top was telling people that they are almost ready to open limited runs of both. The problem is that there are still large areas of terrain that would be accessible from both lifts that have an unacceptably high avalanche danger and management are not prepared to risk another avalanche incident when some moron skies into the would be closed (but easily accessible) areas. Apparently he said they are using the opening of Harmony today to test to see how many out of bounds skiers/boarders they get and based on that they will make a decision about the two unopened lifts. He seemed to hint at a Monday opening after the weekend crowds die down. Its all heresay but hopefully there is a grain of truth in it. Yeah, Harmony did open today.

I didn’t go up today but some of the people I’m staying with did, and they came back with good news regarding Symphony and the Peak.

Apparently all the tracks into Symphony and off the Peak at the top of Harmony are freshly groomed at the ski patrol guy at the top was telling people that they are almost ready to open limited runs of both. The problem is that there are still large areas of terrain that would be accessible from both lifts that have an unacceptably high avalanche danger and management are not prepared to risk another avalanche incident when some moron skies into the would be closed (but easily accessible) areas. Apparently he said they are using the opening of Harmony today to test to see how many out of bounds skiers/boarders they get and based on that they will make a decision about the two unopened lifts. He seemed to hint at a Monday opening after the weekend crowds die down.

Its all heresay but hopefully there is a grain of truth in it.

]]> By: Philhttp://whistlersnowreport.com/slightly-cloudy-but-still-quite-bright-and-warm-523.htm/comment-page-1#comment-432 Phil Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:27:11 +0000 http://whistlersnowreport.com/?p=523#comment-432 Jersey Cream /Chainsaw Ridge have been open (per Greg), so there's some expert terrain. Also, it looks like Harmony is open today, so that's good news...hopefully the snowpack stability will continue to improve Jersey Cream /Chainsaw Ridge have been open (per Greg), so there’s some expert terrain. Also, it looks like Harmony is open today, so that’s good news…hopefully the snowpack stability will continue to improve

]]> By: Stevehttp://whistlersnowreport.com/slightly-cloudy-but-still-quite-bright-and-warm-523.htm/comment-page-1#comment-431 Steve Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:39:59 +0000 http://whistlersnowreport.com/?p=523#comment-431 Dan, most of the expert alpine terrain is closed because of the avalanche risk. Get out a trail map. Unless its accessed by the Peak, Harmony or Symphony chairs it's basically open on Whistler. On Blackcomb the Glacier is closed and as far as I can tell so is Jersey bowl and the runs leading into and around that. Lakeside bowl on 7th heaven has the derbies of a big avalanche in it and was shut as of two days ago. Dan, most of the expert alpine terrain is closed because of the avalanche risk.

Get out a trail map. Unless its accessed by the Peak, Harmony or Symphony chairs it’s basically open on Whistler.

On Blackcomb the Glacier is closed and as far as I can tell so is Jersey bowl and the runs leading into and around that. Lakeside bowl on 7th heaven has the derbies of a big avalanche in it and was shut as of two days ago.

]]> By: Andyhttp://whistlersnowreport.com/slightly-cloudy-but-still-quite-bright-and-warm-523.htm/comment-page-1#comment-430 Andy Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:20:01 +0000 http://whistlersnowreport.com/?p=523#comment-430 Hi Greg, Just a quick thankyou for all the posts and keeping us upto date. We've just got back from a fantastic 11 days, we had an excellent time with a couple of fresh snow mornings, far far better than any european resort we have ever been to. From the liftys to the bars to the wings in Crystals Bar, hot hot hot ! lol , we're already looking at booking for next year. We managed to get on 7th and do a few other runs on Blackcombe, i had a peek at Where's Joe, about my limit but declined the offer ! Anyone going over from the UK whos never been take the time and thigh burn to trudle down the Green 'Easy Out' on B'combe , its worth the views. Thanks again Greg for all the reports, what a fantastic resort you guys have to play in, hope you keep the site going , i'll keep an eye out for UK posts and add anything that maybe of use. Best Wishes Andy & Tracey Hi Greg,
Just a quick thankyou for all the posts and keeping us upto date.
We’ve just got back from a fantastic 11 days, we had an excellent time with a couple of fresh snow mornings, far far better than any european resort we have ever been to. From the liftys to the bars to the wings in Crystals Bar, hot hot hot ! lol , we’re already looking at booking for next year.
We managed to get on 7th and do a few other runs on Blackcombe, i had a peek at Where’s Joe, about my limit but declined the offer !
Anyone going over from the UK whos never been take the time and thigh burn to trudle down the Green ‘Easy Out’ on B’combe , its worth the views.
Thanks again Greg for all the reports, what a fantastic resort you guys have to play in, hope you keep the site going , i’ll keep an eye out for UK posts and add anything that maybe of use.

Best Wishes

Andy & Tracey

]]> By: Danhttp://whistlersnowreport.com/slightly-cloudy-but-still-quite-bright-and-warm-523.htm/comment-page-1#comment-429 Dan Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:34:48 +0000 http://whistlersnowreport.com/?p=523#comment-429 We arrive on Jan. 25th. Can you give us an idea of how many blacks/double-blacks are open on each mountain? I can't get an answer from the Whistller staff (they say it changes daily and they can't guarantee anything and they seemed to hint there weren't many at all). I really don't want to be limited to groomed runs and hope that is not the case. I've never been up there before but skied Vail/Beaver Creek last year. The comparison was something like 5000 - 8000 acres in skiable terrain in favor of Whistler. Any guess as to how many acres are actually skiable right now? Thanks, Dan We arrive on Jan. 25th. Can you give us an idea of how many blacks/double-blacks are open on each mountain? I can’t get an answer from the Whistller staff (they say it changes daily and they can’t guarantee anything and they seemed to hint there weren’t many at all). I really don’t want to be limited to groomed runs and hope that is not the case. I’ve never been up there before but skied Vail/Beaver Creek last year. The comparison was something like 5000 – 8000 acres in skiable terrain in favor of Whistler. Any guess as to how many acres are actually skiable right now?
Thanks,
Dan

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