One week after opening day in Whistler, and the reviews are still rolling in.
“Best one in years!” texted Pique columnist and longtime local mountain enjoyer, The Outsider Vince Shuley.
“The alpine coverage is really good. Still needs more snow for full-send conditions, but it’s the base we need.”
Seeing as how I’m still a few hundred squats short of being in bend-and-send shape, I’ll take Vince’s word for it. But at least I know his word about these things is good.
As of Tuesday, Nov. 26, Whistler Blackcomb had a base depth of about 125 centimetres, with a total of 255 cm falling so far this season.
And on Wednesday, Nov. 27, as Pique went to press, WB opened Whistler’s Harmony Zone, followed by the Crystal Zone on Blackcomb a day later.
That brought skiable terrain to 3,300 acres (1,335 hectares) spread across the two local mountains.
There wasn’t a ton of fresh snow in the local long-range forecast as of Pique’s press time, but according to UBC Okanagan researcher Michael Pidwirny, the outlook is favourably frosty for the months ahead.
“The precipitation forecast is very, very good for both November, which we’re seeing right now, and for December,” Pidwirny told Pique last week. “For January and February, they predict the snow will be heaviest just to the south of Whistler in Washington State. But that’s so close that it will probably have an effect.”
ACROSS B.C.
According to onthesnow.com, there were seven ski areas to ride in B.C. as of Nov. 26, but only Powder King, north of Prince George, was fully open.
Powder King was also the only ski area boasting a deeper base than WB, at about 150 cm.
The other B.C. ski areas currently open include Big White, Cypress Mountain, Grouse Mountain, SilverStar and Sun Peaks.
But it won’t be long until more lifts across the province are spinning. By the time this week’s Pique hits the stands Nov. 29, Sasquatch Mountain Resort, Baldy Mountain and Fernie Alpine will all be open, followed by Mount Timothy Recreation Resort and Revelstoke on Nov. 30.
Five more are scheduled to open a week later, on Dec. 6, and by mid-December, every ski area in the province should be open for business.
When Big White opened Nov. 22, its alpine snow base had reached 103 centimetres, conditions so good they attracted a record 2,500 visitors. Michael J. Ballingall, the resort’s senior vice-president, told Glacier Media’s Stefan Labbé the opening day snow was among the best the resort has had in its 61-year history.
“Everyone has a ton of snow,” he said, rattling off a list of resorts across the province. “It’s snowing like crazy. I mean this stuff is white gold.”
Keep it coming, Mother Nature.
MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR
Looking south of the border, there were no fewer than 46 ski areas to choose from this week, with more scheduled to open as Pique went to press.
Conditions across those roughly four dozen ski areas vary, of course, but none were reporting a deeper base than Mount Baker in Washington state, which boasted a base depth of up to 208 cm on Nov. 26.
But according to U.S. forecasters, alpine enthusiasts in Utah and Colorado will have much to be thankful for this American Thanksgiving (assuming they have good tires and aren’t travelling too far for
the turkey).
Mountains across Utah were under a winter weather advisory through the evening of Nov. 26, with up to 20 cm expected in Park City. Some mountains in Colorado, meanwhile, were expecting up to 36 cm over the Thanksgiving week.
But of course, whether it’s further abroad or here in B.C., heavy snow means more than good skiing.
“We’re particularly worried because we’ll see the most dangerous avalanche conditions we’ve seen so far this season when more people than usual will be getting out to recreate because of the holiday,” Colorado Avalanche Information Director Ethan Greene told the Summit Daily
this week.
Wherever you’re skiing, stay safe!
