Whistler/Blackcomb 3/8-9/2017

Another good day after slow start. Whistler reported another 4" new according to OpenSnow, but I think Whistler reported 9 cm which is really 3.5". By the time our group leader arrived, the Whistler gondola line was long. I debated going on my own, but followed group up Fitzsimmons, Garbanzo and Emerald Expresses with a short unbuckled fast ski down corduroy covered with some new snow between the last two lifts. This group skis fast, but stops too much for me for various reasons. Instead of checking lift status board or catching some powder on way down as we did on previous days, they blasted down groomer to not yet running Harmony chair. After waiting about 10 minutes and seeing some blasts in McConkeys, we poled out and skied to Emerald and went up it again. We stopped at Roundhouse as some in group needed a comfort break. Instead of getting in big line for Peak chair that was about to start loading we went up T-bar that had short, but slow-moving line and directed laggards to other side where line was shorter. We skied decent untracked powder to Harmony and I got first tracks down left side of steep pitch under chair towards bottom. Rather than wait for rest of group who were not in sight David (DesiredUsername), Matt Smith, Scott from CO who had just arrived and I loaded chair. At the top David remembered entrance into Little Whistler Bowl that Tony Crocker showed us on Monday. Matt followed me into sporting entrance that I skied more cleanly than on Monday. We had untracked powder that had a little wind crust. Then I made the most of some lower angle untracked before passing large group to T-bar.

We took Peak2Peak (looking down 1400') and got to Rendezvous Lodge about 11:15 which is in the middle of when EpicSki starts lunch (although some had not arrived when I left at 11:45). While our group of four did not take very long, I did eat half a small sandwich I'd brought and give the other half to my wife who was sitting with intermediate group she was skiing with. We skied to 7th Heaven and rode and skied it once, finding some lightly tracked in middle , then firm bumps at bottom before riding it again and skiing Couloir Extreme. There was an Extremely Canadian group blocking the best entrances from Big Bang so I entered from furthest right and barely hung on when snow was much firmer than expected. After that it was much better and I led group into untracked on right side of moraine and some great snow in little trees. Next I led group into Ruby Bowl where we got higher than previous day and found more great deep snow on steep entrance before repeated Playland chutes from previous day. Visibility went from fair to marginal and it began to snow. We did a Crystal Ridge lap, then rode Jersey Cream to ski trees in Bark Sandwich to skiers left of Solar Coaster chair that we rode up. We repeated Couloir Extreme with Matt gingerly skiing the very steep top while the rest of us used Big Bang where I came off small cornice into much softer snow than previous run. Matt led us into gladed In The Spirit where David had a collision with another skiing as they both turned around big tree from opposite sides. We rode Excelerator and skied Zig Zag, etc. to Village about 3:45. Whistler's tracking had me at 23.5K although it's possible they missed a chair as I don't think it took us 40 min between Crystal Ridge and Jersey Cream chairs in middle of afternoon.

My wife had an adventurous day as she skied the Blackcomb Glacier, led by the Gathermeister. It sounded like they started in decent visibility, but my wife does not have experience boot-packing and was very slow on short climb to top of Glacier. They skied it in poor visibility and Gathermeister had them all stay 10 feet apart and follow her to get down it. She does not remember the short uphill by the sign where I have fed the birds the last two days. Some of them are tame enough to land on my hand for 10-15 seconds. If visibility is good, I will try to get my wife through the Glacier again, but I will carry her skis as I have done for the <10 minute walk from our studio to the gondolas each day. (To be continued)

tseeb":f4migdia said:

Next I led group into Ruby Bowl where we got higher than previous day

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Was this High Ruby where you have to skate and then walk a bit along the ridgeline from top of Spanky's? That's one I have never done.

tseeb":f4migdia said:

my wife does not have experience boot-packing and was very slow on short climb to top of Glacier.

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That bootpack is at least twice as long as the Spanky's bootpack this season, which is not something I recall from prior visits. But the current snowpack is much higher than my previous 3 visits, one in early January and two in low snow years.

Tony Crocker":31jevfec said:

tseeb":31jevfec said:

Next I led group into Ruby Bowl where we got higher than previous day

Click to expand...

Was this High Ruby where you have to skate and then walk a bit along the ridgeline from top of Spanky's? That's one I have never done.

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No. We wrapped around high enough to get above two rocks on the face with a chute between them once we dropped off small cornice marked with cliff area signs. I thought about going through the steep and tight chute on Wed, but stayed to right while Scott from CO did it. On Thurs, I went left of the two rocks with chute between them on my Ruby lap.

Tony Crocker":31jevfec said:

tseeb":31jevfec said:

my wife does not have experience boot-packing and was very slow on short climb to top of Glacier.

Click to expand...

That bootpack is at least twice as long as the Spanky's bootpack this season, which is not something I recall from prior visits. But the current snowpack is much higher than my previous 3 visits, one in early January and two in low snow years.

Click to expand...

I counted 200 steps in the bootpack on Thurs and was glad my wife did not take me up on my offer to carry her skis or her up it if she'd do it again. When I loaded Glacier chair, sign said visibility was Good, but it was down to barely Fair when I skied it so I did the intermediate run that I had never done before with some options on the sides to get a little tracked soft snow.

Addition to above is that I could not think of the word for chute between two rocks yesterday in upper Ruby Bowl, but I would call it a very tight keyhole.

3/9 Another good day after early, then slow start. Whistler reported 4 cm/1.2" new. We got in line for gondola at 7 am for Fresh Tracks breakfast that grew past the end of the maze by the time I had purchased my $24.05 Canadian ticket ($21.96 + tax - why can't they make it come out to $24 even so I don't end up with 95 cents of change?) and verified that my MCP was direct to lift ($54.48 charged that CapOne e-mailed me to verify, even though I had used the card a few times in Canada since last Sat). They limit breakfast to the first 650 and you do not buy ticket for specic day so you want to be in line well before it starts moving at 7:15 to make sure you get in, especially on powder or weekend day. We loaded at 7:40 so it was almost 8 after gondola made 3,800' climb to top with one short stop. Visibility was good so I got my wife's picture in front of color Olympic rings.My wife ran into the Gathermeister and her husband towards the end of breakfast and they joined us for coffee and a re-cap of my wife's Blackcomb Glacier adventure the previous afternoon. I joined the Gathermeister and her brother for a warm-up run almost to Ratfink that ended up being powder, while my wife skied with Gathermeister's husband who was still recovering from some instructor trials on Tuesday. We met up with more of the group and I skied another warm-up run on Emerald where I had spotted some powder below a terrain park that also was untouched with an inch+ on top of groom. I tried to get my wife to join me, but she wanted to stay with group and it probably was better she stayed on groomed as untouched powder was not that smooth. I had a short wait at chair before any of the intermediates arrived, but it was not that long before they all did.

We rode Emerald, then Peak chair to top of Whistler where the Black Tusk was moving from in view to almost out of view. We all skied the 11 Km Peak to Creek run. I found some fun stretches of untracked, mostly off left edge, and everyone enjoyed the first couple of Km. Then it got tedious with 30 seconds of skiing and 5 minutes of waiting for a couple of the intermediates who must have begun to tire. When we got below being even with top of Creekside gondola and after telling group leader, my wife and a couple of other guys who could have skied it faster, I bailed and was glad I did as last Km or two got firm which probably slowed them further. Whistler's tracking showing 59 minutes between when I rode Emerald chair and when I loaded Creekside gondola so group was probably on run that I could non-stop for well over an hour.

At the top I rode Peak chair and Whistler Bowl, but got cliffed out above Bomb tram when I took a higher traverse than I intended. I had to side-step while backing up about 50 feet to get to where I could go back while enduring some skepticism and taunts from chair rides above me. After I got to next traverse, I saw there was a possible route, but not one easy to find from above. I rode Peak aqain and got into Saddle, then cut right to ski some soft snow in Little Whistler Bowl. I next rode T-bar twice, once skiing some untracked just skiers left of the liftline. Next time up, I skied towards Harmony where I found some soft snow, then nearly got cliffed out again before finding a route through to skiers right of cliff band that only required a short drop over rocks. I left my initial on face that had not been skied and was a couple of inches of powder on top of a thick, firm crust. My big S-track is a little left of center. Good thing I found a route that did not involve the big cliffs that some boarders were hucking.I moved to Symphony, skiing a little to right of trees we had skied on Monday that still held soft snow. After skiing Piccolo Face and getting to a little untracked in middle of run, I was going to ski down, but there was no line at Harmony and I did not have enough speed to go past it so I ride it. I got into Little Whistler Bowl and found sporting entrance between rocks at left had rocks in chute so I got past them on top and skied the soft snow before cutting over and skiing what I think is Back Bowl which skied deeper. Rather that going up and riding Peak2Peak, I went to bottom and rode Blackcomb's Excaliber gondola. Guys my age in gondola said they had gone to Village for lunch and ibuprofen and I asked if they had any more as my back was sore and requiring me to try to find smoothest snow. The did not but shared a Crown Royal/Frangelica mix from a flask. I continued up lifts to the top and did the hike into Blackcomb Glacier where I skied the more intermediate run. Next run, I hiked Spanky's ladder and skied Ruby Bowl. After a quick break in Glacier Lodge to re-fill my water and take my phone out of airplane mode for my last 24 hrs in Canada, I rode Jersey Cream and skied a steep pitch off the Jersey Wall, then skied groomers that were excellent with an inch or two new as snow had been falling since early PM. I skied In The Spirit glades to Glacier Road and quit about 3:45 with over 32.5K according to Whistler tracking, after adding in the one Whistler T-bar and one Showcase T-bar they missed. My watch had 35K. I caught no. 4 bus without a wait, but the first stop was by hotel Tony Crocker had stayed at so I still had a 3-4 min walk to our condo vs. 7-8 min walk from gondola base down Village Stroll. And I know I will get some grief for this, but I am not skiing Friday even though Whistler reported 22 cm (9") new and it is still snowing. With my back already sore and facing a little over 1,000 mile drive home over the next three days, I didn't want to experience possible late openings and a short day when we need to get out of here and to Seattle today.