Whistler 01/2/10 Skiing the Palendrome

rfarren

rfarren

New member
Today I got up bright and early and hit the mountain while Nikki hit the town. The snow at the base of the mountain had turned to rain over night, while it remained snow for the top 3/4 of the mountains. I started once again from the Blackcomb day lodge as the lines are quite manageable and it doesn't have the crush that Whistler's base has. I got on the lift about 9:15 as things run a bit slower with the people I'm here with, but still it wasn't a problem as the entire alpine was closed when I arrived. I did a couple warm-up runs off the jersey cream lift and then got on line for the Glacier Express, which had yet to open.

At around 10:10 the Glacier express opened and I literally got first tracks in the Alpine area. They had received around 15 inches since that area was last opened. The snow was much denser than the powder found in Utah or Colorado, but nonetheless was fun. Certain lines were better than others depending on the wind, as some of the snow got wind packed, and was pretty dense. Other lines were pure fluff, it just depended on where the wind had been heading. I spent about 2 hours up in the Blackcomb alpine/ glacier before it became quite skied out. Luckily for me Nikki called and said she wanted to ski. I then headed back down to the base of Blackcomb.

The run down was literally represented by 2 seasons. It had perfect powder, and mid-winter pack for a bunch of it, and then around the base of the excalibur lift, the snow turned to rain induced corn. The rain induced corn was fabulous!

After I met up with Nikki we ran a few laps off Excalibur, where she really enjoyed herself. I'm so happy to see her progress as she is easily linking turns, and getting comfortable with speed. She enjoyed the blue runs more than the greens today. Her favorite was the corn at the bottom of the mountain, as she commented on how easy it was to turn. I told her we should go to Utah next spring where she can enjoy sun with her corn.

It is amazing how quickly she has progressed. I'm pleased that she is very enthusiastic, and comfortable with skis on her feet. In a couple of years she could be right next to me, looking for powder in the trees! Anyhow, photos to come. I'm sorry I didn't take pictures of the powder as the competition was fierce.
 
Have you tried the peak-to-peak gondola yet? Apologies in advance if you already mentioned it on one of your earlier threads... If you did take it, is it worth it from an advanced skier's perspective?

I'm specifically curious if it allows you to catch the best of the alpine on both mountains in one day. Or maybe it's too slow and crowded to make the ride worth it (essentially the same as going to the bottom and back up)?
 
Peak to Peak has

1. Great views
2. No lines
3. Dramatically shortens alpine to alpine transit time and saves you a potentially icky run out to the bottom

The only minuses

1. Not so pretty to look at from the Singing Pass hiking trail
2. They could have improved the day skier parking lot for the $50 million and had money left over

Enjoy it. It is safe to say that massive capital improvements like P2P and the new Jackson Tram will be on hold for the next few years.
 
rsmith":2ijsjicf said:
Have you tried the peak-to-peak gondola yet?
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Yeah I did it on the one sunny day I had while I was there. Certainly the views are something awesome.

rsmith":2ijsjicf said:
I'm specifically curious if it allows you to catch the best of the alpine on both mountains in one day. Or maybe it's too slow and crowded to make the ride worth it (essentially the same as going to the bottom and back up)?
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It's not that it's crowded, but the issue seemed to me that it would be impractical on a powder day to try to get fresh on both mountains using the P2P. Because, at least in December, the sun rises so late, most of the alpine doesn't open till about 10-11:30. That completely negates the early bird gets the bird mentality that prevails in places like Utah and Colorado. That is even further evident when the storms drop copious amounts of snow in the alpine areas, but the bottom 1/2 of the mountain gets rain. The end result is that it's probably better to focus on one mountain to get first tracks, and then hunt for stashes as the day/week goes on.

The one thing I will say is that there are plenty of stashes. Especially in the trees. Unlike mountains like Alta, where the Locals can overrun the powder stashes within a day at most. Whistler seems to be more dominated by tourist who aren't so keen on venturing into the trees or making tricky traverses and hikes for fresh tracks.
 
P2P would be useful if

1. You were at Whistler on a storm day
2. The Whistler Alpine was closed
3. You noticed on the lightboard that Glacier Express was open

From Glacier you can hit Pakalolo with a short hike or maybe get some Spanky's. This happened during a visit a few years ago. Going the other way, I could see wanting to end a day with a Flute hike after skiing the powder in the Blackcomb alpine. Lots of options...

I have no opinion on whether the Alta locals (I have had a pass for the last 11 years) or the Whistler locals (I live in Seattle and have an Edge card) are faster at tracking out their respective mountains. The Whistlerites have a bigger job, there are areas of marginal snow conditions below the alpine zones that may stay less tracked because they are less fun, and they may be waiting out the holiday crowds to get their mountain back.
 
Skrad":1jdilp3r said:
P2P would be useful if

1. You were at Whistler on a storm day
2. The Whistler Alpine was closed
3. You noticed on the lightboard that Glacier Express was open

From Glacier you can hit Pakalolo with a short hike or maybe get some Spanky's.
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IMHO if you were on Whistler and noticed that Glacier express opened up, by the time you got there from the P2P, the vast majority of the terrain would be skied out. That is unless they timed the openings of Spanky's and/or the Glacier itself.
Skrad":1jdilp3r said:
I have no opinion on whether the Alta locals... are faster at tracking out their respective mountains. The Whistlerites have a bigger job, there are areas of marginal snow conditions below the alpine zones that may stay less tracked because they are less fun, and they may be waiting out the holiday crowds to get their mountain back.
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I would respect your opinion above mine. I found some stashes, albeit I had to traverse and hike, in the trees at the right side of the symphony bowl at least 4 days after the last storm. It was very dry snow.

You probably make a good point about the holiday crowds, although I would say I never waited on a lift-line for more than 2 minutes.
 
rfarren":2q88nor9 said:
The rain induced corn was fabulous!
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A somewhat rare condition, but I caught it once at Baldy and was amazingly surprised.

rfarren":2q88nor9 said:
I told her we should go to Utah next spring where she can enjoy sun with her corn.
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You must not have been reading the April reports here. Your chances of corn are much higher here in the Sierra than in Utah. It continues to snow in Utah in spring with enough frequency that there is often not enough time for the snow to settle into corn. If you really want corn I recommend Mt. Bachelor. Mt. Bachelor is also high percentage intermediate, so Nikki will be able to ski much more of the mountain than in LCC.

rsmith":2q88nor9 said:
I'm specifically curious if it allows you to catch the best of the alpine on both mountains in one day.
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For what it's worth Extremely Canadian sticks to one mountain each day of their clinics. With fresh powder they go for Whistler the first day as the best skiable lines are more directly accessible. They believe the second day leftovers are better at Blackcomb because of runs like the chutes out of Secret Bowl and Spanky's Ladder, which require more local navigation skills and longer turnaround time.
 
Tony Crocker":7vqyld8c said:
rfarren":7vqyld8c said:
The rain induced corn was fabulous!
Click to expand...
A somewhat rare condition, but I caught it once at Baldy and was amazingly surprised.
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I've had this experience in the east coast a bunch. Rain snow isn't bad until it freezes again.


rfarren":7vqyld8c said:
I told her we should go to Utah next spring where she can enjoy sun with her corn.
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You must not have been reading the April reports here. Your chances of corn are much higher here in the Sierra than in Utah. It continues to snow in Utah in spring with enough frequency that there is often not enough time for the snow to settle into corn. If you really want corn I recommend Mt. Bachelor. Mt. Bachelor is also high percentage intermediate, so Nikki will be able to ski much more of the mountain than in LCC.
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The high sierra seems to be a better choice for march/april. I would like to hit bachelor if it is still open by mid june. I'll heed your advice.
Tony Crocker":7vqyld8c said:
For what it's worth Extremely Canadian sticks to one mountain each day of their clinics. With fresh powder they go for Whistler the first day as the best skiable lines are more directly accessible. They believe the second day leftovers are better at Blackcomb because of runs like the chutes out of Secret Bowl and Spanky's Ladder, which require more local navigation skills and longer turnaround time.
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I almost signed up for the extremely canadian clinic this trip, but with my family the logistics of it were hard. Besides I had a tough time committing the money for it as our wedding is fast approaching.
 
The high sierra seems to be a better choice for march/april.
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Despite my personal track record, I would prefer LCC in March as powder incidence is still at mid-winter maximum. Mammoth is probably more consistent for snow surfaces starting a week or two into April. Mammoth like Bachelor is much more intermediate friendly for Nikki than LCC.
I would like to hit bachelor if it is still open by mid june.
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it's not, and probably won't be as long as Powdr Corp is in charge. The optimal time is first 3 weeks of April. The month after that about half the terrain is lift accessible and the mountain closes at 1:30. Closing weekend is one week before Memorial Day for the Pole, Pedal, Paddle event. Mammoth is a better bet in May/early June as lifts and hours of operation will be tailored to conditions.

I do not recommend coming out here from the East any later than Memorial Day unless you're doing a lot of other things besides skiing.
 
Tony Crocker":2mqrm1b7 said:
rfarren":2mqrm1b7 said:
I told her we should go to Utah next spring where she can enjoy sun with her corn.
Click to expand...
You must not have been reading the April reports here. Your chances of corn are much higher here in the Sierra than in Utah. It continues to snow in Utah in spring with enough frequency that there is often not enough time for the snow to settle into corn. If you really want corn I recommend Mt. Bachelor. Mt. Bachelor is also high percentage intermediate, so Nikki will be able to ski much more of the mountain than in LCC.
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While we can certainly get good corn in April, the prime time for a more certain bet is late April - late May. Of course by then you only have Snowbird for lift served. And you no longer have a 9a - 4:30p ski day; more like 10:30a - 2p, depending on aspect and recent temps.
 
Mammoth salts the groomed runs in May, one of the reasons the window of pleasant ski conditions is usually longer than at Snowbird. Mt. Bachelor salted in 1990, but I'd check with schubwa whether that's still happening under Powdr Corp. In April salting is rarely necessary yet, and some of the shady exposures may still have winter conditions.
 
Well Nikki also likes the wintery conditions as well. March would be the next time we could really go out together for a trip out west. It would probably be better for us to just watch the forecast, and pay attention to FTO's eastern forum for some good ol' local corn.
 
I didn't take any shots up on the alpine where there was a ton of untracked. Mainly for two reasons: 1, my camera skills, and 2, the competition for first tracks was fierce. However, I did get some shots from the afternoon, when I skied with Nikki.
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Big Smile...thank you the 600 bones on the new custom boot liners and footbeds.
:mrgreen: :stir:
 
As most of you know I'm a strong advocate of the custom footbeds. The effect upon my skiing was immediate and dramatic at Snowbird in 1981. They do need to be done by someone who is very well trained so that the foot and lower leg are aligned perfectly. The odds that Nikki's were done right are substantially higher in Whistler IMHO than if they had been done in NYC. Mine were done by Scott Brooksbank.

I know Harold Harb is very respected, but I must disagree with his contention that ski boot footbeds should not be rigid. If you want immediate response at your edges from subtle lower leg and ankle pressure I don't think what's underfoot should be mushy.
 
Actually, Tony, I believe that the leading ski boot fitter (or one of the best boot fitters) in the world is located in NYC - Jeff Rich (I believe his office is on Madison Ave in mid-town Manhatten), whom many people consider to be the Michaelangelo of ski boot fitters. He is the founder and director of the "Masterfit University" and has trained many boot fitters around the country. Many skiers swear by his expertise.
 
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