Whistler, Dec. 1-12, 2025

Tony Crocker

Tony Crocker

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From Larry Schick: We are currently skiing Whistler Dec 1-12. They just opened harmony today ( thu) with excellent coverage. I don’t remember what their early opening schedule was before Vail. I think mountain management is pretty good here with avy work, grooming and getting things open. I skied harmony today- they have tons of snow, could have opened earlier- but kinda thin at the bottom- I’ve seen worse at the bottom
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I would add big powder days to the list of days to avoid. Lol

Christmas through mid-March is madness on weekends. March is my favorite month by far.

Last weekend was pretty quiet on the Blackcomb side. Outside of opening weekend and powder days, I find November and December to be tolerable once the footprint is large enough.

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ChrisC said:
I have been impressed how logging town Squamish has been reborn.
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I never saw it pre-covid, but Squamish has certainly changed considerably in the past few years. It’s quite lovely. I sometimes stay overnight in Squamish if I’m in need of cheap accommodations and don’t want to hassle with day tripping.

This week’s weather could be a toss up. Whistler has a wave of storms incoming. Unfortunately, the freezing levels remain borderline and the mid-mountain elevations where snow is most needed (1700m and below) may not improve all that much if the storms trend warmer like they have so far this season. The alpine will for sure come out ahead.
 
The mountain and the village seemed busier than normal for this time of year last weekend. Granted, I was doing a crevasse rescue course on Blackcomb, but my partner was skiing inbounds and we both noted a lot of folks up from the States. I’m not surprised given the dire situation in WA, but I’m expecting long lift lines and packed lodges for the foreseeable future.
 
Whistler is the only Vail/Epic Pass mountain with semi-decent snow, so I would assume crowding.

Also, Whistler's lift operating hours are ridiculous. Everything meaningful closes by 2:30pm?! The Symphony Lift is only open 4 hours a day?!

That is barely a 6-hour ski day.

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Today's comments and a pic from Larry:
After two weeks skiing here mountain management has really gone down hill. Lifts not running, stop and starts, no open terrain. Vail ruined it by being cheap. A sign said Harmony was open: I got there - not open for an hour.
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I know most of you think I'm a homer, but Jason just posted a similar story about Jay Peak's opener with abundant snow. When Mammoth gets a freak early dump or has a huge snowpack extending into July, it consistently provides a quality ski experience, running enough lifts to prevent lines and keep interesting terrain open. Yes Mammoth has a big seasonal staff that's there only mid-December to third weekend in April, but they also have enough permanent staff to put out a quality product whenever there is enough snow.
 
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I'm somewhat surprised about Whistler. I would expect corporate bean counters to keep a tight leash on the array of third and fourth tier areas Vail took over from Peak Resorts. But Whistler is the equal to Vail itself as a flagship property and it makes no sense whatsoever to degrade it.
 
That's interesting. I remember when they got rid of the weird standing-only gondolas.

It likely needs to be upgraded to a 10-passenger 4,000 capacity/hr like the newer Blackcomb Gondolas and Creekside Gondola.


takeahike46er said:
Sounds like the WVG which desperately needs to be replaced. Avoid it at all costs.
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And 7th Heaven is THE lift that made Blackcomb - huge SW facing slab, glaciers and couloirs. And it's from 1987:


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ChrisC said:
That's interesting. I remember when they got rid of the weird standing-only gondolas.

It likely needs to be upgraded to a 10-passenger 4,000 capacity/hr like the newer Blackcomb
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1000%. Capacity is a major issue but it’s reliability is too. It routinely goes down throughout the day causing headaches for staff and visitors.

Word is it’s a two year job since the current WVG is integrated into buildings at the base and the Roundhouse. Not to mention the disruption it will cause to their summer business.

ChrisC said:
And 7th Heaven is THE lift that made Blackcomb - huge SW facing slab, glaciers and couloirs. And it's from 1987:
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It’s a fossil at this point. Like the WVG, 7th is way under capacity for how popular the terrain is. Not surprising given it’s age, it also has reliability issues which only exacerbate the lines.

I’ve also heard this will be a major replacement since the unloading area cannot accommodate an increase in capacity without major blasting. I’ve also heard the Horstman Hut will need to be removed.
 
takeahike46er said:
It’s a fossil at this point. Like the WVG, 7th is way under capacity for how popular the terrain is. Not surprising given it’s age, it also has reliability issues which only exacerbate the lines.

I’ve also heard this will be a major replacement since the unloading area cannot accommodate an increase in capacity without major blasting. I’ve also heard the Horstman Hut will need to be removed.
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The terrain of 7th Heaven is Blackcomb.

It should be a Euro-like showcase lift - heated seats, bubble, 6-8 passengers. A lot of skiers make it up there for the day, take some runs, and ski down.

Whistler/Blackcomb is definitely among the few areas that can create 30-minute+ lines with high-speed lifts.
 
ChrisC said:
The terrain of 7th Heaven is Blackcomb.

It should be a Euro-like showcase lift - heated seats, bubble, 6-8 passengers. A lot of skiers make it up there for the day, take some runs, and ski down.
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I’m well aware 7th is on Blackcomb. I was making the point that both Whistler Village Gondola and 7th are way under capacity relative to their demand.

Unfortunately, the 7th lift line is too windy for bubbles. A 6 or 8-pack would be lovely. Whenever Vail finally upgrades the capacity, either way it’s going to require completely reworking the load and unloading areas, and possibly removal of the Horstman Hut.

ChrisC said:
Whistler/Blackcomb is definitely among the few areas that can create 30-minute+ lines with high-speed lifts.
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Indeed it is. Even bumps in capacity like the upgrade of Jersey Cream from a 4-pack to a 6-pack have had little noticeable impact on the lines.

I believe W/B needs more lifts to spread people out, particularly at treeline and the lower alpine. The master plan, now well over a decade old, proposed exactly that. Instead, there’s arguably been a reduction in the number of lifts with the loss of the t-bars. Lifts like Peak, 7th, and Symphony each service the equivalent acreage of some ski areas!
 
I have no clue whether visitation is up or down since Vail took over. Given the rapid growth of metro Vancouver, I’d be shocked if it was down.

There could be a number of factors making it feel busier even if visitation is the same or less. Increasingly warm temps at the lower elevations could be pushing more folks into the alpine. Inadequate resources for avalanche control could be reducing the amount of acres available after stormy weather. Too little investment in snowmaking could limit the ability to operate lifts even when much of the terrain is adequately covered with natural snow.
 
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