Advice for whistler

gotti

Active member
Soooooo I just recently recieved some of the greatest news of my life. My dad told me we are going to whistler over christmas vacation. Now I am 19 and have been skiing forever, and I have never skied anywhere outside of new england. the most powder I have ever hit is 6 inches on a closed lift trail at sugarbush. My number one goal is to slash some pow so i need some advice as to where to go or what to do because I have no idea where to begin. Will whistler have much snow around christmas? what are the best areas? i want some serious insider info.
 
Better hope for some snow. Was up there today, needs sooooo much more snow, it's been really dry. Like hope for multiple meters by christmas. It's all grass below 1100m.

Black park is shaping up pretty nicely though, if you care about that at all.

 
Harmony and Syphony get busy as fuck, but are nice for pow.

If peak on whistler is open hit that up.

7th heaven on blackcomb is great for views with the family.

For strictly rails whistler park.

For one of the best jump lines ever black park.

If the jumps are all built up by Christmas watch for speed cause it changes a lot.

 
This is all really true. Also just keep exploring cause there's a bunch of places (all around the mountain) that can have hidden stashes if you go into the trees a bit
 
go suck a dick. and to think I thought people would actually help me out... but no I get the clever, selfish douchebags
 
for an east coaster, harmony and symphony are kinda mindblowing, even if they are crowded. rent some fatties, stay out of the park, and take advantage of everything you can't get back east
 
as a 19 year old who just came home from whis, here is some advice- bring all the money you think you're gonna need... and multiply it by 2. whis is expensive as balls. its like 14 bucks for a sixer of PBR. and since it'll probably be your first time being of legal drinking age, you're definitely gonna wanna be hammered the whole time, and that shit will add up quick.

- hit on snowbunnies, they're everywhere. even if you fail 90% of the time, there are a plethora of replacements, so the numbers are on your side. its the mecca of snowbunnies/snowmilfs

- be prepared for long lines as you are going at the busiest time of year

- make sure you spend all that candian money in whistler that you got as change for your junior chicken at mcdicks, because as soon as you get home that shit is worse than monopoly money. its only value is as a fuel for a heat source, because whistler will have drained all your money and you will no longer be able to splurge on heat in your own home.

 
Replace PBR with Cariboo, otherwise fairly accurate. And it's $7.88 at BCL but it's warm.

El furniture warehouse is $5 for everything on the menu, it's alright. The Old shagetti factory is pretty cheap and you can get hella filled up on breadsticks and pasta for like $10.

But I guess you're with the fam so screw this advice and eat at the best places.

If you get a sick pow day, go to peak for a show/to huck your meat. Otherwise just explore around, you'll have a ton of fun just finding whatever wherever.
 
Honestly, Whistler over Christmas break gets skied out so fast it's crazy. Your best bet is to try and find a local to guide you around otherwise you will probably never find any fresh tracks and/or you will die.

Relevant video:

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Definately Peak Chair and Harmony on Whistler, and 7th heaven and crystal on Blackcomb. and spankys if theres new snow:) i miss that place so much
 
locals are dicks, the liftlines are long, and the restaurants are full. stay in creekside, then you can eat lunch at your hotel, never go to symphony, the new crystal chair is legit, and glacier chair on a sunny day will take you to the goods.

oh and the ski bunnies will be popping off.
 
hopefully you will black out every night and lie to all the girls in the clubs telling them you are a pro skier so they will sleep with you..... and maybe ski.... a halfday
 
As will powder said, Whistler has been dry this year. Christmas is a zoo in whistler, but you will have fun regardless.

Whis often gets a nice dump or two during the holidays, so hopefully you get some slashes. I really can't describe where to go for snow, but if you simply want one slash and she hasn't been snowing, go to 7th heaven, and go far skier's left to booter ville, and there will probably be a few patches of flat untouched snow. Locals will laugh and you can cream your eastern pow virgin pants.
 
Listen to the advice on here use it as an opportunity to party and drink legally and hit on hotties. My trick to getting drunk at the bar and not spending a lot is to get some flavored vokda, put it in a water bottle, and then mix it with a water you order at the bar. Have one bud light that you nurse and let last hours and discreetly keep filling your water up with vodka and ordering more waters. If you want to post up at a bar and chill and meet people and funds are an issue do this. Flavored vodka and water is a really tasty drink too, I should drink it more often even though I only do it when I have to do this somewhere too pricey for me.

Its 3 weeks out still but I think some places are going to completely blow snow-wise over Xmas so Whistlers should be a lot better than anywhere not fully open with a huge base even if its not prime time. Have fun!

 
The outlook sucks right now, nothing substantial in the 10 day forecast. The mountains need at least 2 meters of good snow before much will be skiable.
 
Nope, it will not be dope. I've toured up both mountains in recent times and coverage is brutal. Easily the worst in 5-6 seasons (for this time of year). Smooth slopes high up are OK (Flute, Couloir/Cirque) but after 5,000 idiots side slip them they won't be much fun. Unless you don't mind logs/rocks, forget about Crystal (other than the groomers) until at least another 60-100cm falls.

 
if you cant find anyone to show you around go to one of the whistler stores ( canski or any store in the main lodge) and ask for the advanced expert guide book. this might sound stupid but for someone who has not skied at whis before, like your self, the size can be a little mind fucking and the book has a good reference point to start exploring the mountain from. I got one of these to find out what different people call the runs i had been skiing and i was surprised to find a tun of stuff i had never thought existed.
 
*BUMP*

Whistler was good when I went up thursday. They just opened up the brand new crystal chair, the terrain over there is unreal when the mountain gets dumped on. I would recommend the burnt down forest where the wild fire was. Once you get off crystal chair take a right and you can't miss it.

I would be careful though because if you go right too soon when you enter the forest you end up getting cliffed out and you need to back track. Blackcombe has yet to open 7th heaven and all of their alpine so look out for that over christmas break. Also whistler peak just opened up, I haven't heard much about it though.

Overall whistler is OKAY at best right now. They are starting to get a decent base layer but they need a good dumping.
 
Was up Whistler on Wednesday. Peak was open but Harmony and Symphony were closed. Hiked into Harmony and everything is already skied out even though it's not open yet. Typical Whistler hounds. Also West Bowl was closed but skied into there anyway, also skied out. Snow in general was heavy with a very thin crust layer on top. I hope it snows there soon because they're hurting so badly right now.
 
do not take one of these unless you want to slowly ski around the mountain and stop every 30 seconds to talk about some random whistler history

I was up today and the conditions were not a problem, i would prefer more snow(like always) but had tons of fun skiing red and emerald regardless, no lines as well which is nice because in about a week or two it will be packed.
 
Extreme couloir was actually pretty rad today, same with one of the chutes further down the ridge. Snow wasn't amazing but was soft enough. Nice to ski something steeper for the first time this winter.
 
I am taking a trip to Whistler the last week in January. Is the snow really that bad? Do you think they will get snow by late January? I checked their records, and it seems like they are way behind schedule.
 
Haha, this is basically it.

Whistler is a complete zoo during Christmas time, but, having never skied outside of New England, you're going to have a great time. It's a huge area that will make you feel lost. It's hard to say where you'll find snow. If it's a pow day, it really comes down to timing of chair openings and where people are skiing. Sometimes certain areas really load up, sometimes they don't. Regardless, just get out and explore and you'll find some fun stuff. I've had good days on a ton of different chairs on both Black Comb and Whistler. If you're having fun, stay somewhere until you're not having fun anymore. You can waste a ton of time transiting around and feeling like you're missing out on some shit.

It's impossible to say if they're going to get a dump at any particular time, or by a certain time. It just snows when it wants to snow.

If you want to drink, just do it. It's your first time being legal drinking age, spend a few bucks. That shit about the flavoured vodka and water has to be the most Aussie shithead thing I've read on here.
 
This is entirely too true. Don't ruin your trip to Whistler by getting kicked out of a few bars by trying to save a few dollars. Sack up and spend a few bucks wile you're in Whist and go home with some great stories to tell. It's going to be busy as everyone else said but providing you're coming for the right reasons you'll have a great time
 
I don't know if you caught this, but Rob Heule just did a guide to Whistler. It's on point. I guess I'd like to add that I like getting apres beers at Citta's in the village square on the patio. They've got those gas heaters so you can do this in the winter if it's not crazy cold. It's probably my favourite spot in the village for people watching and due to it's locations, you're going to run into people you know (or maybe just met!).

 
Terrible advice. Yeah it's a fun area if you know where you're going but this guy not only doesn't know where he's going, he doesn't know the area at all and has never skied outside of New England so doesn't necessarily recognize the risks. Without someone along who knows what they're doing you really shouldn't go into areas where there's a good chance of getting cliffed out.
 
nope it still sucks, you, everyone else planing a trip, and anyone thinking about coming up from Vancouver shouldn't

i grabbed this picture of the conditions yesterday, its getting better but still pretty rough 683772.jpeg
 
This past weekend was awesome, truly amazing powder skiing. Too bad it now looks like 2+ weeks of high pressure and warm temps are coming back in. Sorry bud, winter's over, you missed it.
 
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