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| New Snow | 1 cm | 7 Day Snow | 8 cm | Snowbase | 123 cm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine Temp | -10 °C | Valley Temp | +1 °C | Conditions | Hard Packed Groomers / Soft Off Piste |
I actually had some nice runs today, with the best being the 2 through the Blackcomb Glacier where I found boot deep powder. While ‘boot deep’ is something we Whistlerites normally yawn at – today I was stoked to find it (yup its been that kind of season). The only down side – it was only the first pitch of the Glacier that was good, once you turned the corner and headed past the bottom of the Gem Bowls (Spankys Ladder region) it was pretty nasty – with an icy, hard packed cat track the only real option.
Diamond Bowl
That is the view looking up Diamond Bowl, which is the middle of Spanky Ladders and normally my favorite bowl of the lot. Normally, you would not see any (maybe 1 or 2) rocks in this picture – this year there are quite a few! For those of you who know the area, check out my Whistler Photos from January 2009 – the 3rd and 4th pages have the Jan 31st photos – there are quite a few from the Spankys and surrounding area (Corona, Husume, Poop Chutes). You will be shocked at the lack of snow !!
I have just realised that I don’t have many photos of the Spankys region, but if you look at this photo taken in Corona Bowl, February 16th 2008
Spankys from Corona Bowl
the very middle of the photo is Sapphire Bowl – which is the same area shown in the photo below (taken today).
Sapphire Bowl
I have made a mental note to get pictures of areas like this for future comparisons…..
Suffice to say – a lot less snow back there compared to last year (or any of my previous seasons).
Back to today, after a few nice runs in the glacier I made my way over to 7th and enjoyed a couple of (basically) groomer runs there. The snow is becoming really nice on the upper third of the mountains 
Afterwards I took the Peak 2 Peak (back) to Whistler and took a run down the ‘Peak to Creek’. Once again it was a real eye opener just getting there (with all the exposed rocks) and quite a few times I was thinking to myself ‘I normally go this way, but today I have to take a different route due to that big rock band in my way…’ In the end, Peak to Creek is open, but un-groomed, and as such is basically one long mogul run – not all that fun. The snow was actually quite good all the way down (except for maybe the last few pitches). By the end I had a real good thigh burn going !!!
Blunty, the snow is a lot better now – we just need more of it to cover up all the exposed rocks. Off-piste is getting good (just watch out for hidden rocks and logs). The groomed runs are still quite hard packed / with the occasional icy patch (East Coast people are going to laugh at what I call ice).
Not much snow in the forecast 
I hope that changes soon, otherwise these currently good conditions wont last long.
We’re hoping for a big dump too. Heading over to Whistler on Sat (from Malaysia) and can’t wait. Am shocked how bare Spanky’s is. Pakapoopoo, as we call it, can’t be great either, I suspect.
Thanks again for the great updates. Much appreciated.
I still haven’t even been to the Blackcomb Glacier, I know it’s a sad scene.
Also, I injured my knee yesterday and of course I’m out for two weeks starting the first day of snow in two weeks.
Nick, I realize you must’ve skied the glacier before, so you know what it can be like. Right now it is pretty bare, but still great skiing on the first pitch. In fact, the Blowhole is looking awesome, and will be the line I take first thing tomorrow. It is really wide and not so steep, basically the best I have seen it for a long time.