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| New Snow | 0 cm | 7 Day Snow | 0 cm | Snowbase | 125 cm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine Temp | -7 °C | Valley Temp | -6 °C | Conditions | Hard Packed |
The Peak and Symphony chairs on Whistler mountain are going to open tomorrow – finally !!
We have waited all season for this news, and now that it is becoming a reality, everyone is so-so. While Symphony region will provide some decent skiing, the majority of the stuff off Peak chair will either be closed, or at best average conditions. Too bad they didn’t open back when we had all that soft powder snow (and the high avalanche risk..)
Skiing off-piste is slowly getting better, and I enjoyed a couple of runs today off the groomed path – but it still has a while to go before it becomes ‘great’ skiing. The cold weather has helped the snow to dry out, which makes it softer, but it still has a hard ‘underlayer’ to it.
I was planning on taking tomorrow off (since it is Saturday) but may have to go up and check out these chairs.
So this is great news in that WB believe the avalanche risk has lowered enough to open this terrain. All we need now is some snow to make skiing these steep lines worthwhile – and snow is on the way !! Contrary to some websites, I am of the belief we wont see any snow until February (maybe a few days before). I also think that once it does start snowing, it will be consistently snowing for at least a week if not two weeks 
Expect the best skiing to still be the groomers for a while, but with the Peak chair opening (and Symphony) AND with snow on the way, the future is looking brighter
Update: Forgot to mention – both Spankys ladder and the Blackcomb Glacier are OPEN
Hi Greg,
According to snow-forecast.com it looks like the snow is on its way at the end of next week, but they’re also calling for significant rain fall in the valley (like 1.5 inches+). Right now it’s riiiiight on the border of freezing (36F) they’re calling for, so I’m hoping it may drop a few degrees or maybe even just get some “smoo” (better than rain, right?).
Hi Greg,
That’s great news! Obviously, I’m sure people (including myself) are really hoping for the steep stuff up there to get good but it’s moving in the right direction, and to be honest, I’ve really been hoping for weeks that we’d be able to ski Peak to Creek when we get out there 2 weeks from today — sounds like that should work out (fingers crossed). Anyway, as always, thanks for the awesome updates. Enjoy the newly opened terrain and keep us posted!
Charlie
Hey Chris, lets hope we get plenty of precipitation come the end of this month into February, and yes Smoo is way better than rain….
Hi Charlie, cheers for the donation. Now that the Peak chair is open, I would expect the Peak to Creek to be open. It is below the treeline, and the avalanche danger has been ‘low’ there for a while now. I will be up there tomorrow and am keen to ski it myself, so will let you know what it is like
Hi all
Peak to Creek was closed today which was a bummer. Any idea why?
Hi Ali, thanks for letting me know. I presumed that with the Peak chair open, it makes sense to have ‘Highway 86′ open which leads to Peak to Creek. I can’t think of why the P2C would be closed, except for maybe they haven’t got around to grooming it ? (to fill in any ditches and stuff) but since they have all season to get it ready, that is really not an acceptable excuse.
I will be skiing tomorrow, and will check it out myself, and find out some answers !!
I just wanted to clarify an answer for Ali.
Basically Peak to Creek would be open if we were allowed to get to it. Unfortunately, in order to get to it, ski patrol has to open certain runs / areas which would allow people to access areas still deemed unsafe.
A bit of a shame, but that’s the way it is.
Hi Greg
We ducked ropes today to check out P2C. (the area is out of the ski boundary but not ‘closed’). Highway 86 was groomed and really nice snow but P2C wasn’t groomed at all. The upper part was good fun as the snow was still quite soft but the lower P2C was awful, lumpy and icy. We couldn’t see any reason why they hadn’t groomed it though and why it’s not open. Do you think it may be because of the downturn with visitor numbers are down? Even WB are making cutbacks?
I think it is because of what I said in my previous comment. It is easier to keep Highway 86 ‘beyond the ski area boundary’ then it is to open it, and prevent people from entering all (the many) ‘closed’ areas that are accessed via it.
This way anyone who gets ‘accidentally’ caught up by an incident in a closed zone (whether they had anything to do with starting it or not) can not hold WB liable (since they are outside the ski area).
That is my guess, and only a guess.
It is possible that WB is simply saving money – but I find it unlikely for a few reasons
1. They are grooming Highway 86 anyway, they would like to open it
2. They have enough bad publicity, and they want all the good they can get – and opening as much terrain as possible is good publicity.
3. Peak to Creek is a recognized run internationally, and as such is a priority on the WB list of ‘things to open’ .