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| New Snow | 0 cm | 7 Day Snow | Might as well be Zero | Snowbase | 145 cm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine Temp | +7 °C | Valley Temp | -2 °C | Conditions | Variable |
It seems like a while since I update this site, as I did not ski yesterday and it is already night time now. Anyway, with the current inversion (cold air in the valley, hot air up top) we have conditions that are really fun to ski in, and perfect for Spring – unfortunately it is January, and we are supposed to be in the middle of winter. This season is one for the books….
Still, 7th Heaven was really nice, the snow is actually quite cold and great to carve on. The air temperature may be +8 or so, but the snow seems more like snow you get around +1 or even lower. In fact, the whole mountain seems a lot colder than the reported air temperatures – you only feel the heat while you are in the sun. In the shade, it is pretty cold, and the snow is definitely hard to medium packed (read Crystal Zone = hard snow)
Whistler mountain opened its T-bars today for the first time – and allowed access into the Harmony zone. I was on Blackcomb, but heard the snow was pretty good, with a slight crust to the top.
The lower mountain, where most beginners stay, is borderline ice in the morning and full on slush in the afternoon after the sun has baked it all day. Note to beginners, going higher up the mountain does not necessarily mean ‘harder’ terrain. On Whistler, Emerald chair is some of the best beginner terrain around, and it is at the top (the current top). So get away from the frozen bottom in the mornings !!!
Everyone I speak to on the chairs is having a great time – there isn’t much better than skiing soft snow in bright sunlight. So those people who come here for a weeks holidays, they are actually happy right now. For people like myself, we want good snow for the whole season,and this current warm spell is not appreciated – although I am enjoying the skiing….
The forecast looks like sun and warm temps for the next week or so….
I took the following video while riding the Catskinner chair. It is the chair that goes over the ‘Black’ terrain park and lets you watch people do some big jumps. Worth a ride for anyone.
Thanks for the update! Can’t say that I’ve ever done any spring snowboarding before, but sounds like it could be a lot of fun. I’ve definitely become cautiously optimistic about what I’ve got to look forward to next week. Keep up the great reports!
As you say, the runs at 7th Heaven were really nice this morning, though towards the bottom it was a bit like skiing on Grape Nuts Cereal. But the top 2/3 was fabulous.
We had the misfortune of riding the lift with a young Aussie snowboarder who felt the need to express his horrifyingly racist views and bizarre paranoid conspiracy theories. It put a bit of a pall on the morning, but everyone else we’ve met has been lovely, or at least benign.
This afternoon we did a bunch of runs on Rock & Roll, which had soft snow and offered a lot of great opportunities to catch a little air. And NO lift lines! I highly recommend it for others who like more challenging blues. And of course the waffles at Crystal Hut were phenomenal.
Today was our last day here. Happy to say, our fears of drizzle and slush did not materialize. We had a fantastic time, and managed to ski first lift until lift closure every day. I can only imagine what WB is like during prime snow conditions. We’ll just have to come back!
The skiing in harmony was pretty good, but limited by the fact that only 1 t-bar was open and the que was 10+ mins. They must of been fairly eager to open it up, they haven’t yet built a snow-wall at the top for the t-bars to bounce against when you let go of them. They were trying to get people to hold on to the t’s until the thing was heading back down the hill (so that it swung away from the pole at the top). Hopefully they open the chair there soon.
To my fellow Aussies making the trek over who are wondering if they’ve blown thousands of dollars to ski in Thredbo-style slush, rest assured you haven’t. I got here yesterday expecting the worst only to find that even in the 7*C day time and 5*C overnight alpine temps the snow is still dry & fast most of the way down the mtn (in the late afternoon). It still beats anything you’d ever find in Australia, hands down. Its great fun.
Greg, thanks for answering my question about the inverted temps, it makes sense now I’m here.
Andrea, there is nothing more Unaustralian than a genuine racist. You should of pushed the bastard off the chair.
So with conditions like these, would you say it is really bad? Is it going to be like European resorts in March/April where everything is melting and the grass and rocks are showing through? !
Its lookiing like it will start to get colder towards the end of next week with a small amount of snow falling on friday. Fingers crossed.
We thought about it… it would have been nice to see him dangling with his arse in the wind.
I don’t belive it ! Last year I went to Meribel 1st week in March to ski on horrendous sludge for 8 days. I figured – go to Canada in Jan/Feb and it will be freezing. Nope – seem to have got that completely wrong. At least I’m not coming until 24th when it should have cooled down and they can make some snow but how bad will the base be by then ? If I don’t get a powder day or two in my 10 day stay I’ll be a deeply unhappy camper. Do you thing there’s any chance of Symphony being open by then ?
Thanks for a great blog ! The only decent Whistler weather resource out there.
PS Sorry forgot to ask – are any of the hashed black gladed runs open ? The official website appears to suggest no.
Phill,
Was on a t-bar with a local today who reckons there is basically zero chance of Symphony opening this season and that they’d be lucky to see the Peak, Harmony chair or Blackcomb glacier open at all.
But the snow is hardly sludge, and from what I saw today on Blackcomb most of the gladed runs are open.
Steve, that is the way the Whistler T-bars always are. No wall to let the T go into, so they want you to hold onto it until it has made it’s way around the bullwheel. Well, that’s the way it has always been since I have been here.
Tim, the conditions are not bad, in fact they are good ! The only ‘bad’ thing is the high avalanche danger which means they cannot open the steep terrain. The terrain that is open, for the most part, has good snow and good coverage (not awesome like normal, but good enough).
Phil, most of the gladed runs are open on both mountains, but you need to be careful in some of them. The Blackcomb ones have decent coverage, while some of the Whistler ones are not that good.
As for Symphony chair, it cannot open until the open Harmony chair (since you need to ride Harmony to be able to get to Symphony) so the chances of it opening is pretty small.
Like Steve mentions, there is little chance of Peak,Harmony,Symphony, Blackcomb Glacier, Spankys, Lakeside being open in the near future (and some of those may be shut all season) – well they might be able to open late in the season, but by then all the ‘good powder’ days are over.
It is surprising how hard the snow is considering the air temperatures. Not slushy at all – for the most part.