Well, it had to happen. With awesome snow conditions, and the Christmas break, the crowds have found their way to Whistler. The lift lines were non existent up until Boxing Day, then the cars rolled into town, and all the Christmas holiday makers arrived.  Things could be worse though, the snow is still amazing, and with new snow constantly falling ( although only a few cms a day ) the skiing is still as good as you could want. The only problems  are found  on the main groomed runs, mainly because a lot of the holiday makers are intermediate  skiers  ( at best  ). The groomers are generally busy, with a lot of people pushing a lot of snow around, instead of ‘carving’ it so to speak. This is resulting in some places being exposed down to the rain crust we got a few weeks ago, and others are being turned into mogul cities by the end of the day. However, if you are an advanced to expert skier, do not worry, the conditions all over the resort are epic, and once you get away from all the ‘casual’ skiers, some really good snow and awesome lines are to be found.  If you are one of the casual skiers I just referred to, it’s all okay too. Everyone I have spoken to ( in lift lines, gondolas etc ) are ecstatic at the current conditions, and are claiming to be having their best Christmas ever ( maybe a slight exaggeration by some, but you get the point ).

The snow base is still hovering around 175 cm, with constant flurries keeping the snow soft and making the groomers a pure delight (first thing in the morning that is). Temperatures in the alpine are still quite cold, around -8 to -10. Makes for chilly chair rides, but also makes for great snow.

Now for the really good news, the weather forecast. Whistler is expecting another big storm system to come through around the New Year. Around 100 cm or more is expected to fall in the next week, with the majority of it coming around Wednesday the 2nd. The freezing level will rise, but not too high, with snow above the bottom of the main skiing areas.

To sum up the Christmas / New Years period for the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort for 2007 / 8. It appears to be a case of plenty of people, and plenty of fresh powder.