After a great powder day at Crystal, Jill and I drove to Whistler for a couple days. The drive from Vancouver to Whistler has a lot of construction with reduced speed limits and numerous lane changes that have movable cones. We drove part way in the evening and the lane changes are rather difficult to see. It was much easier during the daylight hours. The Shell 2 for 1 coupon is now valid so 2 tickets cost $83c. We parked the camper overnight in lot 4 near Whistler village. We moved in the morning to Creekside where there is an over height vehicle lot a short 50 yard walk to the gondola.
There was good coverage which allowed skiing to the base area. There was packed powder on the upper mountain and firm / spring conditions from mid mountain to the base. The coverage is very good but lower than previous seasons. Both ski areas were deserted. In all the years I’ve skied here, I’ve never seen it so quiet. How deserted? Both days we skied the groomer, Blue Line that starts at the top of the 7th Heaven lift and ends at the base of the Glacier Express chair. We did not share or see another person on the groomer the entire length both days. We were riding the Harmony Express chair and saw 7 people on the lift ahead of us and no one skiing the entire Harmony Bowl which had packed powder conditions. We skied the Dave Murray Downhill run mid day which was groomed and only had one skier pass us. It was amazingly quiet. So we just cruised until the quads, knees and hips burned. The Canadian National Ski Cross and Boarder Cross teams were training on the course next to Springboard on Blackcomb and that was a treat. We also watched the kids flying out of the half pipe. My knees were aching just watching their landings. The new Peak 2 Peak gondola was so deserted you could walk right on. There are 2 silver gondola cars that have a clear see thru floor area. We started each day on Whistler on the east facing terrain that softened early and took the gondola to Blackcomb for the long cruisers which softened by noon. It is a very convenient way to ski both mountains. FWIW. They also changed their Trail Map this season. It’s been simplified and the main trails are colored by difficulty level. It’s different. I prefer my older versions which I’ve saved. The Telus Ski and Snowboard Festival begins Friday, April 17 through April 26 so I think the crowds will be arriving for the party. It’s time to head for Oregon and then the Eastern Sierra.
