We were supposed to drive up to Whistler on Monday, but a nasty stomach flu hit on Saturday night that took me down until Monday night. The Superbowl was painful in more ways than one! So, drove up yesterday and hit the mountain today.
Left the bottom gloom looking at the low snow at the bottom and hit sun at mid mountain. Whistler is doing a great job making snow at the bottom of the mountain so you can ski down to the base, even at Creekside, but your options of runs are limited. From mid-mountain up, coverage is pretty good and far better than my local Crystal mountain. The sun that stayed with us most of the day exceeded my expectations as well as the snow coverage. Snow conditions were variable. Everything from ice, to hard-pack, to packed powder. Unfortunately, Sudan and Peak chair were a lot of blue ice moguls and no takers. Harmony Bowl on the Whistler side skied the best. On the Blackcomb side, Secret Chute actually had some powder stashes in it. Also great on the Blackcomb side was Aurther's Choice, even though it was officially outside the temporary ski area boundary, meaning it wasn't patrolled. Dodging the logs and stumps all the way down in nice packed powder with huge bumps was a blast. Bark Sandwich on the way out was also a hoot. Towards the bottom, not a lot of choices, but ended up on School Marm which is normally a groomed blue run. But today, big slushy bumps and a great surprise at the end.
Forecast is calling for 7K snow levels, high winds, and lots of moisture the next several days. They are calling for lot's of new snow at the very top, but if winds keep the top closed, everything else will be rain. Will have to monitor on a daily basis with maybe Saturday being a really big day.
