Whistler Trip Planner - to maximize time/skiing/$

Since I started putting up Whistler trip reports, I've gotten an increasing number of requests for more information. I'm not going to write a book, or tell where every side country secret, is but I do have quite a bit of hard earned information to share. I first skied the old Whistler in the Spring of 1975. I came back in the 90's and them became a Season Pass holder around the year 2,000. I try to ski there a week or more there each month. It is a wonderful, large, complicated area that does take some getting used to. I have often heard of horror stories like long lift lines, traffic jams, bad visibility. Luckily, most difficulties are avoidable with proper planning and flexibility.

Drive Timing/Gear/Tickets/Boarder Crossing

Do not go on Friday afternoon at 3:00! You will get in a traffic jam getting to Everett and Marysville, at the boarder and thru Vancouver. Leave by 11-1 and you will be much better off. Or......leave late if you are not afraid of driving in the dark. There is not a high mountain pass to go over and most of the time the road is great.

Rent your gear ahead of time somewhere else! Don't take a friend without gear that wants to rent at Creekside. You will waste your morning and then get stuck in a Gondola line and be pissed. Treat this as a big deal which it is! Be prepared and don't expect to do things in the morning other than getting to the lift 15 minutes early. If you get there early on Friday then by all means rent gear there.

Get an Edge Pass online and pick it up Friday afternoon in Creekside, Below the GLC in Whistler Village, or in the Blackcomb Daylodge. Early season lines will kill you on Saturday morning.

Dont go home Sunday afternoon from the Village. Everybody else is doing that! It's always a traffic jam. Stay till Monday morning or drive home late, or at least park in Creekside to avoid most of the jam.

Go the Truck crossing every time and stop at the last Duty Free and buy me a bottle for giving you this advise! Follow the Blue overhead sign that says business or Duty Free or something and get a cheap liter of booze. Cut back and merge in and you will never wait more than 20 -25 minutes. No Duty Free at Peace Arch. Lynden takes at least 15 minutes longer. Go back via Lynden only if you can save an 45 minutes worth of boarder wait.

Listen to AM 1130 in Vancouver for traffic and border reports.

Early Season and Storms

Whistler Blackcomb is big but gets small in a hurry if the Alpine lifts are closed. They are almost always closed after a large dump of snow that continues into the weekend. If the mid mountain has lots of snow (200 cm) then you ski the trees down low. If the mid mountain is still short of snow you will be hating life and wishing you didn't spend the money! The upper lifts gradually open during December but can't be counted on. The trees cannot be counted on until mid January lots of times. Last year trees were almost never an option. The Alpine is so large that they cannot open when there is bad avalanche danger and you also have to follow what the signs say. If it says closed they will pull your pass! If it says temporary boundary you are at your own risk and can hike or ski rocks. I advised people not to go up last weekend and I think the Alpine stayed closed the whole time. Crystal Chair is not the Alpine.

Beginners

Whistler is not a beginners area. There are very few flat, learning style areas. Whistler mid station Gondola is best. As this is low elevation the weather and snow are not always good. Teach people on Daisy at Stevens Pass. You will lose your new girlfriend telling her that there are lots of green runs up there. Whistler is great for intermediates and there is always a cat track to get down. Conditions in the Alpine, however, are often brutal and require advanced skills. Whistler is best for very good skiers that can follow the best snow, sun, and visibility wherever that leads. Beginners are also intimated by being in such a large place. Day skiing in Washington is great!

Tickets

Buy an Edge Pass! Shell used to give deals and sometimes REI or Costco may have passes.

Gotta go to a dinner party now but will come back with more stuff later.

Brian

Awesome info Brian! Agree with it based on my limited experience last weekend. We travelled up alpine start leaving Seattle at 4am which was awesome except driving to Squamish in the rain, that sucked. Why are there no reflectors in the middle of the road, brutal visibility. Found out the hard way about guest services and edge card, that was not good. If you have all your gear and tickets ready then the 4am start is great and saves on a nights accommodation. Leave late Sunday, wasted 15mins until we parked up at a bar for dinner and waited it out.

Wish the alpine was open because you are right, it got tracked within minutes and was busy although we skipped the long lines and had 5 mins max wait. Still fun, but the full mountain with touring potential is where its really at.

Thanks for your replies over prior to last weekend, you've been our man on the ground!

I have a friend there now skiing 7th heaven I think. I'm on my way for another week.

Great advice on this thread! Along the lines of saving $$ I want to sleep in my truck when I'm there next weekend for two nights. Can anyone recommend a good place for that? Ideally someplace where a) I can leave the truck for 3 days and b) is within walking distance of the gondolas. If walking distance isn't achievable where is the inexpensive day parking lot at?

Thanks!

I think you should send Silas Wild a personal message. I'm sure he's slept in every parking lot west of Colorado Springs. I do know that they have a campground NE of town.

I think you should send Silas Wild a personal message. I'm sure he's slept in every parking lot west of Colorado Springs. I do know that they have a campground NE of town.

Thanks!