Blackcomb 2/29 - great snow, the worst crowds

When whistler gets 3 feet of snow in 24 hours and the forecast is for sun, Vancouver flushes to the mountains. In 50 years of skiing, today were the worst lift lines I’ve ever been in. The wait at the base of Blackcomb when the gondola started loading was 45 minutes for the singles line and over an hour for the group line. Once on top, only Jersey Cream and Excellerator were spinning until 11:30 causing at least 30 minute lines. Finally, Crystal chair opened, followed by 7th Heaven and in the afternoon Glacier. Not one bomb was heard during this time and since Crystal Chair is below Jersey Cream and more protected, it was weird it took them so long to get it open. More Vail management issues?

The snow was great, but the groomers got almost a foot of new after they were groomed and with the crowds, they all turned into bump runs. That was a long 4000 vert getting off the mountain. Favorite runs had to be the big pillow drops in Arthur’s Choice all day. And the few runs I did on Glacier were very nice.