Whistler followup
 

I just returned from my second mountain trip and first trip to Whistler.
It was quite a difference from the local 300'-400' hills.

The bottom of the mountains were bare when I arrived. Rain fell in the
village. There were one or two trails that still had snow (ice, slush,
rocks) to the base. It was possible to ski/board from peak to base, but
only if you were willing to sacrifice some board base to rocks.

The top has snow. Lots of snow. 30cm fell Thursday night. Avalanche
control ran until about noon on Friday.

Due to the weather and to thank/compensate those who still visited, food
in the lodges was 1/2 price through Thursday. A Seattle's Best latte at
6,000' was a perfect way to take a break.

Due to several trails and lifts being closed there were a lot of people
on the open ones. Add the rocks and trees (and fog on Blackcomb) to the
100 people per square meter congestion and I was very happy to be
wearing a helmet. Lots of people from many countries were wearing
helmets.

Sometimes the fog on Blackcomb around mid-mountain was so thick I could
only see a few feet, mainly the two below me.

Both of my Helijet trips between Whistler and the Vancouver airport were
canceled due to the weather. I had been looking forward to some
sightseeing. Thankfully the Vancouver airport has volunteers who help
confused travelers. Thanks to them, upon arrival at Vancouver I quickly
learned that Helijet had canceled and found the Perimeter bus. They even
provided coins for telephone calls.

I returned home to find rain and rapidly melting snow. February in
Wisconsin is supposed to be brutally cold.

Dean

On Mon, 07 Feb 2005 16:01:31 GMT, Dean allegedly
wrote:

Sometimes the fog on Blackcomb around mid-mountain was so thick I could
only see a few feet, mainly the two below me.

LOL, nice. It does get like that at times. Shame you missed the best
that it can offer.

- Dave.

--
The only powder to get high on, falls from the sky.
http://www.vpas.org/ - Snowboarding the worlds pow pow -
Securing your e-mail

The Snowboard FAQ lives here - http://rssFAQ.org/

Switters wrote:
Shame you missed the best that it can offer.
- Dave.


The weather wasn't perfect, but the snow was better than what is
available locally and I still got a "big mountain" experience that
cannot be had on 300'-400' of vertical. Blenz coffee was great. The
Telluride film fest Thursday night was good. Riding the gondolas was
fun. The people were nice. And it was far, far better than a week at
work!

Dean

One more thing, if no one minds. At the local resorts I'm nearly always
the oldest boarder (age 49). When my legs were burning on Whistler I
stopped to rest where two other boarders were resting. We chatted for a
while. Those two guys were over 60. It's good to know that I should be
able to look forward to several more years of fun.

Dean

D wrote:

Those two guys were over 60. It's good to know that I should be
able to look forward to several more years of fun.

My Dad turns 70 this year. He doesn't ride, but he still skiis and
he'll try his hand at most anything. We're off to Panorama together
next week. I'm 43 so still a relative young 'un but I fully intend to
be riding well into retirement.

Neil

Neil Gendzwill wrote:
My Dad turns 70 this year. He doesn't ride, but he still skiis and
he'll try his hand at most anything. We're off to Panorama together
next week.


I checked the web site. I see that Intrawest has been doing things at
Panorama:

"Formely exclusive heli-skiing terrain, Taynton Bowl is now lift
accessed backcountry style skiing incorporated into Panorama's official
boundary."

Enjoy the snow.

Dean

D wrote:

Neil Gendzwill wrote:

My Dad turns 70 this year. He doesn't ride, but he still skiis and
he'll try his hand at most anything. We're off to Panorama together
next week.



I checked the web site. I see that Intrawest has been doing things at
Panorama:

"Formely exclusive heli-skiing terrain, Taynton Bowl is now lift
accessed backcountry style skiing incorporated into Panorama's official
boundary."

Enjoy the snow.

What little there is - base depth is 39 cm, 100 and change at the top.
I think Taynton will be a bust and I'll be doing a lot of carving.

Neil

D wrote in :

One more thing, if no one minds. At the local resorts I'm nearly
always the oldest boarder (age 49). When my legs were burning on
Whistler I stopped to rest where two other boarders were resting.
We chatted for a while. Those two guys were over 60. It's good to
know that I should be

I've ridden with a woman either side of 60 (hard to tell as she has
that Florida I've seen too much sun kinda face). On a sad note, we
had a guy die here last winter, mid 50s. But I have seen an a lot
more old folks (er..well I'm old to many of you but I mean like *old*
people!) this year.