ok, let me rephrase the whistler question

snoig wrote:

Well, what do you want? Snow or party.

Funny how that works, huh?

The biggest advantage at Whistler is that the grrls can drink at 19.

-klaus

kevin wrote: A lot I snipped.

So go to Whistler already. Take along your Goretex or equivalent clothing as
coastal mountain ranges do get wet. Expect crowds on and off the slope since
Whistler is a party location for Vancouver, all too close down the road. As
industrial ski areas close to metro areas go, it's right at the top of the list.

On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 01:48:59 +0000 (UTC), klaus
wrote:

bdubya wrote:

But were I you, my first priority after settling in would be to
develop the skills (and compile the gear and the connections) to
access the backcountry. It'd be a shame to be there all season and be
limited to the lifts.

I think in that area it might take more than a year to get proficient
enough to do that safely. Find a mentor.


I would file "mentor" under "connections". You'd know much better
than I (NOTE THAT, KEVIN!!!), but more than a year? I'm surprised;
I would have thought the closer-in areas (like the bowls just beyond
Harmony and Symphony) would well-enough travelled (and widely-enough
discussed) to be conceivable within one season. Not that I'd know....

bw

lal_truckee wrote:
: Paul Christofanelli wrote:
:
: I've never had heavier, wetter, more impossible snow than at Whistler,
: above treeline ("in the alpine"). You simply would never get that kind
: of snow in the Rockies, or even in CA in my (limited) experience. [clip] Ok,
: I didn't have fat skis - they would've helped in that glop. Otherwise
: it was pretty much unskiable (unless groomed)

: Heavy, wet, glop has it's good side - once you learn how to ski it
: (skinny skis work just fine, if you have good technique. and wax.) you
: will find that you have the mountain pretty much to yourself...
: waiting, no crossing tracks, no people, period. (Work on your technique
: - and for gawds sake dump those fat skis somewhere where a beginner can
: find them - everyone will be better off...)
: ...(snipped)

No doubt I can improve my technique, but let me explain...this snow was
*not skiable*, at least not what I call skiing. Sure, I "skied" it,
with the old Renntigers, which were usually good for crud (and were in
fact excellent for most other stuff on the mountain), but they were
stiff. On this particular off-the-beaten-path, slightly above average
'black' pitch run, unless I was *literally* leaning back as hard as I
could, the tips would dive down and get stuck immediately. Can't ski
that way, more like a series of traverses. My friends on more noodly
skis had a better, but still tough, time of it, but I don't care who you
are, you wouldn't have been having a good time. I've had good heavy
snow before, some in CA, plenty of good Jackson crud, and heli-skiing in
Canada (before fat skis), but this stuff was truly in a class by itself.
Yeah, we saw some people struggling and we, used to searching out
'off-piste' type stuff, thought they were just in over their heads.
Nope. 15 new inches of this almost-water stuff was brutal. The more
recently travelled runs were not nearly like that . Perhaps we were just
Rockies wimps and the Whistler toughs are used to this :-).

That particular day was kinda fun near the bottom, water-skiing through
the huge puddles trying to nail each other with the wake and then
crashing down into the 'lake' at the end.

This was actually somewhat before fat skis became common, but those, or
a snowboard, would probably have been much better. Or at least some of
those old Miller softs.

Regarding fat skis...the only ones I've skied that I didn't like were
those huge boat-like Big Stix that Silverton provided. Too fat and
heavy for me. I like the Volkl Explosiv. But I actually don't own a
pair, although I wouldn't mind having some around for occasional use.
They're fun in the right conditions, but I would very rarely use them in
CO - not generally enough snow per day, and if it does snow, it's pretty
light. Or for single-day skiing - for me, they make the most sense when
stringing together many ski days in deep snow - keeps the old legs
fresher, since I'm now more of a weekend warrior - but that's only going
to happen cat-skiing for me. YMMV.

-Paul C.

Paul Christofanelli wrote:

some of
those old Miller softs.

I am still shopping garage sells for a pair of old style Miller Softs.
I'd like to ski them at least once before I hang up my boots. Somehow
Yostmark Noodles, from the same mold and layup, won't quite satisfy the
craving. So I keep seeking.

Kurt Knisely wrote:
In article , lal_truckee says...

Paul Christofanelli wrote:


some of
those old Miller softs.

I am still shopping garage sells for a pair of old style Miller Softs.
I'd like to ski them at least once before I hang up my boots. Somehow
Yostmark Noodles, from the same mold and layup, won't quite satisfy the
craving. So I keep seeking.


Why?

I've got the time (well, less than I'd like and passing fast, but still)
and the money (some) and a yearn to try everything I passed up for lack
of either, in days of yorn.

Why do you ask?

(By the way, Head "Standards", "360", and even the "Head Powder" (there
really was such a thing) are crap. They all ski lousy. Now I know; then
I yearned as a broke teenager. It was worth the $5 they cost me (each)
to find out.)

"kevin" wrote in message
...
look at every factor, not just one or two. so if you have any suggestions,
please feel free..

Don't go to Whistler before early or mid February if you want to avoid the
rain. From mid Freb and on, you have a much better chance of sunshine or at
least minimal rain.

Clint

Free Spirit Gallery
http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca
Exquisite Inuit (Eskimo) & Native American Art

lal_truckee wrote in message ...

(By the way, Head "Standards", "360", and even the "Head Powder" (there
really was such a thing) are crap. They all ski lousy. Now I know; then
I yearned as a broke teenager. It was worth the $5 they cost me (each)
to find out.)


Well, that's what happens when you wait too long and then base your
judgment on a $5 pair of skis that been skied to death. Kinda like
basing your opinion of a restaurant's food on the leftovers you dig
out of a dumpster in the alley. ;-)

I skied a pair of Head Powders back in the early 70's (if I recall the
date correctly)and they were quite the powder ski in their day. Not
much good for hard-pack but they handled deep and steep powder quite
well.

Armin

bdubya wrote:

I would file "mentor" under "connections". You'd know much better
than I (NOTE THAT, KEVIN!!!), but more than a year? I'm surprised;
I would have thought the closer-in areas (like the bowls just beyond
Harmony and Symphony) would well-enough travelled (and widely-enough
discussed) to be conceivable within one season.

Yes, they could. The question would be could it be done safely? Dense
fog and glaciated terrain would make me be rather conservative. Not to
mention the annual cornice festival. When I was up there, it was often
difficult to know where the hell I was due to visibility of about two
feet. And weather comes in fast. Getting lost among crevasses without
glacier travel skills can quickly get ugly.

-klaus

lift lines: how bad are the lift lines during the week? are they only
bad on weekends or at the base in the morning before everyone spreads
out to the different areas?

I have skied Whistler on Tuesday through Friday for 6 of the past 7 years.
The lift line story is this...

The crowds are not that bad. Friday can be busy compared to the rest of the
week. And the Line to get up Whistler can be long. The trip up blackcomb
can be slow at solar coaster. Once up the mountain anything can happen and
all depends on the weather.

The bottom line is everyone wants to ski the good stuff. So everyone goes
to the same place.

1. If it is bone chilling cold, every one wants to ski sunny, warm places.
Half the lifts will have long lines and the others will be empty. 7th heaven
and harmony are packed on sunny, cold days. (morning on harmony and
afternoon on 7th heaven).
2. If it is a powder day, 7th heaven and Harmony lifts are packed.
3. If the top is fogged in, 7th heaven, Harmony and Peak are completely
empty and Emerald and solar coaster lifts are packed.
4. If the weather is perfect (20-30 degrees and few clouds) the lines are
non-existent. This is not exaclty true. If the prior day caused Harmony to
be inaccessible and today is a nice day, Harmony will be packed.
5. The lines are small on the afternoon of snow days (my favorite
conditions). 4 inches of crud causes the lightweights to seek shelter in
the bars in town.
6. I never ski the bottom 2000 vertical feet of the mountain. Its icy and
its slushy(both at the same time). And packed with beginners.
7. Harmony tends to be busiest just before lunch.

The key to skiing Whistler is knowing where the terrain you like is located
and what the weather is at that location compared to all other locations. I
often choose to ski my favorite locations when the weather at that location
is terrible. (generally avoiding flat light conditions).

As for the snow. It really is not that different than salt lake. Snow
during the storm and the day after is great. 3 sunny days after the last
storm, Salt lake snow and Whistler snow are the same... hard pack and Icy.

If you spend a season in whistler and the storms are average in frequency,
you will have a blast.