Whistler: What a Dissapointment - Snowboarding Forum

DexterMichigan · 01-22-2012, 02:17 PM

I have been waiting for years to go to Whistler and just got back this week. What a disappointing mountain. Blackcomb was pretty decent, but Whistler Mountain was boring and it seemed every run had flats. Maybe skiiers like cross-country skiing on every run, but I'm guess they don't like it either. So why all the love for this place. I'd size it up as a general disappointment and not nearly as interesting as Colorado or Utah.

And, then there is the fake "Village." I was looking forward to Canadian hospitality, and all I found was Australian stoners making it hard to get a decent meal.

grafta · 01-22-2012, 02:34 PM

Well done, you figured it out all by yourself

Yes they do have a really good marketing department.

What, did you ride groomers the whole time? Sure there are the 'roads' you end up on to traverse to different lifts but not sure how you'd say that it's a "boring" place to ride

"fake "Village."" and lack of "Canadian hospitality" You went to a tourist mecca, what did you expect? Anyone here could've told you that. Did the Australians that run the place not say "Eh" enough?

Sorry dude, I actually do sympathize with you. It's just too easy to poke holes in the 'Whis' experience is all.

AIRider · 01-22-2012, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DexterMichigan

I have been waiting for years to go to Whistler and just got back this week. What a disappointing mountain. Blackcomb was pretty decent, but Whistler Mountain was boring and it seemed every run had flats. Maybe skiiers like cross-country skiing on every run, but I'm guess they don't like it either. So why all the love for this place. I'd size it up as a general disappointment and not nearly as interesting as Colorado or Utah.

And, then there is the fake "Village." I was looking forward to Canadian hospitality, and all I found was Australian stoners making it hard to get a decent meal.

You obviously didn't stay there long enough to discover la Montagne to its full potential. Name us some runs you did if you remember.

DexterMichigan · 01-22-2012, 02:47 PM

I really should have made the point that all the Canadians I encountered were really nice. It would just have been nice to see some more of them. Maybe I had unreasonable expectations from all the hype. I mostly do ski groomer, with some powder, but it was very rocky from the mediocre snow in places and the trees are very tightly packed, so I thought a lot of tree snowboarding was above my level.

I wanted to share my experience as I think most other Americans are similarly accosted by the media proclaiming Whistler the greatest ski mountain on earth. Funny, the one negative that people report, the fog, wasn't too bad, except a few times. However, given the higher price for Americans (plus the current negative exchange rate), the average-to-poor Whistler Mountain (the vertical drop is useless since you really can't find good enough conditions top-to-bottom all at once), the hard coastal snow (felt like Sierra Cement only harder on my ass), and lack of anything resembling "local," I don't think I will try that again. Also, I must say the signage was not very good, more like a European mountain (i.e., they don't ID runs).

DexterMichigan · 01-22-2012, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AIRider

You obviously didn't stay there long enough to discover la Montagne to its full potential. Name us some runs you did if you remember.

I would like to, but your avatar picture is distracting me

I did like the 7th Heaven area on Blackcomb, and the Dave Miller Downhill on Whistler. I wanted to like a bunch of the groomers by Harmony and Symphony bowls, but the flat runouts at the end and in the middle of several runs made me not want to go back there to work so hard.

grafta · 01-22-2012, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DexterMichigan

the average-to-poor Whistler Mountain (the vertical drop is useless since you really can't find good enough conditions top-to-bottom all at once)

Sorry that the mountain is so big that conditions change at certain altitudes

When was your trip?

AIRider · 01-22-2012, 03:47 PM

It is true that if you don't know the terrain, and you don't get enough speed at certain parts of the groomers, you will be getting stuck.

For us locals it's an amazing mountain, because it's so close and the costs are far less than for someone coming out of country. I'm sorry you had a bad experience, as it's truly an amazing place to boar once you find your niche of runs to take.

fattrav · 01-22-2012, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grafta

"fake "Village."" and lack of "Canadian hospitality" You went to a tourist mecca, what did you expect? Anyone here could've told you that. Did the Australians that run the place not say "Eh" enough?

No, the Australians would have said 'bro', because the only Australians that work, are New Zealanders.

OP That sucks to hear that it wasn't that great. I will admit that I once wanted to go to Whistler, but thanks to this forum, I know that there are alot more other places out there to get the good from.

chupacabraman · 01-22-2012, 04:06 PM

Nothing I wouldn't expect... it's a coastal mountain (which means generally not too steep and crappy snow quality), and a tourist mecca which gets 2 million skier visits annually... That pretty much sums up how good the riding is there IMO.
The park's good though :P

BigmountainVMD · 01-22-2012, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AIRider

It is true that if you don't know the terrain....

This is the only thing that detracted from my Whistler experience. The place is so huge there is no way to know where the treasure is unless you have a guide. Couple that with the fog or cloudy/snow conditions... it is understandable how one might find themselves stuck in a flat section, or in my case, accidentally popping my cliff drop cherry at the top of Blackcomb...

**whiteout conditions** "Did that sign say cliff?" Luckily there was a few feet of fresh to catch me...

Also, based on our experience in Vancouver at the Volcano Lounge, my friends an I all thought it was legal to puff tough wherever we pleased...

Found out that was not the case by a couple of friendly Canadian officers...

01-22-2012, 02:17 PM	#1 (permalink)
DexterMichigan Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 49	Whistler: What a Dissapointment I have been waiting for years to go to Whistler and just got back this week. What a disappointing mountain. Blackcomb was pretty decent, but Whistler Mountain was boring and it seemed every run had flats. Maybe skiiers like cross-country skiing on every run, but I'm guess they don't like it either. So why all the love for this place. I'd size it up as a general disappointment and not nearly as interesting as Colorado or Utah. And, then there is the fake "Village." I was looking forward to Canadian hospitality, and all I found was Australian stoners making it hard to get a decent meal.

01-22-2012, 03:47 PM	#7 (permalink)
AIRider Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 564	It is true that if you don't know the terrain, and you don't get enough speed at certain parts of the groomers, you will be getting stuck. For us locals it's an amazing mountain, because it's so close and the costs are far less than for someone coming out of country. I'm sorry you had a bad experience, as it's truly an amazing place to boar once you find your niche of runs to take. __________________ Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

01-22-2012, 04:06 PM	#9 (permalink)
chupacabraman Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Revy Posts: 861	Nothing I wouldn't expect... it's a coastal mountain (which means generally not too steep and crappy snow quality), and a tourist mecca which gets 2 million skier visits annually... That pretty much sums up how good the riding is there IMO. The park's good though :P Last edited by chupacabraman; 01-22-2012 at 04:09 PM.

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01-22-2012, 02:34 PM	#2 (permalink)
grafta Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 1,752	Well done, you figured it out all by yourself Yes they do have a really good marketing department. What, did you ride groomers the whole time? Sure there are the 'roads' you end up on to traverse to different lifts but not sure how you'd say that it's a "boring" place to ride "fake "Village."" and lack of "Canadian hospitality" You went to a tourist mecca, what did you expect? Anyone here could've told you that. Did the Australians that run the place not say "Eh" enough? Sorry dude, I actually do sympathize with you. It's just too easy to poke holes in the 'Whis' experience is all.

01-22-2012, 02:47 PM	#4 (permalink)
DexterMichigan Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 49	I really should have made the point that all the Canadians I encountered were really nice. It would just have been nice to see some more of them. Maybe I had unreasonable expectations from all the hype. I mostly do ski groomer, with some powder, but it was very rocky from the mediocre snow in places and the trees are very tightly packed, so I thought a lot of tree snowboarding was above my level. I wanted to share my experience as I think most other Americans are similarly accosted by the media proclaiming Whistler the greatest ski mountain on earth. Funny, the one negative that people report, the fog, wasn't too bad, except a few times. However, given the higher price for Americans (plus the current negative exchange rate), the average-to-poor Whistler Mountain (the vertical drop is useless since you really can't find good enough conditions top-to-bottom all at once), the hard coastal snow (felt like Sierra Cement only harder on my ass), and lack of anything resembling "local," I don't think I will try that again. Also, I must say the signage was not very good, more like a European mountain (i.e., they don't ID runs).