Cane700

As I mentioned in my other thread. In mid January I am going to Whistler/Blackcomb for the first time. I was not expecting to be taking a big mountain trip this year so I haven't had much time to research the place. I was looking at the trail map and I am drooling. I have a lot of questions for you locals/regulars. I am a fairly advanced boarder and I will be with a group of people whose skills range from intermediate to advanced.

The first and most obvious question is. Where are the best spots to get some nice powder runs (if at all possible). Are there parts of the mountain(s) that get better snow than others? Any spots to avoid?

I see that there is a glacier inbounds on Blackcomb. Can you ride on it? Do you need a guide to avoid crevasses. When I hear glacier, I keep thinking of Chamonix where people die in cravasses on a regular basis.

When the snow is tracked up, where should I be?

Any any good places to eat/drink in the village. We will be staying near the base of Blackcomb. Recommendations?

Where can I park the car on the cheap?

Any other helpful tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

deepcove

If it is open you want to ride Peak, Harmony and Symphany chairs on Whistler. if you are on Blackcomb head into Spanky's if it is open. Parking is free Creekside and I think the lower main lot at the main village is as well but the walk is a little much and there is a free shuttle. Dusty's Creekside is a great place for appies and cocktails. Also be sure to hit up Splitz Burgers for one of the most affordable and tastey burgers at Whistler (North Village). You don't need to worry about cravasses in bounds.

I would like to offer more inside info for you.....but this is an online forum and some things just arent meant to be broadcast.....

Lamps

start here:

Knee Deep Productions presents Whistler Guide Books

reading the advanced book will have you plenty stoked for the trip

the glacier is accessible, doesn't have crevasses and you don't need a guide

you can buy first tracks lift ticket add ons that get you up on the hill early where you have breakfast and get first shot at either fresh snow or purely groomed corduroy if no snow the night before

it's a busy place so it gets tracked out fast is the only thing

blackcomb is a little less optimized for boarding but both are great and with the peak to peak you can pop back and forth easily

do a search too, there are a lot of threads on this

Cane700

I can totally appreciate that. You gotta work for the good stuff.


Thanks to both of you. You both given me great starting points.

Dysantic

Look in to the "first tracks" program they have. It allows you to skip the lines at the lift, get to the top for some breakfast and then be the first one down once the lifts officially open. I'm not sure about the cost, but if you are only here for a few days I'd highly recommend it to get some nice runs in first thing in the morning.

schmitty34

Agreed on the first tracks ticket if it dumps the night before. Absolutely worth it for at least one morning if there is a bunch of new.

If there is a lot of snow, there is a good chance there will be wind as well. This can suck becuase it will close some chairs like Peak, Harmony/Symphony and 7th Heaven. However, these chairs will sometimes opne late so if you stay of top of things, you can get the goods while others don't realize it has opened.

If Peak chair is open, hit all the stuff lookers right of the chair when looking at the trail map. You wrap around on the backside of the mountain and then there is a bunch of stuff that funnels back down to the bottom.

The whole Harmony/Symphony area is pretty sweet, but it's been closed the last few times I've had good snow because of wind.

If you like trees, a pretty fun area that doesn't get tracked as bad is off the Crystal chair (far left of the trail map for Blackcomb). The only thing that sucks is that you get funneled down to Excelerator Express which gets a huge line and you have to take two chairs to get back to the top of Crystal. The positive is that we were still getting some fresh tracks in the afternoon when the rest of the mountain was toast.

Penzer

I always recommend 3d whistler for learning the mountains.

Whistler Trail Map in 3D

Cane700

Awesome Thanks. The first tracks ticket is on my definite buy list. That 3D map will come in handy

stunt66

Start praying now for dry conditions and hopefully god comes through.

Theres lots of places in the village to eat and for the most part most of them are decent. It gets really crowded there so expect to wait for tables.

The mountains are massive and the runs are beyond overwhelming so unless you're only there for a day im sure you'll have a fun time just riding all over.

We also found a pretty sweet massage place(legit unfortunately) thats above the cigar shop near the earls. It was something like $80 for 90 minutes and totally worth it after a long day of riding. The ad in the whistler paper makes it seem like a typical RT place and the location and set up would lead you to think so but nothing happened and nothing was offered for our group lol

Cane700

I definitely can use a good deep tissue massage after a long day of riding. No happy endings needed LOL. I'll check it out.

Any places in town to get a good steak? I found this place but it's damn pricey. Is it worth splurging? Any less expensive alternatives.

Hy's Steakhouse Whistler Menu | OpenTable