Skiing Canada’s West Coast

I’ll never forget my first day skiing at Whistler Blackcomb. Freshly laid-off from a seasonal job in northern British Columbia’s oil and gas industry, I headed south to Whistler with no goal other than to lose myself in the snow for the remainder of the winter. It was snowing the evening I arrived and the storm continued throughout the night, with an accumulation of 30 inches from the time the lifts quit spinning till the next day’s start-up.

It seemed like a personal gift from Ullr, the Norse God many consider to be the patron saint of skiing, to be treated to the deepest powder of my life on my first day at North America’s largest ski resort. Despite being unfamiliar with the area that I landed in, Blackcomb rather than Whistler Mountain, it was a fluke that I was able to nail a few prime powder-day objectives that diehard locals know firsthand:

• On my first run, I stumbled upon the Crystal Ridge Triple Chair and lapped steep glades until mid-morning.
• After my first trip up the Glacier Express Chair, I skied into Spanky’s Ladder just as patrol opened the area.
• At the end of the day I found myself at the Longhorn Saloon for locals’ night.

That day, one of the best ever, had a lasting effect. Rather than skiing a single season, I stayed on for three more. There are other ski resorts on Canada’s West Coast, but the discussion always starts with Whistler Blackcomb.

 

Whistler Blackcomb

Last season, I returned there for the first time since the Peak-to-Peak gondola was installed. While it’s both a major novelty and a super-efficient means of moving between the two mountains, I found it hadn’t changed either mountain’s atmosphere.

The truth here is that both mountains deliver the goods. Blackcomb is known for its long flowing runs like the adventurous Spanky’s Ladder which is long enough to leave the toughest quads burning. It’s also home to the experts’ only terrain park, which has served as a testing ground for dozens of local pro skiers.

Whistler Mountain seems to be equal parts beginner and expert terrain, almost making the intermediate skier the odd man out. The above tree-line skiing off the Symphony, Harmony, and Peak Express chairs, invites full throttle turns, especially on powder days when these lifts attract thousands of skiers. The lower mountain is mostly the domain of beginners, however anyone ready for a challenge can tackle Dave Murray’s Downhill, which was the trail chosen for the 2010 Winter Olympic races.

Whistler Mountain has two base areas with Whistler Creekside being more of a locals’ stopping point. The real action is in Whistler Village where both Blackcomb and Whistler Mountains join. It has countless ski-in, ski-out hotels. The only thing that’s better than Whistler Blackcomb’s ski terrain is its nightlife. Parties rage at different venues nightly, so I advise befriending a local to get the inside scoop on what’s happening where.

Other Mountain Options

Mount Washington Alpine Resort, located 3 hours north of Victoria in Comox, British Columbia, is the only major ski area on Vancouver Island. It’s a good size and receives around 40 feet of annual snowfall.

On the mainland, Cypress, Seymour, and Grouse are all about a half hour drive from downtown Vancouver. Although all three are small compared to their neighbors, each has its own merits beyond being just close to the city. Cypress is the biggest of the three with its infrastructure the most recently updated. It was chosen as the venue for 2010 Winter Olympic mogul skiing and snowboard halfpipe. Grouse offers plenty of options, with Vancouver’s best terrain park, a mountaintop skating pond, and 10 km. of snowshoe trails. Families who favor outdoor activities other than skiing like Seymour, the smallest and least expensive of these three resorts.

www.whistlerblackcomb.com/

www.mountwashington.ca

grousemountain.com/

cypressmountain.com/

www.mountseymour.com