Whistler/Blackcomb: Line By Line
by Dan Caruso

Whistler Village lies at 2,200 feet above sea level, so don't be fooled by the weather at the base lodge. Both Whistler and Blackcomb boast vertical rises of over 5,000 feet. So the weather above tree-line can greatly differ.

From the Village, there are two options for ascending: the Whistler Gondola or the Blackcomb high-speed quad. Both open at 8:30 am. On day one, we took the Whistler side and jumped on the six-person gondola with local snowboard hero Chris Allario. The gondola has a mid-way station where beginners can unload before they get too high, but we went all the way. One there, the horizon is covered with beautiful peaks. We followed Chris over to the Peak Chair and gained another 1,000 vertical feet.

The views from Whistler Peak are truly mind-blowing. Piccolo Peak and Flute Peak rise above the ridge to the East and the jagged mountains of the Garibaldi Provincial Park proudly stand to the West. From the top we had several options: take a mellow, intermediate, scenic cruiser trail around the back of the Harmony Bowl; or follow Chris into the West Bowl, to look for powder. The sub-freezing temperatures the night before drew the moisture from the snowpack, so our choice was fairly obvious.

The Harmony side of Whistler Mountain is impressive. Everything from massive cliff drops to steep chutes to groomed runs are easily accessible from the Harmony chair. Chris showed us some of his secret powder stashes in the trees and blew us away as he casually hucked a 50 foot cliff.

The upper chairs close at 3 PM, so we zoomed down to the mid-mountain chairs, The Green and The Redline, which run daily until 3:30. From here, we took a seemingly endless, thigh-burnin' cruiser to the bottom. The 4,000 foot drop descends into the misty pines and firs of the Coast Range and continues for a few miles. Back down in the Village, the fun was far from over. Apres-ski at The Longhorn goes off until 5 or 6. From there, we headed over to Ingrid's Deli for one of her delicious Superior Veggie Burgers. Other casual eating spots include The Mad Cafe and The Hard Rock, both within walking distance in The Village.

The night-life in Whistler is as infamous as the terrain. At about 10 PM, things get going at the casual pubs like The Keg or Garfinkels. But after a few Kokanee Ales, we were ready for the main event at Tommy Africa's.

The decor at Tommy's is all Zebra stripes and black lights. Hotty go-go dancers gyrate on the speakers. The locals usually show up at around 11 to party like Keith Richards. We stayed as long as we could, but the day's turns had worn us down and we sneaked out the back into the drizzly night.

On the way home we stopped by Misty Mountain Pizza for a late night slice, then hit the hay. The next morning, we awoke to the famous Whistler drizzle. Socked in and wet, we nearly lost the motivation to ride but decided to call the mountain to get the real scoop. They told us it was clear in the alpine. So, braving the rain, we dashed out to the base lifts and took the high-speed quad up to Blackcomb. At mid-mountain, we switched quads and ascended higher into the clouds. Sure enough, above tree-line, the rain subsided and patches of blue swirled around the cloudy sky.

We took the Seventh Heaven Quad to the ridge and it finally understood what everyone had been talking about. Steeps, steeps, steeps. The Saudan Couloir, recently renamed The Couloir Extreme, was our first run. Steep and properly named, this line drops off the ridge at about 45 degrees and funnels into an hourglass. Serious steeps can be found further out the traverse in chutes like Pakalolo and The Cougar, plus some nice launchable cliffs.

To get back to the lodge we rode a few miles of groomers. Or we could have downloaded on the covered quad and missed our ride through the rain forest. But we charged it and were back in The Village before we even realized we were wet. And at the Village there's plenty of warm, dry spots to kick it and have a cold one, or a warm one if you'd rather.

It's all good at Whistler/Blackcomb: the steeps, the trees, the quads and the bars. But you'll just have to check it out for yourself this winter. It's a beauty, hey?