By DOC POW
WHISTLER, BC — There are many great debates to have in Whistler: where to party, which restaurant to eat at, which patio to hit for Après. But none can be as challenging as standing at the base of Whistler and Blackcomb and making the call on which mountain to hit.
At the north end of its village, both mountains will call your name. Whatever you decide, you’re going to experience some of the best runs you’ll ever shred. Even if it was just one mountain there would be enough options to keep you busy for weeks. But combined, it makes for an unrivalled experience. Over 200 runs, 8,000 skiable acres (the largest in North America), 38 lifts and an average of over 10 metres (33 feet) of snow in a season are just a few of its impressive stats.
Doc Pow’s choices
Blackcomb is home to some of my top picks, including the areas known as Seventh Heaven and The Blackcomb Glacier. In my opinion, Blackcomb’s upper alpine area is supreme; Seventh Heaven has lived up to its name more than a few times. Massive glade options on the lower half of it, and wide open powder bowls to the top make this my choice for those powder-filled mornings.
If you are looking for something a little more adventurous, make the hike up and onto the Blackcomb Glacier, accessible by the Glacier T-Bar found at the top of the Jersey Cream Quad. While on the Jersey you’ll note, to your left, a line of hikers making their way up to what’s known as Spanky‘s Ladder. This provides access to Ruby Bowl.
Ruby Bowl is not for the faint of heart. This adrenalin-pumping double diamond run delivers a guaranteed grin from ear to ear.
The Blackcomb Glacier is a little more tame, and features a nice hike to its entrance with a wide open powder bowl waiting to reward you for those efforts. Don’t miss out on a signature Blackcomb experience with a stop in for some stellar waffles up at the Crystal Hut.
Over on the Whistler side, my choice would be to head right in for some sweet tunes coming out of Symphony bowl. It was just recently that Whistler developed this area by adding in a great new quad chair.
In-bound backcountry
With some outstanding hiking options, here you’ll get to “ski the backcountry” while remaining in-bounds. The lower half of Symphony, accessible by blue and green runs, features some stellar skiing and riding for the entire family. Whistler is also home to the “fresh tracks breakfast,” which gives you access to the mountain before anyone else and features a great breakfast up at the Roundhouse mid-mountain. On a powder day, this is an investment that will not steer you wrong.
Last season, Whistler/Blackcomb helped make the decision of which mountain to hit just a little easier, by installing the multi-million dollar (and now world famous) Peak 2 Peak Gondola.
Bridging the gap between both mountains at around their mid-mountain points, this $55 million engineering marvel is the world’s longest horizontal gondola in the world – at over three kilometres – and over 400 meters above Fitzsimmons Creek below.
“Peak 2 Peak really gives you options; you don’t have to stick with whichever mountain you started with,” said former Crazy Canuck, ski legend Steve Podborski. “This project is simply unique. Two mile-high mountains now joined at their mid points.”
One of the biggest things this development allows is exploring both mountains with only an 11-minute transfer.
Staying up in the pow
“If the snow is really good, my pick is to head up Spanky’ s Ladder and into Ruby’s Bowl, but if it’s a bit more skied out, I like to head into Lower Franz,” said Podborski, who was also part of the 2010 Olympic organizing committee.
With Ruby’s on Blackcomb and Franz on Whistler, both options are that much closer now. This development is really going to come in handy in the early and late parts of the seasons, keeping you where the powder’s at.
However, a little word from the wise here – because of the size of each mountain, work to master one before taking on the next. This way you can truly unlock all the secret stashes that await on either Whistler or Blackcomb, and get to know these world treasures intimately.
For more than 750 pages about the ski and snowboard adventures that await you in Whistler and the rest of Western Canada, check out SnowSeekers @ www.snowseekers.ca.