First and foremost, the scenery is amazing. 8 months of living in the heart of the Alberta rockies prior to this didn't make Whistler any less spectacular. They still take my breath away every time I'm up there.
The snow was decent during the first few days I was there. My first days off to explore were Christmas day and Boxing day, and luckily I was able to connect with some coworkers I had recently met who knew the mountain. They showed me around to the must-ski alpine areas around Blackcomb one day, and Whistler the next
Unfortunately, it has not been a good snow year at Whistler Blackcomb. According to people of have been here a while, it is the worst year in about 10 years. Fantastic! High freezing-levels, days (!!) of rain, and very little snow have made for a disappointing season so far, overall.
January was broken up by a visit from my mum, dad and brother. They were here for three full days and got decent conditions all things considered. One bluebird, warm slushy day, one foggy, 0-viz cruddy day and one powder day! That's right, a powder day. The evening of aforementioned foggy day, it snowed 15cms overnight followed by clear skies the next day, making for a high visibility freshies day, where we were able to explore all of the alpine terrain with a thick layer of fresh snow to cover the crust of a previous rainstorm. The following pictures from the family visit are all courtesy of my mum:
Blue skies with my brother atop Whistler
Dad hiking up from Showcase T-Bar to drop into the Glacier
Scouting lines.
Day 2 was dreary, on and off hill
Some powder-starved riders lining up for Symphony on day 3, which began with a fresh 15cm
My mum, often the photographer but rarely featured
Work in ski-school was hectic during the holidays, steady for most of January, and now, in the tourist-lull combined with ANOTHER 3 days of rain that brought the snow down to the grass and mud in some places, is completely dead. Everyone in this town better be doing their best snow-dances before bed every night...
-Emm.
