After six months, 80 days, 654 lifts, 3,200km of skiing, and more than 400,000 vertical metres skied, that’s a wrap on my season at Whistler. Last fall, I chucked it all to move to this BC ski town—a reckless, bucket-list venture that’s nearly every skier’s dream. I’ll reflect on this weird and truly wonderful experience next season in Ski Canada magazine. Until then, here are five things I’ll miss about skiing Whistler Blackcomb, and a few things I won’t.
What I’ll Miss
1. The Commute: Few locals actually live in Whistler proper anymore thanks to the $2-million, two-bedroom condo. But not all is lost. The daily drive between Whistler and our Pemberton rental equalled 66 steep curves, three lake views and too many astonishing mountain vistas to count, even when it was bucketing rain—and some weeks, it was always bucketing rain.
2. The Walk: Whistler Village’s Cultural Connector really does offer insight into Whistler culture. On any given day on a walk along this path between parking lot and gondola, you’ll see skiers, riders, runners, backpackers, lifties, e-bikers with ski racks, seniors holding hands, kids smoking spliffs, grandparents pushing strollers, influencers making reels on the bridge, non-skiers throwing snowballs, conference-goers wearing nametags and the wrong shoes…plus dogs—lots and lots of dogs.
3. The Gondola: The Whistler gondy is a #shitshow—busy, overcrowded, lots of stoppage, huge waits on busy days. A better option is the Blackcomb Gondola, on which there’s never a dull moment. While it was rare I shared a cabin with a Canadian, I enjoyed multiple 20-minute conversations with Aussies, Czechs, Italians, Germans, Mongolians, Mexicans, South Africans, Indians, Arabs, Muslims, Chileans, Brazilians, Scottish, Irish, English, French, Swiss, Chinese, Japanese and yes, even Republican Americans—all of whom (except one family from Washington State, see below) were engaging, broad-minded, curious and kind.
4. The Lift Lines: Whaaaat? I’ll miss Whistler lift lines? You bet. It’s people-watching at its finest—this place is weird. There are men dressed as disco balls, women in cheetah onesies, old guys wearing First World War aviator goggles, one dude had a toy chicken taped to his head. And here’s a special shout-out to nine-year-old, Broadway-bound Charlotte from Delaware who jazz-danced in the 7th Heaven liftline, singing her heart out to every tune in the Wizard of Oz.
5. The Skiing: Whistler Blackcomb has the best, most vast and diverse skiing in North America, hands down. There are way too many people on its main trails, yes—but there’s still lots of space on the terrain up high: Symphony, Harmony, Glacier, Peak, 7th Heaven, even Excellerator and Crystal Ridge. I’d tell you my favourite runs but then you’d ski ‘em and I’d have to share.
There are men dressed as disco balls, women in cheetah onesies, old guys wearing First World War aviator goggles, one dude had a toy chicken taped to his head.
What I Won’t Miss
1. The Strafers: Heads up at Blackcomb, especially if you don’t want to download at the end of the day. Each afternoon around 2:45 p.m., park rats discharge from the terrain park to strafe like tracer fire down the “Easy” cat tracks crossing Honeycomb. It took me six months to figure out why they straightline: ground-down edges, rockered skis = no grip for any kind of turn, or any kind of run tougher than a green. My advice: Put your head on a swivel, and when you’re on a cat track NEVER EVER TURN. Am I old, scared and cranky? Yeah, I kinda am, but I still have a few things to live for.
2. The family-of-four gondola riders from Seattle who spread out their Subway lunches on the gondola seats on one of the busiest days of the year. They grew incensed—incensed I tell you!—when six more riders loaded in at mid-station for a total of 10. “Oh my gawd,” repeated the Seattle mom multiple times with her onion-breath, “I’m just trying to eat my lunch. This is so unfair.”
3. The yetis who slide into Blackcomb Glacier on their bums…I mean, c’mon man! And the non-skiing Peak-2-Peak sightseers who complain when actual skiers climb aboard. “Ew,” I heard one say with a wrinkled nose, “they drip.”
More Random Positives
- The cooks, servers, cashiers and especially the bussers at The Roundhouse and Glacier Lodge—man, do they work hard. Oh, and all the lifties, too.
- Hot Dog Happy Hour
- The Hairfarmers (a band)
- Axel-the-Ski-Tuner at Blackcomb Base Lodge
- Ski instructors teaching kids
- Whistler’s library, museum and the Maury Arts Centre
- Spicy agedashi tofu at Sushi Village
- Burgers at Garbo’s
- Old guys drinking Seppo’s beergaritas at two in the afternoon.
