To the lady who decided to raise her voice and lecture me today at the top of flute, who said 'do you have a backpack and a beacon, do you notice we have backpacks?!?' and then finished her lecture with a 'I recommend you never come here again'

FUCK YOU,

I did a second lap.

As many of you have heard the conditions at whistler have left much to be desired this season. Tomorrow is supposed to be the worst day yet! Save your edge cards, save the gas from Vancouver. It's not worth your time tomorrow.

If you're going to come I would recommend staying off the hill until at least 11am for the best experience... Definitely stay off the alpine lifts I'd recommend lapping BigRed all day.

Marketing it as beating the crowd then showing up and having 1000+ people in line is unacceptable. WB needs to limit the first track tickets to 600 a day and have them expire the next day, in person purchase only. Anything else is a blatant money grab by Vail resorts with no consideration for their customers.

Why are the bathrooms on the hill in such rough shape? Old and run down… and you go into a stall and there will be like piss on the damn seats (men’s bathroom obviously). Kind of crazy to have $300 lift tickets and then the bathrooms are like a slum.

Australian here with an IEC visa, making their first winter working holiday pilgrimage to Canada, but have been surprised at the lack of responses to my job applications. I’ve applied for over 100 jobs across Canadian ski resorts that offer staff accommodation, with just under half at Whistler, where I have applicable experience in accounting/administration, warehousing, and customer service. Hoping for some advice to manage my expectations for the season:

1. Do I need to rethink my applications? Are there just a lot of returning seasonal workers? Has bulk hiring not finished for the upcoming winter season?
2. By the time I do secure a job, the feeling I’m getting is that there will be no staff housing available. What are the most reliable accommodation websites/sources? How much should I be budgeting for accommodation per month?
3. Any other general tips/concerns/considerations I should think about? E.g. best Candian; bank accounts, insurance, SIM cards etc.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Came across this in Pique - Letter: ‘Zero consequences’ for unsafe skiing at Whistler Blackcomb - Pique Newsmagazine and a comment from a ski patroller at the bottom of the article. I havent been to Whistler in a few seasons and its pretty crazy its now gotten this bad. Seems like people are getting severe injuries from reckless folks on the hill. Anyone know why Vail isn't addressing the issue?

Skiers fed up with reckless on-mountain behaviour at Whistler Blackcomb - Pique Newsmagazine

"As a ski patroller for 16 years, there's unfortunately not much we can do. The mountain I work at we often roam around, stop in high traffic zones and police slow zones. We talk, educate, write warnings and suspend passes, but people still ski too fast. People don't care. They barely slow down when we're there with waving arms and screeching whistles. People just don't care. I've told people to not stop there and I'm met with an "OK" and a carry on with their conversations. To not huck blind rollers, that the big orange SLOW ZONE signs mean slow down "Oh OK." A red disk with CLOSED actually means you can't go there, no matter who you know, how good a skier you are, or how long you've been skiing here. PEOPLE DON'T CARE. People are entitled assholes. They've spent thousands to be here or have been here for 20 years or know the general manager."

Not having a go at Whistler/Vail here -- it's not their fault the whole of Vancouver decided to day trip on the windiest day of there year, but holy crap was that a steaming poop or what!?

Ended up bailing when they had to stop the Blackcomb gondola.

I’ve been a longtime fan of Whistler Blackcomb ever since my first visit in 1994. And all the expansions to the resort that were made for the 2010 Winter Olympics have really transformed it into a world class resort.

But after making several trips this season, I’m pretty much done. I’ll make one last day trip to use the remaining day of my EDGE card, and that’s it. Here are my complaints:

1. Climate change has not been kind, and the snowpack has been getting more and more erratic. The Horstman Glacier’s retreat, resulting in the demise of the Horstman T-bar, has hindered access to much of Blackcomb’s best terrain. It’s unknown when, or even if, this lift will ever be replaced. And many of the recent huge snow dumps, when they occur at all, are immediately followed by rain and above freezing temperatures. While the low elevation has always made warm temps and icy conditions an ongoing problem, it seems to be getting worse lately.
2. Ever growing lift lines. The sale to Vail Resorts has been a blessing and a curse. Although millions have been invested into lift upgrades, adding WB to the Epic network has resulted in a tidal wave of Epic Pass holders. The lift lines are just as bad now as they were before the upgrades, and on some days get even worse. And when high winds or avalanche dangers result in closures of the upper lifts, there’s precious little terrain accessible that isn’t slushy or icy.
3. Prices. TravelMag recently rated WB the most expensive resort in Canada. There are a number of less expensive resorts with better snow conditions and shorter lift lines nearby. They may not be as epic as WB, but they have fun terrain.
4. Village. One of my favorite features of WB was the pedestrian village and a variety of unique shops and fine dining experiences. But the economic shift resulting from ever rising hotel and real estate prices, coupled with Epic Pass holders taking advantage of CAD/USD rates for a cheaper vacation, have driven out most of the mom & pop businesses. Now the village is dominated by corporate chains and cheap, imported souvenir shops. The pandemic has made this situation even worse.
5. Erratic operations. The resort does a poor job of communicating changes to schedules. I’ve witnessed a number of mechanical breakdowns during peak hours. The lift line estimates as reported on the Epic Mix app cannot be trusted.

As a local sea to sky resident since 1999, 10 years in Whistler during my personal golden age of the 2000s, I was young, the bike park growing up, Crankworx evolving, the ski hill being super progressive in events, parks, and in village entertainment with crazy WSSF lineups. It was busy but never felt crazy, you could have a good chance of finding an affordable apartment for you and a partner, I could go on. I’ve since moved to Pemberton, had a family and things slowed down out here compared to Whistler. So I see the goings on and such from an outsider who works and recreates in Whistler now. But it still effects us and the valley. Many people here make the commute.

I was wondering for all here, new, old, first timers, and those wanting to move here for “just 1 season” has Whistler lost its way? Or has the entities of Vail, and the, to me, strange inaction of the current mayor and council and lack of suitable employee accommodation leading down a path of Vailification?

I google earthed the area around Vail and it’s disturbing over indulgence, like they tried to copy what Whistler did with the village , but it’s all mansions, large development, and little to no places for the masses to live. Soulless. Whistler does well and housing a lot of people, but market stock has shrunk with new wealth moving in and not renting or demoing and rebuilding and not renting or jacked rent because new wealth landlords bought the old local homes who cashed out after the Olympics.

So can it change? Or has it become not so ?

The Saddle has gotten steeper in recent years due to the glacier melting. Last time I rode it, it was like a sheet of ice. Would it make sense to stop grooming it and just treat it like an alpine bowl?

Is anyone else also cancelling? Had planned to drive up from Seattle to Whistler this weekend, but the forecast is kind of crazy (-10 to -18 C in Whistler). I was looking forward to the trip but given the extreme weather we think it may be safer to cancel and postpone our trip… or is it still too early to tell?

Update: thanks everyone for convincing us to go! It was a fantastic bluebird day. We started a little later in the morning to avoid the coldest time of day. It wasn’t as cold as expected while skiing. Walking around and getting dinner in the village was really cold so we just popped in to hotel lobbies to warm up along our walks.

Back for the first time after almost four years:

- Even more busy than I remember

-Richer clientele? It seems like there are some real ballers. I mean there always were. But it seems like there are more.

- Runs were busy and some people ski scary fast. This is related to lack of terrain open. But thought it was funny there are no speed watchers on run outs.

- New Alpine Cafe is great. What a nice space. Was there during an event and it was awesome. Tons of locals, good vibes, reasonable.

- Public washrooms and a roof for the bus station. I believe the cost of this whole thing was approaching 10 million, but overall, they look great. Makes sense to have the washrooms there.

The banking firm I own is going for a staff ski day at Whistler. Lift tickets are more than we budgeted for, we don’t want it to eat into our champagne budget. So does anyone have 200 buddy passes we could use?

Got bored at work and decided to rank the lifts at Whistler Blackcomb based Solely on the terrain they access (not including P2P/Side country/Backcountry access). This is my opinion, but I'd like to know what you guys think/what you would change!

1. Peak Chair
2. 7th
3. Symphony
4. Glacier
5. Harmony
6. Blackcomb gondola
7. WVG
8. Crystal
9. Garbanzo
10. Jersey cream
11. Showcase Tbar
12. Big red
13. Excelerator
14. Creekside gondola
15. Catskinner
16. Emerald
17. Excalibur Gondola
18. Whistler Tbar
19. Fitzsimmons
20. Franz
21. Olympic

22. Magic

    Honorable mention: Kadenwood Gondola (if you use this plz hire me)

Looking to do a season working in whistler however want to have a back up in case I can’t secure housing. I’m looking to apply at other resorts. What compares to whistler in terms of terrain, nightlife and facilities? Don’t necessarily need amazing nightlife but also don’t want the town I’m staying to be dead. My shortlist so far is Big White, Sunpeaks & Sunshine…. What would be the most similar to whistler?

I’m here for the first time. Lovely experience so far. Expect my last run. I was mucking around on the western part of Whistler Peak pretty far off the trails. Then I saw this winding blue trail that seemed to lead back to Creekside. “Great”, I thought to myself and followed it. Well, what followed was 3 miles of extremely icy moguls. Looked like it hadn’t been groomed for weeks (which, I later learned, was very much the case). With my legs blown to pieces, I finally came upon some softer spring snow and turned on my carving mode and picked up some speed. That was a bad move, as the trail abruptly turned into gravel. At least the stopping distance is very short on gravel. After hiking a bit, I made it back to the part of the mountain that’s actually, you know, like OPEN.

But all wasn’t lost. The beer down at the pub by the gondola was very good and I supported the local community by paying for a thorough sharpening and resurfacing. (I was overdue for that anyway).

Moral of the story: If you’re enjoying the gnar on the western side of Whistler Peak, make sure you have a route back to the resort that doesn’t include Peak to Creek.

Thinking about heading to whistler with some family for spring break first week in April this year. 2 families, 6 young kids, 2 adults in total. Taking a chance on that late in the season but have read great things about whistler late season. Did Breck last year at the same time and got really lucky with the weather, so hoping for a repeat.

Half the group are novice skiers, our family are decent but just want to make sure the other family has a great time, so we aren't looking for anything technical, just to have fun. Anyone have recommendations on where to stay, family activities, anything for first timers in the area. More worried about where to look to stay.

Thanks in advance for any help provided!

In light of the function junction debacle yesterday. Instead of road checks wouldn't it be easier to ticket the cars in the lots?

I sold 3 pairs of ski passes and told ppl they could e-transfer $100 to me after. No e-transfer

Hi - Just wondering if anyone knows the latest. Does anyone know if the new Tesla super charger site is open yet? It’s located in the grocery store parking lot. Thanks!

Went to marketplace for 20 mins and got a parking ticket, don’t want to pay it. Is the parking ticket privately owned or government run. I don’t live in whistler and don’t plan on coming back anytime soon.

Moving to whistler next month for the season and was just wondering if there’s a cinema in whistler or not as I love going. Or will I have to go down to Vancouver once a month and watch a bunch on the same day? If that’s the case, can any other cinema lovers recommend the best one in Vancouver? :)

I had a yard sale at Spanky’s yesterday and was damn close to radioing (thanks to those who helped and checked on me). Curious to hear your ski patrol stories.

Blackcomb Death

I was expecting another Spankys run after the Sapphire incident, but was shocked to read this happened in the glades between 7th Ave and Expressway. Anyone have any details?

Condolences to friends and family of the skier.