Whistler and Blackcomb both on a foggy evening from the far reaches of the village
(Note - originally written on EpicSki, so please excuse the use of handles from over there - I don't know folks handles here! Mods, please feel free to modify them to the right ones if you like.)
The 2017 WB Gathering was a sequel - for me - to the Aspen Gathering last year. And sequel's can be pretty hit or miss... you could get a Godfather Part II, or you could get a Dumb and Dumberer.
By the end of the Gathering at Whistler, I'd have to say it was a terrific follow-up to Aspen. I had an amazing time, in conditions I couldn't have even thought to wish for. I saw and skied with some wonderful folks I met last year, met some new people, and had another fantastic time!
This year's Gathering saw a few more intermediate skiers than last year I think - plus a few tired or sore advanced/experts who wanted to hang out with the intermediates. (Maybe it was because we had a lot of fun and camraderie
.) It was great to get to ski with a variety of people of different levels. I skied 6 straight days, had some good meals, and generally - as I had hoped - enjoyed the hell out of everything.Getting There
I flew DC -> Toronto -> Vancouver, then took a Whistler Connection shuttle to my condo. Door to door was about 12 hours, so definitely a pretty significant trip.
I saw this shop in Vancouver... seemed to be a good omen:
Then on to the Sea-to-Sky highway... beautiful drive and great views.
Weather/Snow
Normally, I'd comment on the snow at the end of a trip report. But in this case, the weather and snow really made the trip. Most people have heard stories of rain in the village while it snows on the mountain, or having to download to avoid bad conditions down low, etc. We didn't really have any of that! Right before we got there, WB got a pretty good dump/refresh. Then during most the week, we got ~30" of snow in 2-8 inch doses. The temperature in the village didn't get higher than the mid-20's I don't think, so it all stayed soft too, right down to the base almost all week.
Soft snow in Harmony Bowl with Blackcomb in the background :
Lifts/Areas/Runs
The days skiing were all sort of similar - meet up in the morning, get a group together, go off skiing, have a nice lunch, ski the afternoon, and go to après/home. It's a routine I could have done for many more days if I had the chance.
Day 1 - Mostly Blackcomb - hero snow everywhere
Day 2 - Mostly Whistler - got into Symphony, Harmony, and some deep snow and steep pitches
Day 3 - Blackcomb - Crystal and 7th Heaven
Day 4 - Blackcomb - Glacier day
Day 5 - Whistler - three words... Peak... to... Creek
Day 6 - Blackcomb - took it easy, and dealt with fog and many different snow conditions
First mornings meetup at the light tower :
@Older boot , @fosphenytoin, and @VickieH on the first Whistler Gondola ride.
Now rather than do a day by day "here's where I skied" thing, I figured this time I'd walk through the various areas of the mountains I enjoyed. This is by no means comprehensive - WB is HUGE and has a lot more runs of all types (especially bowls and advanced/expert stuff). At the same time, I did manage to hit about every area, run, or lift that I had wanted to coming into the Gathering.
Whistler Mountain
Emerald
The Emerald Chair on Whistler is the "Family Zone" chair, and comprises mostly green runs, and some terrain park areas. And it's right off the Whistler and Peak-to-Peak gondolas, so it was the go-to warm up spot a few mornings.
One of the "intermediate" groups (first day I think)... @Gary Stolt, @VickieH, @weegie, @fosphenytoin, @Older boot , @David Chaus , Shamora, and @fernieskier
Emerald chair with the Peak-to-Peak Gondola in the background, and Shamora, Weegie, and Fernieskier.
The Saddle between Glacier Bowl and Whistler Bowl
Normally The Saddle is a steep (30 degrees at the top) groomer. Well given all the new snow, it hadn't been groomed in quite a while, so we all got to ski it in shin deep fluffy stuff. Some of the experienced folks were nice enough to give some tips and lessons, and it was a nice adventure to ski it!
@Philpug and @Pumba finding some less tracked stuff out to skier's left :
@Philpug, @Pumba, Peter, @at_nyc, Lucia, @Jilly and a couple of others in black (anyone remember who?) regrouping at the bottom
The t-bar ride back up!
Harmony and Symphony
These large areas of Whistler have open alpine bowls, long groomers, various trees and bump areas, and are really spectacular to ski. Unfortunately, I didn't spend as much time in them as I wanted - partly due to some difficult visibility and flat-light conditions in the high areas, and some tired legs some days. I did get to do some real steeps, powder, and moguls one afternoon when we formed and "advanced-intermediate" group (thanks @Philpug for leading that one!) That was really tough for me, but lots of fun - I want it to be easier eventually, so I'll keep working on it! (And thanks @DanoT for the mogul tips!)
Getting in to Harmony bowl... GS Run is nice, and gets very steep on the last pitch down to the lift (not shown!)
@Philpug leading the advanced/intermediate group into some off-piste stuff!
Beautiful views when there was some sunlight!
@Jilly , someone (?), and Lucia
View of 7th Heaven from Harmony :
Peter in Harmony :
The Harmony area was pretty busy at this time... other times there was no lift line.
Symphony Bowl
Peak-to-Creek
The longest vert run at the mountains - a full mile (5280 feet) of vertical. It had some changing conditions and grooming conditions (or lack thereof) along the long, long run. It leaned toward being a black run in some places (by my mid-Atlantic standards) and it was most of a morning for the group... but it was lots of fun to do, and led to a nice lunch in the Creekside village.
@weegie, Shamora, @David Chaus , @Marty McSly at the peak!
The Peak Express lift that takes you to the top! (On a different day than we took it.)
A view from the top :
And another :
Me at the top! (I believe there are some other Gatherers in my goggle reflection.)
Lucia and @Tony on the Peak-to-Creek
View back up to the peak :
Blackcomb Mountain
Crystal
A really nice groomer area on the far lookers left of Blackcomb. I hit this area a few times, and it was always fun. We even got a bit of bright sun for half a run one day. I also hear there are some nice trees, but I didn’t venture in – maybe by next year I’ll be ready to try some more trees.
Heading into the Crystal area... @Gary Stolt , @fosphenytoin, @fernieskier, Shamora, @weegie, with @Rainbow Jenny, and @Older boot doing stork turns.
Crystal Lift :
Trying to spread out...
@fernieskier, @SKI-3PO, @fosphenytoin, @Rainbow Jenny, Shamora, @David Chaus , @weegie
Just cruising...
Front to back.. @fosphenytoin, @weegie, and up top, @VickieH (not sure if the other two are Gatherers...)
Upper Crystal area :
Blackcomb Glacier
Kind of a signature run for the mountain. You take the Glacier lift, then the Showcase t-bar, then hike 50 or 60 feet of vert to actually get into the glacier bowl. Visibility the day we did it looked good - until we got there. As we hiked and traversed in, things got very dim. Thankfully, @Lady_Salina got into group instructor mode and made sure we all got through it safely for a few turns until it started to clear up lower down. The run itself was boot or shin deep and really great to just cruise through. The views - what little we could see - were impressive and the whole glacier run seemed really neat. There is a loooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnggggggg runout to leave, followed by a long cat track back to the crystal chair. Well worth doing on a visit though, and I'd do it again if I went back (hopefully in bluebird conditions!).
Top of the hike! Lucia, Peter, Meg, @Older boot , @Jilly , @weegie
After the visibility improved quite a lot... Front to back... Meg, @Lady_Salina, @weegie, Lucia
@weegie and @Lady_Salina discussing things on part of the runout
7th Heaven
This was a great area that reaches the alpine. We hit it a few times - the first time, whiteout at the top, but wonderful meadows down below with everything soft and easy. The second day it was sunny and warm and the open alpine area was great. The third day it was a whiteout up top, and heavy and sticky lower - not the best way to end things. But it's a great lift and really great intermediate area.
@weegie, Lucia, and @fosphenytoin out of the clouds
Sunnier day in 7th Heaven
The entire lift from Whistler :
Solar Coaster/Wizard/Excelerator
These are some of the main lifts on the middle an lower parts of Blackcomb, servicing some big long blue cruisers. (One is even named "Cruiser".) Since I was staying near the Wizard chair, these runs were my route back home everyday. The runs are nice though somewhat the same... there is a ski-cross course along Solar Coaster that a few of us tried one day to liven things up though. (Thanks @Pumba and @John Webb for joining me on that one!)
Blackcomb base and Wizard Chair :
Top of the Blackcomb Gondola... @VickieH, @weegie, Lucia, @fosphenytoin, with @DanoT on the far left putting on his skis
Coming down the Excelerator area :
Random green circle tree tunnel :
View from the lift of mid-mountain :
Other Items
Lodging
I stayed at the Aspens on Blackcomb, which I found through Homeaway, and booked through Allura Direct. It's ski-in/ski-out near the base of the WIzard lift in the Upper Village. It wasn't right in the main village, so there was a little effort to get to the meetups in the morning. But the lifts generally started by 8:00 (though official time is 8:30) so we were able to take the little Magic lift up and ski down to the main gondolas for meetups.
And with the exchange rate, and a roommate (@MattSmith was able to join us for the Gathering again), it was actually really affordable for being slopeside for a week. I'd recommend it. There were a few others at the Gathering staying there too, and I think everyone liked it. Plus, Merlin's at the base there was a good spot for après!
The Aspens courtyard - heated pool and hottubs were available :
Last day's après... @Matchstix, @mdf, @Tony S , @Philpug
Last day's après ... @Philpug, @Older boot, @Marty McSly
That après kept growing too... we wound up with like 12 people around a small table... sort of around it anyway.
Lift Tickets
I have an MCP again this season. I bought it intending to use it at more than just the Gathering. That doesn't seem likely at this point (though there's a chance) so I actually paid a bit more (I think less than $20 more total) for 6 days than I would have buying through WB. If I use the MCP someplace else, I'll definitely be on top.
Food
Food was generally good. And I got to have poutine for the first time (it was great). I did eat in a few nights, which helped on the cost, but things were expensive overall. On-mountain food was similar in price to what I've seen at other resorts; That is to say, expensive. There are a lot of options in the villages at various levels though which helps too.
Rental Equipment
With all the soft snow, my 81 underfoot east-coasters were not the best choice. So after the first couple of days, I spent the rest of the week on Atomic Vantage 90's in 184 length. I really liked them, and I think they were good for me since I was ducking in and out of powder areas and hard and soft groomers most of the time. However, since I rented on the spot, I did pay what I thought was a pretty high price. There's a significant discount for pre-booking rentals - so something to consider if you're renting.
Thanks, and Next Year
Finally I wanted to say thanks - especially to @David Chaus , @Older boot , @Lady_Salina, and @Jilly for being intermediate guides, @MattSmith for putting up with me as a roommate again, and especially @Lady_Salina for being Gathermeister and guide for everyone!
And thanks, and great skiing with, chatting with, or meeting you to @weegie, @Marty McSly, @fosphenytoin, @SKI-3PO, @Pumba , @TonyC , @Tony , @Tony S , @Matchstix, @mdf, @VickieH, @John Webb , @Philpug, @Tricia , @JohnL, @Posaune, @Jim Kenney @Vince , @ScottBurger, @Rainbow Jenny , @KevinF, @cantunamunch, @bigguyski, @DanoT, @Lizardqueen, @at_nyc, @Captinron27, @KingGrump, Meimei, Shamora, Lucia, Meg, Peter, and probably several more folks I'm forgetting (my apologies!)
I'm looking forward to next year in Utah already!
(Hopefully I can help Phil make it a great event next year!! I see I've been given a promotion in my badge title!
)
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