 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Stopped at Coast Blackcomb suites in 2016, and will be doing 12 nights there again in Jan. My lad has done 2 seasons in Whistler so can show us around. We are going for Epic local pass as it fits our days skiing perfectly and is the cheapest option. We won't use it anywhere else I don't think.
True ski in / ski out. Ski hire on site, pool and hot tubs, decent included breakfast and large rooms. Number 5 free bus serves the place, or you can walk down the piste at night.
It's not 5 star like 4 seasons, or Fairmont, but then you also don't benefit from the 5 star clientele either  We may have a meal in one of the posh places, but warm, functional, comfy and very spacious will do for us. We have gone for a 2 bedroom app. It's nice to have the living room and cooking facilities as well. People used the big breakfast area to have a few self bought beers and pizza when I was there last so their groups ate together. Not often I go somewhere as I'm very fussy, but I had zero issues at The Coast.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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AFAIK your options are:
8 day tickets through whistler - 666usd
Epic 7 day pass - 659usd
Epic local pass - 659usd
Epic full pass - 879usd
Whistler season pass - 999usd
First two options are worthless as they don't give you as many days and cost same/more than epic local pass. Epic local pass would get you 10 days at whistler (there are some date restrictions, but none in march), but doesn't seem to include European resorts. Epic season pass gets you unlimited skiing at whistler and gets you some days in Europe - but read the t&c's as some require staying in particular hotels so may not work out as great a deal as it sounds. Whistler season pass costs more as it offers some benefits such as discounts on food and shopping on the mountain and in the village. Probably not worth considering if you are only there 10 days.
Yes you can use the epic pass at any resort in any order including Europe.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Forgot to add. The prices of passes go up early November so get them soon
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Boarder2020..defo look to book the holiday and pass this weekend.. 🤘 sh:)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| PremsUltim8 wrote: |
| ... Can anyone give also any Feedback on the Crystal Lodge or Blackcomb Suites? : |
They're both entirely fine. The main difference from what I recall is location- the CL is right in the main village, where as Blackcomb suites is off on the side of the Blackcomb piste. You can ski right up to the Blackcomb suites, but you have about a 100m stroll to get to the Crystal Lodge (big deal). There's a free shuttle from the Blackcomb suites to the village every few minutes, or it's a 10 minute walk. You'll get more space for your money at the Blackcomb suites and it's a slightly more relaxed/ quieter part of the resort.
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As for location. I personally would go with crystal lodge. More convenience as you can access whistler or blackcomb mountain easily, and ski back from either mountain to within 100m of your accommodation. Accessing whistler mountain from blackcomb base requires taking a bus to whistler village first, taking the peak2peak gondola, or taking a chair up and skiing down - while not a huge inconvenience but an unnecessary faff. Also there is more to do/see/nightlife in whistler village. Not stayed in either though so judging only on location
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What a difference 24hrs makes..
Just found out that my ski buddy has too cancel ski trip to Whistler. His family is being extended, Good luck to him and his fiancee..
However this left me in a dilemma, I am short of a ski buddy or buddies..
Advanced skier 35wks+, Love Apres and up for a laugh..
Anyone in Whistler and looking to join up in Mid March 18
Have not booked but looking around deals again...
PM me with any help or shouts
'Bon ski...
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Whistler Trip booked - Wife now decided she would come (well for £485 extra compared to single supplement). Absolutely ecstatic and booked Epic Pass which includes European resorts. Found a place in St Christoph for mid April (4nts there) then 4 nights in St Anton.
Wife is a novice skier but the idea of going back to school is very much appealing. At least Whistler offers lots to do incl recovery days and dare I say it 'a bit of shopping'. Also a snow mobiling and a helicopter trip.
It would be great to hook up with skiers and boarders, Will be in Whistler from 17th and skiing from 18th to 26th. Would great to meet up with other snowheads and hit some runs and more importantly some POW.
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Be aware for using the epic pass in ski arlberg you have to stay at one of the epic properties. Also the 3 free days are for the whole area not each resort, I.e. you won't get 3 free days at each resort, just a single 3 day pass for the whole area. You can read all the details and see the places you have to stay at here
https://www.epicpass.com/info/europe-is-epic/austria.aspx
For whistler the best advice I can give you is to get the guide book (https://www.quickdrawpublications.com/product/advancedexpert-ski-and-snowboard-guide-to-whistler-blackcomb-2nd-edition/). The piste map will get you around, but there are a lot of lines not on it. Plus, the photos make orientation a lot easier than the piste map.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@PremsUltim8, One bit of advice, powder days in March will be rare, so you might not get one. The last time I was there was in March 2015 for 2 weeks, I had very little new snow, the bottom third of the mountain was slush, and the top went through the freeze cycle every night. If you are lucky enough to get a powder day or days forecast, you need to be in the queue for first lifts before 08:00, as if you leave it until mid-morning it will be too late as there will be thousands of locals out. Likewise, if a lift has been closed for avalanche control, and you decide to put in another lap while waiting for it to open, by the time you get back down again if it has opened it will be too late for fresh lines (that was my experience at least).
Also in March you are likely to get heavy rain in the village when it is snowing in the alpine. If you are used to European skiing it can be a bizarre experience walking to the lifts in the rain to go skiing 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Quote: |
| One bit of advice, powder days in March will be rare |
What?! Not at all! Without looking at the numbers I would guess powder days are as frequent in march as Jan or Feb. In fact there was only 2 days last march it didn't snow - and of the 28 snow days 16 had 10cm or more! Also lots of rain in the village in march is not normal, although possible. 2015 is generally considered a terrible season, so perhaps you just got unlucky.
Agree that the obvious stuff gets tracked out quickly on a powder day. The trick is knowing where to go, at what times, and getting a little lucky - but you only start to work that stuff out through experience. My general advice for powder days is head to blackcomb (shorter lines and they usually get the alpine open quicker), get to the base lift early, and then don't come back down to base untill the queues have cleared.
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@PremsUltim8, I'll probably have all of snow heads screaming at me!, we went skiing with the Ski Club of Great Britain it was the best thing we did, they have a variety of days, you can get your powder and your also ski with your wife and enjoy the company of others, my wife had done her ACL in and had become nervous, the ski leader assess our skiing in an unobtrusive way and said you two must be up for your fast intermediated day, best think ever and you get to go off and ski with the off piste group and she can maybe hook up with those who like a piste
Its going to cost you £90 for membership, if I was going back to Whistler I would subscribe again , there no ski hosting where we are going 
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You know it makes sense.
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@radar, wholeheatedly agree - I skied with their leader while I was there, and it was fantastic. The variety of days were great - and lots of flexibility.
I also did some of the resort lessons, but the SCGB led days were far superior.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@boarder2020, I guess it is just me, I only got 2 or 3 powder days in my 8 weeks in Whistler (2 weeks a year between 2012-2015). By powder days I mean proper bottomless powder, not just 20-30cm new snow.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Agree that the definition of powder day varies, but I don't believe you are any more likely to get big dumps in Jan or Feb than march. Looking at which month the biggest dump came each season:
2017 - Jan
2016 - march
2015 - march
2014 - Jan
2013 - march
2012 - march
Over 30cm days are always going to be rare at whistler though, if that's your judgment for a powder day, regardless of month.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| PowderAdict wrote: |
| ... I only got 2 or 3 powder days in my 8 weeks in Whistler (2 weeks a year between 2012-2015). By powder days I mean proper bottomless powder, not just 20-30cm new snow. |
You may be looking in the wrong place - at a resort it's all been tracked out by people through the season. You're riding whatever's fallen overnight, on that skier pisted base.
One also needs to be a bit careful about "how much has fallen" and "how big a pile has it made", which are different because it consolidates, more so in coastal areas.
More than 30cms fresh comes with high slide risk and so is generally very challenging to ride.
---
March is pretty peak for Whistler and isn't anything to be concerned about. Some people will be unlucky sometimes; it's weather.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I always wonder how they can claim to make everything in bounds avalanche safe, given that anything above 30 degrees may slide,
I shall still remain cautious and carry the gear when out there in Jan, and I know my lad will be wanting to take me into some lesser known areas.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Quote: |
| I always wonder how they can claim to make everything in bounds avalanche safe |
Everything is patrolled everyday and bombed if necessary. If something is not safe they won't open certain lifts or areas. Its not uncommon for things to not open the day after a big storm. There was a slide over on Calvin and Hobbes last season. However, look at the stats for inbound slides in north america and you will see its very, very rare. Tree wells are a far more serious risk.
Don't worry about "lesser known areas", everything gets patrolled and skied at whistler.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| endoman wrote: |
I always wonder how they can claim to make everything in bounds avalanche safe, given that anything above 30 degrees may slide,
I shall still remain cautious and carry the gear when out there in Jan, and I know my lad will be wanting to take me into some lesser known areas. |
The only inbounds place I ever found to get concerned about were the gemstone bowls off Spankys where it is pretty hard for patrol to get every release point.
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Reassured. But I'm still taking the gear so I look cool sitting in the cafe....
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Skied a _lot_ of fresh powder at Whistler last season - which since I mostly only get to ski weekends was a bit more of challenge, but not that hard.
As noted above, whilst thankfully rare, inbound avalanches can of course happen, but my bigger concern is also tree wells.
Last edited by After all it is free  on Tue 10-10-17 21:40; edited 1 time in total
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Thanks everyone for your quotes and Tips so far...
Things to consider are:
A) Find out about SCGB Membership
B) Guide book
C) To check out Ski Arlberg Area for epic pass
D) Tree Wells
E) Avalanches
F) Check out Blackcomb Runs am
Anything else....??
SH's 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Check out local guides on both Blackcomb and Whistler.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Agree with @stuarth, and @boarder2020, tree wells are much more of a concern than inbounds avalanches (assuming you obey closed signs).
Sadly, we lost a friend in a treewell accident at Whitefish. Whistler had a couple that year I think.
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You know it makes sense.
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@philwig,
^that.
I've been in a tree well, and can confirm it is hard to get yourself out. Additionally even though the people I was skiing with knew there was a problem and were not far ahead, it was remarkably difficult for them to get back up the hill in deep snow.
Fortunately I was able to stabilize myself, poke around, get a ski off and get out myself; but hard work and seemed like it took forever - fortunately not to go in too deep I guess
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@stuarth, @philwig, Most start out with buddies but become separated. In powder you have to be very close to be able to get back up the slope in time, that's if you even realise you have to go back up. Our friend was one of the best skiers we knew (also a risk factor as they push the lines) , died at around late morning (also typical as the lines away from the trees get skied out) , was 20m off the piste, close to a chair pole and his family were waiting for him at the chair lft at the bottom (alos common)
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Poster: A snowHead
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I'm told skiing glades are somewhat resembles skiing in avi terrain. That is, one at a time. So there's always a pair of eyes watching the person skiing. That way, there's a chance to see him/her falling into the tree well, the EXACT tree the skier disappeared into!
It's hard work to get back up the hill. Also, the trees obscures the line of vision. Much harder to keep track of where your buddy is.
2 skiers skiing simultaneously in the trees doesn't really mean much. Each is usually too busy focusing on the trees right in front and finding lines, rather than paying attention to where the other person is (or missing entirely until much too late).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@PremsUltim8, you can ski with the SCGB for one day for free to see if its for you
Blackomb in the morning, get up to Crystal Hut for waffles
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@gryphea Sorry to hear about that; the best we can do is learn from it.
Even so, it's actually easy to stick with someone through the trees, if you're both of similar competence. You need to yell to each other and watch for the track. You don't need to follow the same track. I think that most people who don't bother don't understand the risk.
Uphill in powder is extremely strenuous - it's easier if you have a tail guide & radio, or other people behind you.
On the plus side, I believe that you almost always have time - it's not like a slide, because there's generally plenty of air in a well, so long as you don't panic.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@PremsUltim8, have a look at this mapping tool https://wmmi.ca/
Interactive map that shows you exactly where you are on the mountain with only gps running no data needed.
Found it very useful
Also book meals out as it gets busy in most restaurants.
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FAQ
