 Poster: A snowHead
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Have read several posts alluding to rain being a regular problem in Whistler at resort height. Was thinking of going in January with a group of intermediate skiers and boarders. Is rain much generally a problem in January. I have done some research and have seen that it was very wet last winter (but I'm led to believe that was a bit of freak).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Yes, rain at resort level can be an issue in Whistler, so it is a good idea to have a good waterproof jacket. As such, the main chairlifts at resort level have covers, so you won't get wet on the way up. Last January was a freak, I wouldn't expect you to get too many days with rain in the resort.
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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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cheers for the quick response. Can't wait 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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Obsessed_intermediate, Agree with Wear The Fox Hat, We were there last March (2005) and rain in village means snow up the mountain. It really isn't a problem as the village is so low. I have been there in Janury before and it did nothing but snow at resort level. Go for it. It really is a fab resort.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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OK,
As a few of you will have gathered I am considering Heavenly/ Tahoe Area. Given the choice Whistler or Tahoe? Rain is probably the only thing that puts me off Whistler.
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johnboy, But the whole whistler experience is amazing! The apres, bars, restaurant, village atmosphere etc. It wins over tahoe in IMHO
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johnboy, I am in exactly the same position. I have been considering Breckenridge as well, but the altitude and very low temps in Jan have put me off. Plus the flights aren't as convenient.
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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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Sorry for the double post. Even if there is a little rain can you normally ski down to resort height? Does it just get a little slushy? Or do the runs lose all the snow?
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Obsessed_intermediate, It depends. Under normal conditions you can ski all the way down but there is plenty of downloading going on in bad conditions and it is quite normal practice (unlike Europe). Last March we downloaded every day. This is no hardship as you come straight out of the gondola and into GLC the best apres in town.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Sweet. I'm sold!
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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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I have been to Whistler ten times, for about 1 week each time. All but one time it rained for at least 1 day at village level. Take your brolly! (And if you want to ski home without downloading, a binliner wouldn't be a bad idea either...)
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Martin Bell, when we were there , they were handing the binliners out with the lift tickets...
but we loved it! And customer service by the gallon - they know how to help you enjoy your skiing.
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You know it makes sense.
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Friends spent two weeks in Whistler last season. And due to the rain the in the village everyday they say they'll never go back.
It's fine to say to only ski the top half of the mountains, but it's depressing when it's p*ssing it down when you want to go out for some apres.
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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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I think I'll stick to Tahoe
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Poster: A snowHead
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johnboy,
Stick to Tahoe? I think I'd reather ski in rain all day than do that! (I've skied quite a bit around Tahoe, and wasn't that keen - especially not Heavenly. Squaw and Kirkwood were pretty good though - but I wouldn't bother going there specially for a week or 2)
Obsessed_intermediate,
Having spent the last 2 seasons in Whistler I can say that it most certainly does rain in January - in fact in 2005 it rained for almost all of january, and quite high up too, though it snowed heavily on the peak. 2006 it rained a bit at the start low down then to the bottom for the second half, but dumped big time above the midstation pretty much every day!! - Nearly 5 metres of fresh. It was terrible, every day I planned to take off for a rest turned ito a powder day  
January is a good time to go to avoid the crowds, it's pretty much deserted, and much cheaper (except for the US holiday Weekends - Martin Luther King Day, and New year). If I were planning a trip to Whistler for only a week or 2, I'd go at the end of Feb/Start of march because there is normally good snow (though 2005 was an exception), the days are longer, and everything has had time to build up some decent coverage.
This season was epic right through from Boxing Day onwards (though the locals say it was only average!  )
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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stuarth,
I have a mate in San Francisco, so that sways me a bit. Also Heavenly looks alot cheaper than Whistler, according to my trusty Ski Independence brochure. Now I have no doubt that Whistler has some of the best terrain on the planet, but I really don't want to see one single rain drop on my holiday. We will have to agree to differ on this one
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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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stuarth, thanks for the advice. Our plan is USA/Canada in Jan and then a european trip, maybe Val Thorens in March. Whistler is definitely looking our top choice at the moment.
Have another question. I'm quite tall 6' 2" and really don't fit in the seats on european flights. Basically, my thighs are too long for me to sit in the seat and not have my knees rest on the seat in front. This forces me to sit through the flight on tip-toes. Which is just about tolerable on a 2hour flight to France, unbearable on a 4 our flight to the Canary islands and probably torture on a 9/10 our flight ot Vancouver.
I've never flown on an intercontinental flight before. Will I fit in a basic economy seat on a Zoom flight or an Air Canada flight. The AC flight has a 32" seat pitch according to the brocheur whereas the Zoom flight has a 31" pitch, different seat designs could potentially remove all the benefit from the AC flight.
Anyone have any views?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Obsessed_intermediate,
I am 6' and was dreading my last 9 hr flight to Canada. We flew with Air Canada and it was the best flight I have ever been on. Loads of leg room, very comfortable seats and superb service.
Just out of interest.
Heavenly
Base 206"
Temp 27F
Squay Valley
Base 283"
Temp 33F
Whistler
Base 123"
Temp 27F
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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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Obsessed_intermediate, this is a good website for comparing airlines:
http://www.airlinequality.com/
they have info on seat pitch inthere somewhere. I wouldn't stress over different seat designs making much difference, that is just as likely to work in your favour than against.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I'd second the advice given by stuarth, we were out there this year for late feb / early march and conditions wer esuperb, we had snow every singe day - who cares about rain in the village when you're knackerd from skiing 20+cms of fresh all day?
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| nbt wrote: |
| who cares about rain in the village .. |
Rain in the village means that if you don't want to ski the lower slush or in the rain, then you are restricted to the top half of the mountains. Whistler makes much of its "vertical mile", but effectively rain reduces it to the half-a-mile: that's about 3/4 of the run from the top of the Grand Motte down to Tignes Val Claret.
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| .. when you're knackerd from skiing 20+cms of fresh all day? |
Was doing that most days last week and the previous in Austria and Switzerland - and it didn't rain once!
I've had some great days skiing in Whistler in the past, but those heading there for the first time just need to understand that the intrawest marketing machine is very very well financed, and if you believe it all, you may be disappointed at some of the things that they *don't* tell you. A question: are the 'traffic lights' informing you how long the lifts queues are still there?
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| Obsessed_intermediate wrote: |
| Will I fit in a basic economy seat on a Zoom flight or an Air Canada flight. The AC flight has a 32" seat pitch according to the brocheur whereas the Zoom flight has a 31" pitch, different seat designs could potentially remove all the benefit from the AC flight. |
I was quite suprised with the seat pitch in the Zoom flights we used this year: seemed to be more than we had with Air Canada in the past. Zoom do have "Premium Economy" seats which has a 35" pitch, but additional cost does take the price up quite a bit - but IIRC still quite a bit cheaper than Air Canada standard economy.
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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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yes they are, and they were fairly accurate. we rarely saw big queus - morning queus for the gondolas up the mountain (tae the chairs instead) and some small queues for harmony and peak following major snowfall...
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Why not go to Tahoe/ Mammoth? More snow and no rain?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Different skiing, different atmosphere - I';ve skiied tahoe and whistler and would personally rate whistler above tahoe, not that tahoe is bad of course
there's also the issue that tahoe is in the USA and given the horor stories about people being refused entry at immigration etc, I'd again choose canada - but that's a whole other debate...
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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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Just back from Heavenly and would make the following points:
USA immigration issues - what's the problem? EVERY US official we met was friendly and courteous. The 'additional security' amounted to a search of our (checked in ) luggage (which we only knew about because they left us a card to explain in our suitcase) and a fingerprint & retinal scan on entry. no hassle took 5 mins. Other than that it was just like flying to Europe.
Tahoe Atmosphere - Not been to Whistler so can't compare, but we stayed at the Marriott in the Heavenly village and there was plenty of night-life (several choices of bars and restaurants and 5 mins walk from the Nevada Casinos. To me it felt a bit like Les2Alpes on steroids. All depends what you like.
Snow - Fan bloody tastic. The best I have ever skied. would go again in an instant, powder, groomed trails, warm sunshine, no rain, no queues, some slopes we had to ourselves.
Access - No ski-in ski out, but about 25 steps from door to gondola. no hassle. One day the gondola was closed but we drove (there is also a free shuttle bus) to the nearby California lodge - a little busier but no real problems.
Views - Stupendous. See pix on the heavenly thread if you are interested
Pistes (trails) - good variety, from easy through challenging to downright scary (didn't ski the scary stuff). Plenty to go at and did not get bored after 6 days. Personally I like to ski a run more than once, particularly if it's interesting and 'scenic' so I don't need hundreds of kilometers to last me a week. From my Navman, we skied around 70 miles over the six days, that's plenty for me.
Negatives - None really to speak of. Not as cheap as I'd hoped (but no worse than Europe) and on the day we left it snowed so much that I had to put chains on the car and missed our flight to Las Vegas (by 10 mins!). But United put us on the next flight 2 hours later at no additional cost so not really too bad a problem (still got to see Penn and Teller that night). Would I go again - absolutely! Might have a look at other US resorts for variety, but Heavenly more than lives up to its name in my book.
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AxsMan, I don't want my fingerprint and retina scan kept on an American database somewhere. They're not exactly renowned for their fair juduicial system at the mo. I'd rather go to Canada for my N American fix
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You know it makes sense.
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Cathy Coins, when the biometric passports come out, they'll have all the info they could want anyway!
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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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Wear The Fox Hat,
Have you been to the rain resort? What do you think?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Wear The Fox Hat, but won't this info be held in a chip on my passport, rather than in a database in a foreign country? I don't really know much about how they'll work!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| johnboy wrote: |
Wear The Fox Hat,
Have you been to the rain resort? What do you think? |
Yes, been there with some bloke Bell a few years ago...
Good place. Well worth the trip.
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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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| Cathy Coins wrote: |
| Wear The Fox Hat, but won't this info be held in a chip on my passport, rather than in a database in a foreign country? I don't really know much about how they'll work! |
It will be held on the passport, but then when you enter a country, they will read that data off the passport, so that they can confirm you are who you say you are.
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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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Cathy Coins,
If it bothers you then don't visit the US. Personally I'm not bothered if they have my prints and retina on file. I'm not planning on robbing any banks or blowing anything up so they can go ahead and store what they want.
BTW if you pay for anything with a credit card these days they probably already know your mothers maiden name and your inside leg measurement anyway - it's the age we live in.
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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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Okay, so is the consensus "Whistler is a great resort with a bit of a rain problem at low altitudes"? So the vast majority of the time you get great powder high up, but you might have to download if you don't fancy getting wet.
Prices don't seem too bad. About £670 should cover flights, transfers and self catering with a pool. Will probably book at the ski show to get free lift passes etc.
Anyone done the ski esprit thing there?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Obsessed_intermediate wrote: |
| Okay, so is the consensus "Whistler is a great resort with a bit of a rain problem at low altitudes"? |
On the actual skiing that's about right. Compared with other Canadian resorts, it's also quite expensive, crowded, and full of Americans, Aussies, Japs, Brits, etc.
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It's all about the skiing! Plus the binge drinking! 
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| johnboy wrote: |
| Why not go to Tahoe/ Mammoth? More snow and no rain? |
Have been there on a number of different occasions (I used to work in the Bay area on and off) - and have even been rained on! 
As nbt says, Whistler and Tahoe are very different, I don't like driving everywhere, and like a beer or two or ... I like the ski school programs at Whistler and the vast terrain (Squaw and Kirkwood aren't bad, Alpine and Sugarbowl are OK for a day, but the other areas really don't come close).
Obsessed_intermediate,
Though I rarely participate in Ski Esprit, a lot of people I know do (including MrsH), and they love it.
[rant] I heard a nasty rumour that the Ski Esprit at the weekend will be canned for next year - this is nuts since it is a great program. If anyone wants to 'discuss' this with the ski school director, let me know. Why don't they can 'discover whistler' days instead!!  [/rant]
The runs below the midstation (where rain is not uncommon) are really only ski-outs - because everyone of all ability funnels into these at the end of the day, even if they had deep powder they would still be awful, so I don't even really count these anyway
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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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[quote="Obsessed_intermediate"]Okay, so is the consensus "Whistler is a great resort with a bit of a rain problem at low altitudes"? So the vast majority of the time you get great powder high up, but you might have to download if you don't fancy getting wet.
quote]
Up high, it is indeed more likely to be snow than rain, but it won't always be the lightest, fluffiest powder. Cement is also possible.
By contrast, during the whole six years I lived in Vail, it rained twice between November and April, each time for about 2 hours. (Each time it was so rare an event that it made the local paper.) The same would apply to all Colorado and Utah resorts.
Don't get me wrong, Whistler has the BEST extreme terrain in N America - I look forward to every trip there. But if all you're doing is cruising on-piste, why not go somewhere where you'll see some sunshine? If you're avoiding the US because you're worried about ending up in Guantanamo Bay, why not try Banff/Sunshine/Louise? Cheaper than Whistler, better scenery, better snow, better weather.
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Obsessed_intermediate,
I think Martin Bell, has a point. I think this guy knows his stuff. I can vouch for Lake Louise/ Sunshine. I went there for my honeymoon in 2004. I was skiing on 29th November on a 2m base. Views are stunning in lake Louise and the powder was awesome in Sunshine. (Sunshine gets alot more snow as it's on the Continental divide)
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