 Poster: A snowHead
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Thinking of a trip to Whistler next season.
What recommendations do people have on when to go?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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bar shaker, I like January or March as there's a good chance of powder in those months - not guaranteed of course! In saying that we're probably going next April as that's when the school holidays are.
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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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I'd go when it's likely to be coldest to avoid the chance of rain / wet snow. So probably late Jan, early Feb. We went early March (2006) and conditions were not that great.
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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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It dumped snow big time around 6th March 2006 and I've got this photo of me on the 8th March about to dive into powder outside the Chic Pea. We did a Dave Murray ski camp that week and it was a powder camp. March can be a big month for snow in Whistler.
This guy has archives of snow reports going back several seasons. He's pretty unbiased in what he reports.
http://www.whistlersnowreport.com/
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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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I've been two weeks before Christmas this season and last and was royally dumped on both times. There are, from what I can tell, no 'bad' times to go to Whistler, even if it starts raining in the village it'll probably be snowing not much higher. (Remember they have a season that goes on a long, long time).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| skisimon wrote: |
| I've been two weeks before Christmas this season and last and was royally dumped on both times. There are, from what I can tell, no 'bad' times to go to Whistler, even if it starts raining in the village it'll probably be snowing not much higher. (Remember they have a season that goes on a long, long time). |
Yep - I typically ski there in good conditions starting in late November, and finish season in early may when it's blissfully quiet and there's still a huge amount of snow. Personal fave times are before Xmas or early-mid January. Just don't expect much sun 
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geetee, Yep, it dumped a couple of times while we were there, but it also rained a few days later too. I agree it was only an issue returning to the village, but still not very nice and something I would avoid given the choice.
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Following on from the above, which periods would be best avoided if you want to miss any likely extremely cold temps?
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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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ski-finder, Whistler doesn't usually get as cold as the interior but has the odd cold snap that may last several days typically in January/February time. Coupled with windchill this can feel very cold indeed. However, for the most part, it doesn't get any colder than in the Alps and they're more likely to suffer from higher freezing levels hence uktrailmonster's comments about rain. If you have a look at the reports on the link I gave above then it shows the temperatures for each reported day on the peak, at midstation and at base.
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As geetee says, it's not particularly cold at any time in Whistler. It's only when you get over toward Calgary i.e Banff that it regularly gets seriously cold in mid-winter.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Best to go when it is snowing, but the later you leave it the warmer it is at resort level (700m ish) and the more likely you will have rain or slush on runs back to the resort. Generally I think any time up to and including Feb may be better/colder and less likely to rain than the period March and later, but this is not always the case as we all know. Upper slopes should be good all season though even if raining in the resort
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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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bar shaker, i'd say end of Jan because I don't like it when it gets too warm, ie above -10.
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Rossfra8,  I bet you loved Banff then!
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You know it makes sense.
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skisimon, we had about 3-4 weeks of not much below zero and it was hell-then right back to temps of before. On my level 2 (End of March) it was -42 overnight one night!
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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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You cant (in my experience) determine with any certainty when is the best/worst time to go to somewhere like Whistler because the weather is so variable. Typically the weather comes in off the Pacific, but then it depends if it is Alaska Pacific or Hawaii Pacific. The worst conditions I ever saw were in mid to late Jan a few years ago after sustained Hawaii based weather had washed away a lot of the snow on the lower slopes. This year when I was there at the same time the weather was from the Arctic and we "enjoyed" temps of -18C........Banff was -30C at that time.
So you pays your money and you takes your chance.
I like January. We have had good snow and it is not too crowded. Also it is part of the discount time for cheaper lessons then. Not a lot of sun in January though.
Feb /March will typically be busier than Jan, Feb especially with the US Presidents day holiday. Easter is usually pretty busy. April (but not Easter) has been great when we have been there, better weather, some sun and good snow up top. The runs back to the village are a bit iffy then.
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Poster: A snowHead
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malcolm1, Spot on the best time to go is any at short notice when you see a pacific/Alaskan front slamming into each other over BC.
The non frozen precipitation (resort marketing people are forbidden to use the word rain) is not really an issue it'll rain top to bottom in Fernie maybe once a season and rarely rains in the alpine at Whistler during season proper.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I reckon that I have been in Whistler 8 times now for broadly 10 days at a time. In that time I have had 1 occasion when it was raining at the top of the gondola . It has been raining in the village a lot and it has been snowing above mid mountain a lot but skiing in the rain, in the alpine, has never been an issue bar that one time .......which was in mid March. I have been there in April a few times and it was never an issue then.
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