 Poster: A snowHead
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I'm going to Whistler this winter for 4 months to do my instructors qualification. Having only ski'd in Europe so far in my life I'm wondering just how much colder it is in Whistler / Canada and if I'll need any extra gear to cope?
What are everyone's opinions?
I usually ski in a base layer, or t-shirt and my gortex shell jacket. Obviously on particularly cold days I wear a mid-layer of some sort but I don't have any special ski fleece mid-layers, just hoody's or normal jumpers....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Whistler is no colder than your average Alpine resort
It does rain more so make sure everything is property waterproof
and it's SKIED not SKI'D fercrissakes
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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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ski'd is what all the cool kids are doing 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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bensley, i thought they skizzided 
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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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maybe they do, i'm not very cool to be honest, at the ripe old age of 26 i'm falling way outside the social circle of being cool these days....oh well, i still enjoy my skiing so who cares ay!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Chasseur, gah! 
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Arno, and its agh! not gah! :0
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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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mark handford, no - I DID mean to say, "gah!"
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bensley, I can only comment on the east coast of Canada in winter as I’ve not been to the west.
It gets very cold (according to the thermometer) but -10c there feels warmer than 0c in Scotland even with no wind – think it’s down to humidity
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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bensley, Whistler isnt really colder than the Alps cos its so close to the sea and the warm wet air off there. Obviously it will get pretty damn cold sometimes but much warmer than the interior BC resorts or Banff etc.
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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 went to Alberta - Canmore/ Banff / Lake Louise for about a month feb/March (ok in 1994). It varied between cold -9C and F$%%ING FREEZING -35C.
-35C is almost exactly the same as -35F (-40C= -40 F) both are so cold it hurts- spontaneous nose bleeds, eyelids freeze up, everything hurts.
I think Whiostler can get quite cold - over a season but doesn't get the weather from the arctic for as long-- but over a season I think it could get quite nippy.
That said in -35C I wore thermal undies, pile/pertex salopettes, fleece, pile/pertex top with hood and face mask, gloves.
If you do get really cold weather you m ight need boot heaters (or hot packs that go on your socks) a mask and you might wantto consider staying inside rather than actually going outside (I didn't- but in reospect that would have been a good idea).
All that said the snow stays really fluffy when it is cold!!!
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bensley, same experience as edsilva. -37c at mount norquay. I could only ski for about 90mins then had to go in and thaw out, then back out again. My boots creaked like hell, thought they were going to break when i took them off. Eneded up with large icicles handing from my googles which amused the other half. The mars bar in my pocket was like an iron bar! trying to eat it going up a lift was a mistake!, banged it on the metal guard and it shattered into little bits!
They would not let anyone up the lift without a face mask.
In the evening if you went out without a hat, as soon as you stepped outside your ears really hurt! It was just so COLD........
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You know it makes sense.
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Shorts and a T-Shirt will be fine. 
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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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bensley, I boarded Sunshine, Banff for ten days in Jan08, had one of those electronic thermometer key ring things. average temp on the hill was -14'c and warmest/coldest was -10'C/-19'C.
I had a Burton down jacket, medium thermals and the thinest fleece I could find. My wife had a similar setup and neither of us got cold or looked like the Michelin man either! You will need a face mask though as well - probably the most important! (get one that you can tuck under your googles preferably)
My mate was in Whister at the same time and speaking to him afterwards it sounds like that Whister is a bit warmer.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Just back from 3 months in Banff (well winter time) as everybody knows. I don't think it is as bad as everyone makes out especially when you are used to it. You will probably wear a face mask as the season starts if its really cold but it wont bother you after a month and you'll give up. -30 is fine and is just standard base layer, mid layer, jacket weather. I'd say if your going below that just throw in an extra mid layer and you'll be dandy especially if you are moving (lifts will be cold). When it's too cold to ski the lifts will stop turning..
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Cold just means ski harder to keep warm, no bad thing of course 
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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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Just to reinforce what others have said:
Whistler is coastal and lower than typical european alpine resorts, so is typically warmer than they are. Obviously with their vertical, then at the top it is colder that in the village, but no more so that in a similar-size european resort.
Ignore references to Canada being cold unless you are going to the rockies resorts (Banff, Lake Louise etc) or the eastern parts.
We just head for the Okanagan: drier than Whistler (therefore nicer snow, but a bit less), and warmer that the rockies resorts.
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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November to Feb are freezing.
Mar to May heat up nicely.
Whistler is warmer. Banff is colder.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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How cold is Scotland? How does it compare to the Alps?
The distance between east coast Canada to Whistler is far greater than from Scotland to the Alps. Even the distance between Banff and Whistler is still on the same order as Scotland to the Alps. So, experience to Banff and Quebec really have zero bearing to what to expect at Whistler.
If you can ski all over the Alps all winter long with just a mid-layer on top of a T-shirt, you can ski Whistler with that too.
You may want to change the title to read "how cold in Whistler". Canada is about the size of Europe. You don't mean to ask what the weather is like in Norway from someone who's only been to Greece, do you?
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Skied Lake Louise in December.
Through the day it was typically -12 which was fine to ski in. One day it was -20 and that was a bit unpleasant. Down to -35 a few nights, but then I was sat in a lovely warm hotel.
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Went to Jackson hole in '93 and it got down to -47 celsius. Needless to say the resort shut. Mind you, the rest of the week it was below -30 which made skiing a bit of a challenge. Could only stay out for an hour or so before having to grab a hot drink
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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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Arno, Nope, it is SKI'D according to the dictionary.
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Dude you will probably have around 1 week to 10 days when it will drop to around -20ish during the day .. probably sometime in Feb.. apart from that it is pretty much akin to skiing in Europe.. lower reaches tend to get wetter snow.. higher up in the bowls lots of lovely pow pow. Watch out for teh motorway traffic on teh bottom two thirds of teh Whistler side from mid afternoon.. not fun. Awesome mountain sure you will have a wicked time.. oh the Police are friendly too.. they have given lifts home at 4am before
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Hornster, What dictionary is that !!!!!!
Certainly in Shakespeare's time a poet might use the apostrophe to indicate the past tense spoken in the way we do now. This was because the -ed was more formally still said as a separate syllable with the e sounded as in the name Ed. I can see no reason why anyone would put in an apostrophe now. 
But Arno, I liked "fercrissakes" - it is just how many people say it. Come rather a long way from "for Christ's sake" but "bloody" has come even further from "by our lady" (intermediate state b'lady I am told)
As for Whistler, it was normal Alpine temperature when I was there - I gather it is the sea which keeps it warmer than much of Canada at that latitude.
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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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solarfish, been to Banff 6 separate winters now.
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solarfish, been to Banff 6 separate winters now.
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You know it makes sense.
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Perhaps you should say it six times then?
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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| arv wrote: |
| solarfish, been to Banff 6 separate winters now. |
I'm heading in to my 13th 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Take a temperature guage http://www.jamesfinngarner.com/images/blogimages/brass02.jpg
Don't know 1st hand about Whistler - but would like to.
It was very cold, -35 C first thing, in Panorama. The cold was biting on the chair lift but did give me an excuse for covering up my ears to escape hearing the life story of a bragging American on a corporate jolie. 
Only needed normal 3 layers to keep body warm as it was dry but a face mask mask was essential to avoid frost nip.
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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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In my experience of Whistler (been there about 10 times) the usual temperature on the mountain will be just below freezing (but likely no less than -10 if that), whilst the village temperature will be late 30s early 40s F. That is why you get the usual story of rain in the village but snow on the mountain. Most of the weather comes in off the Pacific so it tends to be rain or snow, depending on where the freezing level sits.
On occasion the weathern pattern alters and a mass of cold air comes down from the Arctic, which is when it gets cold.....when we were there last Jan it got down to -30 on the mountain. That is doable as long as you are sensible ie regular breaks to warm up and maybe some hand/toe warmers to keep away the cold, as well as decent jackets/salopettes to start with. These tend to be shortish cold snaps so it is not as if it is going to last that long.
Perhaps to put it in context, last Jan apart, it seemed colder to me in Banff in late March/early April that what it usually is in Jan in Whistler. That said , Banff was clear blue skies and sunny which Whistler sometimes is, if you are lucky, but not often !
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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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Last season I found most of january, and some of feb pretty cold (coming as someone who before I went to Whistler had only ever skied in a t shirt/ gtex jacket)
Tended to end up with base layer, jumper or t shirt, jacket (with powder skirt and cuffs done up) and ended up with a face mask once it started getting silly cold.
I think we got a lot more sun than usual last season (which was nice and warm in the late season
The time that I found it very cold was in the evenings (particularly the walk from the bus to the restaurant that my course ate at), its a bit strange to be wearing a base layer of thermals to dinner...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Hornster wrote: |
| Arno, Nope, it is SKI'D according to the dictionary. |
Try getting a modern-ish dictionary then 
You won't find many printed in the last 100 years or so that define it with an apostophe in place of the 'E'.
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I walked over a mile back from a pub in Canada in -29C wearing a hat, jeans, gloves and duvet jacket... toasty. I found that during the days skiing (-10 to -15) I just wore a base t-shirt, thin fleece sweatshirt and shell jacket. Toasty.
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I went to Whistler 8 or 9 years ago and from what i can remember it was a bit colder than europe, probably stayed between -15 and 0 the whole time. East coast Canada is way colder, i did a season there in 2004 and the first week of Jan had possibly the coldest weather i've ever experienced was regularly -40 and the mountain was closed when it hit -65 with wind chill on one day. I'd recommend getting a mask to wear with your hat or a thin balaclava with just a gap for your goggles if you're going to ski wearing a helmet.
During the coldest weather i was wearing thick thermals on top and bottom, thick socks, tshirt, fleece and DNA jacket and trousers and a mask.
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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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| ohalex wrote: |
| regularly -40 and the mountain was closed when it hit -65 with wind chill on one day. . |
-65!! At that temperature I'd expect my eyeballs to freeze solid - might make it hard to focus!
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| snowball wrote: |
| ohalex wrote: |
| regularly -40 and the mountain was closed when it hit -65 with wind chill on one day. . |
-65!! At that temperature I'd expect my eyeballs to freeze solid - might make it hard to focus! |
It was insane, needless to say no one was out at all, where i was staying had a building with all the bunk rooms in and another building where we ate. There was probably only 20m between the two but walking there involved wearing full ski outfits including goggles, gloves and balaclavas as you couldn't have any skin exposed at all. Even when we were skiing at -40 you'd have to stop and check after each run that no one small spots of frostbite on their face if their goggles had slipped and left a spot open.
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