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Whistler or Europe for New Year's Ski Trip

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi There,

My GF & I are planning our ski trip for New Years at the mo. We are keen skiers, I do a lot of ski touring and off piste and she is now at advanced intermediate level. We normally go to Chamonix or St Anton and love both resorts.

We have been offered the use of a cabin in Whistler & we are wondering whether to go there for this New Years for a change. I've never skied outside Europe, would love to try it and hear Whistler is the business. We have a few issues tho:

-Is it very cold that time of year (i.e. will this take from the enjoyment of the trip)?? (GF fond of creature comforts)

-Assuming we have free accommodation, is it still crazy expensive versus Austria say?

-We would be coming from Ireland (probably thru London), would we need 10 days or 2 weeks to justify the trip?

-Taking all factors into account should we just stick with Europe for another blast of brilliance? (if it ain't broke don't fix it, after all)

Appreciate all opinions on our happy dilemma but particularly from those who have skied in both Whistler/Black Combe and better resorts in Europe.

Thanks in advance for all replies.
happy & safe skiing to all.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Free accomodation in Whistler is a massive perk. It's very unlikely to be exceptionally cold, may be busyish, crowds tend to increase over New Year rather than Xmas.
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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?
Prices aren't too bad, esp since you have free accommodation. If you are self-organising, get your day passes at the 7-11 in Squamish - these are the only things which will feel painfully expensive compared to Europe

You don't *need* 10 days but it depends on how you adjust to the time difference. I always ski Whistler as part of a trip to see my in-laws and I never go for more than a week. You have a couple of wierd nights' sleep but the fresh air sorts you out.

You'll like Whistler for the inbounds off piste but there is also plenty of easily accessible touring too and Whistler has relatively enlightened "open gate" policies. The scenery is nothing like as grandiose as Chamonix but you should have a pretty good time there

edit to say that it is highly unlikely that it will be very cold while you are there but don't expect to see a lot of sunshine. the reason that whistler has such good snow is that it spends a lot of time snowing!
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horgand wrote:
-Is it very cold that time of year (i.e. will this take from the enjoyment of the trip)?? (GF fond of creature comforts)

Whistler really never gets very cold thanks to the maritime climate. You are more likely to get rained on, but in either case you should still go.

Quote:
-Assuming we have free accommodation, is it still crazy expensive versus Austria say?

Not at all. Acommodation is the only really thing that is crazy expensive other than lift tickets, which Arno has addressed. In my experience, food and drink at least off the mountain is considerably cheaper thanks to the exchange rate.

Quote:
-We would be coming from Ireland (probably thru London), would we need 10 days or 2 weeks to justify the trip?

More time is obviously better. You kind of have to make your own decisions there.

Quote:
-Taking all factors into account should we just stick with Europe for another blast of brilliance? (if it ain't broke don't fix it, after all)

If you have a free place to stay, you should absolutely go.

Whistler is awesome. With this forecasted to be an El Nino year, there is a chance of it not being a good snow year. I was there during the last one also around New Years, and it was a historically bad snow pack. Nevertheless, the top of the mountain still had enough snow and the trip was definitely worth it. Go.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Skied Whistler the 1st wk of Jan, 2007. Fantastic snow, superb mountains - the in-bounds off piste is a graet way to do things. 1st day was v clear and it was -26! The only people who suffered were the ones who hadn't enough layers. Once that was sorted, everyone was fine. Definitely go.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
horgand, I've skied Whistler before Christmas during two of the last three seasons, and the snow was awesome on both occassions (even better by New Year). The season just gone I left it until the end of January - which was probably a good idea. 2008/9 wasn't a fantastic winter for snow in Whistler - but it was still comparable to many European resorts during a 'normal' year.

To the point - Definitely do it! Especially if you have use of free accommodation. Early season snow is very likely, so you have a good chance of some good skiing, even around New Year; the resort offers pretty good value compared to the likes of St Anton (although, as has been mentioned, lift passes are fairly pricey in Canada). Being service land, there are plenty of creature comforts available around the place and it shouldn't be too cold.

Be wary of those who hop around shouting about rain in Whistler though... yes, it rains in Whistler - but no more than it rains in many resorts in the Alps... Not likely to be a problem either way at New Year, as the temperatures should keep pretty low (but not uncomfortably so, like in the Rockies).

Plenty of interesting terrain, inbounds off-piste and good touring nearby as Arno mentioned.

As for the length of your stay - in my opinion, the longer the better in Whistler. But you should be fine with 10 days unless you suffer badly from jet-lag (or just travel exhaustion).
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
horgand wrote:
Hi There,

My GF & I are planning our ski trip for New Years at the mo. We are keen skiers, I do a lot of ski touring and off piste and she is now at advanced intermediate level. We normally go to Chamonix or St Anton and love both resorts.

-Is it very cold that time of year (i.e. will this take from the enjoyment of the trip)?? (GF fond of creature comforts)



Keen skiers worried about cold? Shurely shome mishtake Wink

Chances are very high that you'll have great conditions. If an arctic high comes down, it might be clear and cold but this typically happens in Whistler only once a year. Most likely to pretty snowy, and no colder than St Anton and Chamonix. And about the same chance of rain as those two places too.

Would be a tough one to turn down, I reckon ...
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Such a no-brainer... Wink

What's so "crazy expensive"? Flight? Lift pass? Food??? Puzzled

And compare to what? Europe at Christmas?

Unless you don't plan on skiing in N. America EVER, how are you ever going to do it cheaper than FREE lodging?
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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.
Hi Folks,

Thanks for all replies to date, very informative and useful - I think I'm sold.

ABC its not such a no brainer tho, as firstly the Alps are the business and would be hard to beat. Also I reckon we'll need 10 days to 2 weeks minimum to justify the trip, flights will be circa 2-3 times as long & expensive as going to Geneva say, lift passes similar?, apres ski probably not as much fun and this winter is an El Nino one which apparently affects Canadanian skiing badly. So there's a bit to weigh up tbh.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
horgand, whistler is one place that does apres to Euro standard, especially at NY. Also not all El Nino's are bad for Pacific Northwest, most are very average (which is excellent). Last year was officially a La Nina, but it had little affect and while Whistler got late snow (fully opened at Xmas), it was overall pretty average. I at least have my fingers crossed Smile

See Tony Crocker's analysis (and overall bible for north american snowfall):

http://webpages.charter.net/tcrocker818/

Whistler is mostly indifferent to El Nino on average.

And what's wrong with 10 days or two weeks? Wink
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
the apres is pretty good in Whistler and the lift passes are not 2-3 times as expensive - you're looking at CAD65ish per day if you buy from 7-11 IIRC
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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.
horgand,
If you ain't done it I would go for it. As far as the jet lag is concerned my experience is that it is rarely much trouble in the resort for a keen skier. (The nightlife may take a back seat for a few days though) It kicks in when you come back though.

The skiing is superb, eating on the hill does not IMHO opinion compare with Europe. The resort restaurants are good but often need booking and are probably a bit more expensive than Austrian ones.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Apres at Longhorn or Merlins usually lively enough for anyone. Plenty of bars and sleazy niteclubs too so your issue is usually getting in somewhere rather than not being fun enough. Usually have to drop $$$s to get in somewhere NYE though.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
horgand wrote:
ABC its not such a no brainer tho, as firstly the Alps are the business and would be hard to beat.

If so, you probably don't EVER want to ski in N. America.

But if you do change your mind later, you'll still have the "crazy expensive" flight, lift etc. AND you'll have to pay lodging on top of those!

Either way, it's still a no brainer: a) never to ski N. America EVER; b) ski it NOW when you have free logding.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
it has to be said, on balance, this leans towards no brainer Confused
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I only get jet lag on return to the UK - when out in Canada it's more a case of a few early nights and early mornings to begin with, as in effect you're going to bed very late according to your internal clock. No bad thing if you want to get out on the snow Toofy Grin

Coming back it's like you have missed out a whole night's sleep - normally takes me about a week to recover....
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
As above!!

Check out lift pass prices on the WB web-site: there are usually discounted deals on multiday passes purchased before 15th November, which may be a better option than the 7-11.

I'd definitely recommend at least a 10-day stay to deal with the jetlag.
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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?
Acacia, good shout. You can usually get some good deals on bits and bobs (including lift passes) if you book a few months in advance.

Whilst the lift passes are more that in Europe they are not horrendously so... plus, you get lots more avvi controlled inbounds 'off-piste' to safely play in that in Europe. snowHead
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Inbound off piste gets skied out very quickly but it is a nice resort. My one experience of out of bounds was very tame, but perhaps hiring a proper guide to do some tours would have payed dividends (not sure what the options are there).
"Extremely Canadian" will show you a lot of steep inbounds skiing in 2 days (they put you with people of similar standard) and I can recommend them - better than Steep and Deep in Jackson Hole, I thought.
From what I've heard and experienced Whistler is no colder than the Alps.
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