TWO SYSTEMS: one warm and steamy, the other cold and blustery, battled for supremacy at the end of the storm before opening day.
And it wasn’t until Thursday morning that we knew which one had taken the title.
There was a temperature spike, to be sure. And on some parts of the mountain, it seemed to go all the way up. But there was treasure to be mined, and the landscape was lit by blue skies and an early November sun.
She wasn’t perfect, but the right features were still holding a few cherry pow turns…
The coverage up there is amazing. And so, in turn, is the shredability.
Roughly a metre + of snow has wrapped itself around the terrain above 1600 metres.
And while that’s not a huge amount, it’s bridged really well over the natural, early season hazards and settled into a supportive surface of rippable awesomeness.
Above treeline anyways… Photo: Mark Warner and The Low Pressure Podcast
With a brief little blast of cold convective activity at the end of the storm, there’s even been the occasional pow turn to be had.
It’s been enough to encourage a few bouts of early season airtime, when 2 feet feels like 10 feet and you post the shitty pic on Instagram anyways.
30 feet or air! On opening Day! Photo: Matty Richard
Hot damn it’s good to be back on the slopes.
The shredding only seemed to get better as the weekend went on. Fluctuating temperatures worked their magic on the crusts, breaking them down and letting us sink just a tiny bit deeper into the snow.
And yeah, winter has been a little weird around here lately so this is the kind of shit that we get excited about these days.
While all the communities east of us are trenching their way through angel dust towards the valley floors, we’re getting stoked because 3cms of ski penetration starts to feel a bit more like five.
Ooooooohhhhh yeah, bitches.
Stan Rey’s Eye View….
Ok, maybe not. But I can’t remember the last time I felt comfortable pointing straight down the fall-line on opening weekend.
And with a smokey 8cms having fallen over the last 24 hours, maybe people from Revelstoke are gonna start driving here instead of the other way around….
Haha.
Yew!
Thursday: Ian Macintosh taps into the fall line of a Whistler classic. Photo: Matty Richard
Saturday: Sophie Lechasseur starts settling back into those wintery vibes.
Sunday: Blaine Wolokowski rushes home to catch the CFL Western Championships. Photo: Doug Flutie
It’s worth mentioning that all of our best turns came from hiking The Peak and Harmony Chairs, neither of which are spinning right now.
Make sure you’re prepared for avalanches and all the other early season hazards (the glaciers are still really open) if you’re planning on heading that way.
And make sure the ski patrol has opened the road for hiking.
If not, just rip hot laps off The Red and Green Chairs….the groomers are firm, fast and fun right now.
Either way, 2015-16 has officially kicked off in The Sea to Sky, so link up with your squad and get amongst it!
Keep an eye on www.whistlerblackcomb.com for all the latest updates…