BLUE BIRD DAY FOR 2022 RETURN

RODE IN SADDLE FOR HAT TRICK UNDER WINDY SKY

By PETER THOMAS BUSCH

I waited long enough for my knee injuries to heal, and then unexpectedly my back gave out. The lower back just had enough, I guess. In hindsight, I had been lifting weights and then road cycling immediately afterward, and my back and hip and buttocks just did not want that much of a workout.

When my knees stopped clicking so spontaneously, I started thinking about using my two day passes that I had bought in the Fall at a discount for Whistler Blackcomb.

The problem was, and continues to be, that I no longer own a car, and that I live in Vancouver, with Whistler about 100 km away without a public transit connection.

Of course, there are private transit companies taking people from the airport to les mountains, but I am not a snowboarder arriving from over the seas.

It took a bit. Jumping in the car at 6 am was so comfortable and convenient, while taking a private transport bus would be an idea requiring a bit more discussion.

But in the end, I found a chartered bus, that leaves from Downtown Vancouver, and drops off passengers at Creekside.

Creekside is easier, with accessible public washrooms, and small storage lockers for backpacks and valuables that do not quite fit into the jacket pockets when there is no trunk to hide them in, there being no car, as I took the bus.

The locker was $10 for the day, but well worth the comfort of snowboarding without a backpack. The bus was $32 roundtrip, which is almost equivalent to the cost of gas driving there in a car. I had to spend money to get to the bus. Public transit would have cost $3, but I missed the first bus waiting for breakfast, and so I had to call a cab, which cast about $6.75. Breakfast was free at home. The lesson learned I guess is to wake up a bit earlier, 4:45 am was not early enough by about 15 minutes, apparently. For those who care, I took public transit home for $3.

But the whole reason for the trip was snowboarding, not the cost of gas last year driving up solo in my car.

By the time I changed and stuffed my backpack in the storage locker, the Creekside Gondola was uploading. And then, I uploaded onto the Big Red by 8:40 am, when thoughts of completing the upper mountain traverse began.

Whistler had a nice topcoat on the runs with the right temperature to keep snow conditions that way for most of the day. 

I had to get warmed up a bit, especially not having been to Whistler for over one year, after the early close to the season due to covid last year, even with precautions in place throughout the season.

By 10:40 am, I was heading up the Peak Express for the first of three Saddle Runs.

After my third Saddle Run, I headed for Franz’s Run and then the Big Red.

I took the Peak to Peak Gondola across to Blackcomb and headed over to 7^th Heaven right away. I usually wait until the end of the day, but the weather and snow conditions seemed right in the moment – and they can change quickly especially on windy days, like gusts of wind sweeping over certain runs on this day.

I went up once and then went down, and then went back up before taking the out to the Glacier Express, which I had never done before. I usually take the easy out back to Rendezvous Lodge and then snowboard down to the Glacier Express.

I had always wondered, while riding the Glacier Express, how those people got there on that Ridge toward the west. And I finally found out.

I snowboarded down to Jersey Cream, finding my first ice patch run of the day, on the Bite.

The Bite was too icy to do much of anything on other than slide to safety, the Bite being a Black Diamond on the best of days.

Stoker to the Blackcomb Gondola was similar, although with a bit more mercy. Ross’ Gold had even more of a topcoat, but still too much ice for the fun you can have on the run during powder days. And forget about the fun you had carving Catskinner when there was 3 cm of fresh powder.

But you know, the snow is falling on Blackcomb tonight, so all will be forgiven by tomorrow morning.