BEST DAY RIDING SO FAR ON WHISTLER

REPEAT GOOD TERRAIN RIDING EXPERIENCES

By PETER THOMAS BUSCH

An early start was just not meant to be the day after Christmas dinner.

Judging by the unexpected light traffic on Highway 99, I was not the only one requiring a roll out of bed on Boxing Day morning for my sixth day snowboarding this season at Whistler Blackcomb.

As a result of the light vehicle traffic, I was not too late passed the 8:30 am start of uploading at Whistler Creekside, arriving about that time and then taking 15 minutes to gear up. No line ups at the start of the day again at Creekside, and generally short line-ups throughout the day on the mountain, although after skiing to Olympic Mid-station and taking the gondola back up, the skiers coming up from the Village mentioned a scramble to get a spot in the cabin uploading.

Generally, the common wisdom is to avoid having to upload on the Whistler gondola until that first morning serge of skiers has uploaded well after 10 am.

I snowboard anywhere else until about 10:30 am, and sometimes even after 11 am before riding all the way down to Whistler Village. Even Mid-station can be a wait to get onto the gondola before 10 am.

I had the best day so far this season and one of my best at Whistler over the last two season with 26,188 vertical feet and the Thin Air and Boxing Day pins from the Epic Mix app.

A season total of 82,932 and 15 pins so far this season has been compromised a bit by the counter not working properly the first three days this season, unless I miraculously hit the exact same vertical feet three days in a row.

I rode about 13,000 vertical feet in the morning before a lunch break at Peka’s inside the Roundhouse. Peka’s has more or less the same menu as upstairs in the Roundhouse, but in a smaller cozier atmosphere.

I took the Peak to Peak over to Blackcomb after lunch. I take about 15 minutes to eat lunch and then enjoy the rest of the lunch break riding the gondola to the other mountain.

Ross’ Gold was a good run to start off on the mountain. Initially, I had the run all to myself as everyone else was somewhere else. I rode down to the Blackcomb Gondola Mid-station and then repeated the run. When I find good terrain and enjoy the ride, I like to repeat a few times. Once in a while when I move on too early to other terrain, I cannot find the same enjoyment, so I stay and repeat when I find a trail with the perfect conditions for my riding style.

Ross’ Gold seems a bit more roley this season, perhaps because of the lack of snow, but the repeated pitches made for a thrilling ride into Springboard. Stoker is still closed due to lack of snow.

I rode Ross’ Gold four times before riding out to Whistler Village. I rode the Whistler Gondola twice, catching one of the last uploads at 2:57 pm.

I also caught the last run of the day after 3 pm, with all the lifts closed and uploading shut down, before downloading to Creekside on the Creekside Gondola.

The snow conditions were icy in spots, but the mountain has not thawed and frozen several times, so much of the terrain that is open has a couple of centimeters of well worked in snow crystals that riders can use to avoid skidding on the ice patches.