PERFECT DAY WITH PERFECT ENDING

By PETER THOMAS BUSCH

What a wonderful wonderful day with the snow peaked mountains clearly visible and ever so pushed into the foreground by a slightly cloudy shifting sky. 

A Friday, with light lineups meant the first run began by 8:50 am on Whistler Blackcomb and the possibility of the first successful mountain travers of the season.

The good weather day on a weekday was a huge green light for the mountain traverse.

Especially after the short adrenaline runs on Mount Washington, a long traverse of the two mountains was welcomed.

I started at Creekside and uploaded to mid-station, and then transferred over to the Big Red Express. I headed down Ego Bowl into the Enchanted Forest before heading down toward Olympic Mid-Station and turning abruptly left to the Garbanzo chairlift.

The Garbanzo chairlift takes you to the top of the Dave Murray Downhill. I did the Dave Murray Downhill and then uploaded on the Creekside Gondola before heading down to Whistler Village for the lower part of the traverse to Blackcomb. 

The Excalibur Gondola took me out of Whistler Village. And then I rode the Excelerator Express to the north of the mountain and the jagged peaks lining Crystal Ridge. 

The Crystal Ridge Express had the longest lineup of the day for some reason, all out of the way in the far corner of the mountain resort. I guess all there were happy to ride the Rock and Roll and Back Stage runs.

It was critical, though, not to lose time in the lineups and to ride 7^th Heaven as the mid-way point of the mountain traverse, so I only rode the Crystal Ridge Express once and then headed to the top of Blackcomb on the Jersey Cream Express to get to the Expressway that takes skiers and riders to 7^th Heaven.

I had to ride Ross’ Gold a couple of times beforehand though. Whistler Blackcomb did not have any new overnight snow, but the mountain was well groomed with a nice thin topcoat of snow on hardpacked conditions ideal for carving.

I carved Ross’ Gold into Springboard and then seamlessly went down into Stoker, which was also groomed.

I did that twice before joining the Whiskey Jacks at the 7^th Heaven Express.

Whistler Blackcomb is hosting the Peak to Valley Race, Feb 21, 22, so I had to wait to ride the Saddle for the first time this season.

The Peak to Valley Race starts on the Saddle and skirts the west side of Franz’s Meadows before melding into Upper and Lower Franz’s and the Dave Murray Downhill to Creekside.

So from 7th Heaven I rode out to the Rendezvous Lodge and then made my way to Whistler Village for uploading on the Whistler Village Gondola. I then uploaded on the Peak Express.

I rode the Saddle gingerly once to check out the conditions, and then a second time to run the Peak to Valley course now that the race had finished for the day. The Peak to Valley course was well groomed, with minimal impact from the day of racing.

Everything seemed to be in slow motion after riding Mount Washington, even lunching on the pulled pork poutine at the Rendezvous Lodge seemed to be in time lapse mode. But 17 gondola/chairlift rides and 31,814 vertical feet later, I finished the day an hour early. I just had that feeling that the day was complete and it was time to go home.