SOFT POWDER LEFT ON ALL THE TRAILS

PILLOWY SOFT MOGULS SHAPED BY END OF DAY

By PETER THOMAS BUSCH

Not a true stall but a traffic delay caused by an unprepared driver before the entrance to the Sea To Sky Corridor suggested a difficult day ahead on the mountains.

Once the traffic accident was cleared, the mountain caravan meandered up HWY 99 in single file at about 60 km per hour.

The snow storms had gotten ahead of the snowplows which only managed to leave a single lane cleared in either direction but compact snow everywhere else.

The line-ups continued on the day, there being already two of three levels of cars parked at the Creekside parkade. I got a tad uneasy when I could not find a spot on the second level as the week before the first level was full and I became uneasy at having to find a spot on the second level.

The winter snow storms brought out the powder hounds at Whistler Blackcomb with a 30 minute line-up for the Creekside Gondola and then about 15 minutes at the Big Red Lift to get to the top of Whistler.

The trails were covered in over 10 cms of soft powder making for a care free day since falling would be like falling into a field of pillows. The heavy snow though made riding more physically strenuous.

Line-ups are longer on Saturdays than mid-week and the above average snow fall meant even longer line-ups.

I tried to avoid the crowds by boarding to Olympic Mid-Station. but with the line-ups out of the station, with the morning surge from Whistler Village still filling the gondola cabins from the base station, I rode on to the Village and transferred over to Blackcomb.

The line-ups were similar at Blackcomb and the snow conditions the same, although a bit warmer away from that cold blowing wind at Whistler.

I rode Ross’ Gold to Springboard and then Stoker to Blackcomb Mid-Station a couple of times before riding back down to the Village and transferring back over to Whistler. The Whistler Village Gondola was much less busy by this time and I had wrote off my lunch hour in the gondola cabins and lifts transferring over to Blackcomb.

I managed to get in a couple of long runs on the Dave Murray Downhill without getting an edge caught on a mogul. The mountain always seems to get skied out by 2 pm whether the trails have fresh snow or a light grooming.

The moguls and bumps just force a change of riding styles from carving to more of a slalom to a freestyle mix of whatever gets you down the trail.

I missed the last upload at 3 pm, but finishing a tad earlier on the day, meant I avoided the rush of traffic leaving the parking lot and heading back home down south.

Another excellent day at Whistler Blackcomb with a change of snow conditions and winter weather causing some positive adjustments to the routine and some added variety to the season, although less vertical feet on this particular day.

The upper alpine remained closed on both mountains despite the snow, likely because of the heavy winds and increased avalanche risk.