Canadian Skiing, eh? -- Whistler/Vancouver - Feb 27 through March 5

[skiincy]

On Sunday, I'm flying from PHL to Vancouver for a skication with my brother (who I learned is lurker on here 🖐️). I've skied a bunch of resorts out west but Whistler has been on my must hit list for some time now.

I decided to go with an Epic Pass this season solely to explore Whistler. I kind of thought with the hoops, testing requirements, etc - it would limit some American tourists from going to Whistler this year. Hoping by going to Canada and skiing midweek, the crowds will be mild and the snow will be good. 🤞

This is my rough agenda. 

Day 1    Sunday Feb 27                 ✈️Arrive in Vancouver + shuttle to Whistler.
Day 2    Monday, Feb 28             Ski at Whistler
Day 3    Tuesday, March 1           Ski at Whistler
Day 4    Wednesday, March 2     Ski at Whistler
Day 5    Thursday, March 3         Ski at Whistler. 4pm shuttle to Vancouver. Explore the city.
Day 6    Friday, March 4              Explore the city.
Day 7    Saturday, March 5           ✈️Depart, early 7am flight

While in Whistler, I'm staying near the Whistler Village Center (near the Blackcomb Mountain Gondola). While in Vancouver, I'm likely staying at or near the Hyatt Regency (still deciding on the exact hotel).

So PASR - is there anything I should specifically do or see? Any must go-to restaurants or bars?

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Have fun..Whistler was the first place I ever skied out west.  I went with my dad back when I was 19 back in January of 1999.  I don’t have any suggestions, Whistler is a big party town so try not to go to HAM because skiing with a hangover sucks.  A nice thing is no thread of altitude sickness since the base is 2k and the top is 7k. 

[toast21602]

Whistler is awesome. It is my most skied mountain besides Blue. Everything up off the the glacier is awesome. Harmony/Symphony area is great on Whistler. If you are there during a breezy day you’ll understand the naming. Good thing you will be midweek because lines there have been crazy long. The earlier the get out of the base, the better. Don’t waste your time skiing down to Creekside. If you’re feeling adventurous and looking to pucker your ass, Spanky’s Ladder area can do that. The snow is always great in there. 

[skiincy]

1 minute ago, toast21602 said:

Whistler is awesome. It is my most skied mountain besides Blue. Everything up off the the glacier is awesome. Harmony/Symphony area is great on Whistler. If you are there during a breezy day you’ll understand the naming. Good thing you will be midweek because lines there have been crazy long. The earlier the get out of the base, the better. Don’t waste your time skiing down to Creekside. If you’re feeling adventurous and looking to pucker your ass, Spanky’s Ladder area can do that. The snow is always great in there. 

Sweet! @toast21602- Have you ever skied to the ice cave?

Good to know about Creekside and Spanky's Ladder.

 

I've been watching the weather. Looks like wind is about 3-5 MPH and they're calling for snow, likely 1-3" most days.

[Justo8484]

Good call not skiing weekends. The time if year you're going, be prepared for anything, weather-wise. Could be sunny and 50°, could be 20° and nuking, could be 30° and pissing rain. Been a few years since I was there, but there's obviously tons of good stuff there.

7th Heaven is probably some of my favorite terrain there, because I do love some loosely spaced, tree'd up meadow skipping. Staying right by the blackcomb gondola should slightly shelter you from the crowds in the village, maybe... obviously any of the bowls are gonna have fun stuff, go where the snow is, etc. I'll probably catch some flak for it, but do peak to creek (if conditions are not prime up top), if for nothing other than the fact that it's an absurdly long top to bottom run. 

On the food/drink side, you can't go wrong with Sushi Village. Midweek, happy hour specials, sake margaritas... many nights have gone blurry there by the time the check came. El furny is good for the typical "local" rowdy ski town vibe, as much as anything in whistler can really have a local vibe at this point, and the food is good and not terribly expensive for where you are. GLC or Longhorn are some of my favorites for apres, especially GLC since you can literally ski to your barstool if the snow's good. 

As much as I have fond memories of being a poor college student trying to piece together the cheapest meal possible from the supermarket in the village so i could spend more money on booze, if you've got a car at your disposal, stop for groceries and beers before you get in to whistler. You'll save yourself lots of money, and the beer selection in vancouver or squamish is better. 

If you're renting a car and there's snow in the forecast, stop at whatever the local canadian walmart/target equivalent and buy some chains or cables. Sea to sky has a mandatory chain up section if it's snowing, so you don't wanna be stuck on your drive up if you luck out with good snow. Worst case scenario, you eat the cost of the chains (or return them if unused), best case you use em and get fresh tracks the next day.

 

Edit: here's the ice cave!

Edited February 22, 2022 by Justo8484

[toast21602]

Yeah, the ice cave is on the way out of the glacier. Access and visibility of it depends on how much snow they have gotten. 
 

There is a great sushi place called Sushi Village that sells pitchers of strawberry sake margaritas. Make reservations and go there. 
 

Canada also sells Rockstar Vodka energy drinks at the store. Worth dabbling just to experience it at 6.9%. 
 

 

Edited February 22, 2022 by toast21602

[toast21602]

@Justo8484 is right about Peak to Creek. Do it once to ski the full vert of that place in one run and the insane leg burn. But never go back down there because it usually turns into an icy scraped off people funnel. Also, Peak-to-Peak gondola is worth the experience. Stunning views the whole way and the glass bottom is super cool.

[toast21602]

Last but certainly not least... do not get chili at the Glacier Creek Lodge. 

[mute1080]

Also my first mountain out west and I think my 3rd mountain overall. I second the glacier, that was my favorite run with the cave and runout. 7th Heaven was a close second. Have a great trip!

[Justo8484]

2 minutes ago, toast21602 said:

Last but certainly not least... do not get chili at the Glacier Creek Lodge. 

or do, and see how exciting your next lift ride is?

[toast21602]

some TRs from previous trips. Not sure what is in them. Probably a bunch of drunk posts.

 

 

[skiincy]

This morning, I woke up at 6:30am. Ate some leftover dinner for breakfast. Left my house at 7am and was at the baggage drop at 7:30am.

I got there at the same time as the Halifax Thunderbird Lacrosse team was checking in. I listened to their stories from last night in Philly … sounds like they like to have a good time. They’re playing in Vancouver on March 5th next. 

I had a layover in Toronto and saw my luggage leave the plane

but my luggage had other plans. It made its way on a different plane.

i packed a carryon but all my ski gear is in my bag that’s definitely not here.

Positively? It seems like all ski gear that went from Philly to Toronto to (what’s suppose to be) Vancouver got redirected in transit and is on the next flights. 

I’m on a shuttle to Vancouver. sounds like they’re going to drop my ski bag off at the hotel around 1am. (Fingers crossed)

 

Edited February 28, 2022 by skiincy

[theprogram4]

Saturday night Halifax dominated the wings all game, but the wings staged a comeback towards the end to make it 10-8.  However, Halifax held on to earn the W.  The wings have 8 games left with 7 on the road 

[skiincy]

Yeah! Sounded like an exciting game! 
 

Skis still not here …. Waiting on rentals …. 

[Justo8484]

4 hours ago, skiincy said:

Yeah! Sounded like an exciting game! 
 

Skis still not here …. Waiting on rentals …. 

Keep your rental receipt and make sure the airline reimburses you. I had the same thing happen to me once in Utah. That was the last time I flew with my boots in a checked bag. 

[momskeeztoo]

Always have my boots as carry on. 

[momskeeztoo]

Skiincy what airline did you fly? 

[skiincy]

3 hours ago, momskeeztoo said:

Skiincy what airline did you fly? 

Air Canada. I guess it’s been happening more often because they don’t have the ground support to transfer luggage. 
 

@Justo8484i think I learned my lesson and will travel with boots in a carryon next time. 

I have the receipts - definitely. I rented volkls, boots, helmet and ski pants. I loved the Volkls. Didn’t love the boots but it was doable. I heard they reimburse “reasonable” amounts. So I bought a new pair of hestras too and hoping to slide in that reimbursement😂

bag is finally moving … so hopefully it’ll be here soon 

Edited March 1, 2022 by skiincy

[skiincy]

No skiing yesterday but here’s a recap about getting here

Yesterday, I arrived to Canada. I had a layover in Toronto and did customs there. 
 

the process was a bit annoying. You needed to take a PCR test within 72 hours of arriving into Canada and have your results. So when I got this from CVS with messed up dates, it became a whole thing. Luckily I caught it before leaving Philly and took some extra PCR tests just in case. 

Arriving into Toronto, I was randomly selected for another PCR test. 

when I got into Vancouver, handled the baggage drama but everything else went smoothly. Grabbed snacks from the 7-11 and booze in the airport. Went to level 1, met my brother, and took a shuttle to Whistler.

the seats were comfy, smooth ride. Definitely recommend if you’re interested in an alternative to a car rental. Cracked some beers and ate 7-11 taquitos like all classy people do.

Arrived in Center village and strolled to the hotel which was super close. I’m 

We got settled then walked around a bit. We ended up getting drinks and burgers from El Furniture Warehouse (menu)

i got the mushroom Swiss burger with fries. It was $7 which was a steal. Seriously cheaper than frozen food at The Grocery Store. And the cheapest on mountain food I’ve ever had.

I didn’t love the bun. Too many seeds. But everything else was great. Would definitely go ahead. 

Very confused by their cocktails. i thought I was ordering a regular margarita and then she told it had wine in it. So I said no thanks. She then offered “bull dog style”. all a bit weird but I went with it. Definitely would not get this again.

Music playing was 1990s rap — biggie, DMX, ice tea. Felt like this place could also be in fishtown.
 

as we strolled through the village checking out the other places, I felt like I was on a college campus where you just hear music pumping in a distance. Overall, super impressed by Whistler. 
 

 

[skiincy]

Today

Woke up at 7am hoping for my skis but to no avail … i began my journey to rent gear. Unfortunately places didn’t really open until 8.

i went to Spicy Rentals to get rental snow pants, helmet, skis and boots. I didn’t love the boots but I was a fan of the Volkls. Would not recommend ever going into a ski rental shop… 

I skied the Volkl Secret 92. It felt smooth and it felt like they naturally maneuvered the mountain. 

After the hoopla of rentals, I had peanut butter & banana for breakfast then scooted to the gondola. The inversion was thick this morning.

The lines were crazy short but I knew people were on the mountain.

I stopped in for a quick bathroom break on the Whistler side and I saw a billiojion people in line for food. Would 100% not recommend eating on the hill.

I skied from 10-closing and most of the lifts. My goal was to mostly get a feel for the mountain. The place is huge.

there was 6” of fresh snow in the past 24-hours. It was a lot of ungroomed soft powder that was tracked out.

Visibility was tough so it was hard to determine when my knees would suddenly be in my chest as I flew over surprising bumps. Here’s a pic to show the visibility.

Took the tourist pics by the Olympic Rings and Flags.

weather improved but it was so variable depending on where you were on the mountain. Crazy how the weather changes drastically on the long runs.

my last run was on red express lift at 3:25 and had a nice long run down. It was snowing and the visibility improved slightly. It was snowing up top and raining down below. 

as I approached the bottom, you heard the music pumping. The DJ was rowdy. The bar tenders came out with alcohol bottles with flames on them. People were dancing on the fire pit tables. I really felt like it needed some Grilled Steeze dance moves.

Walked back to the hotel. The room is on the first floor, so I flung myself over the patio fence and crashed.

For dinner, my brother got food at the crystal lounge. Someone recommended it on Reddit. A bit tricky to find but great happy hour.

We eventually met at Tepley’s and had the chicken parm sandwich and some drinks. The sauce was a bit … seasoned? it had a kick. It’s definitely was not a bland sauce. Would 100% have it again.

i stretched. Hot tubbed. And then my skis arrived ❤️

overall, great day. Started out a bit frazzled but I had low expectations with the missing skis.

not sure the ROTD because I really didn’t look at maps much. I just pointed skis down the hill and went for it. It was awesome to meander a new mountain. Epic Mix told me 13 lifts and about 25k vert.

Tomorrow - I’m hoping to check out some of the recommendations that toast and others wrote about above. 

Edited March 1, 2022 by skiincy

[toast21602]

5 hours ago, skiincy said:

No skiing yesterday but here’s a recap about getting here

Yesterday, I arrived to Canada. I had a layover in Toronto and did customs there. 
 

the process was a bit annoying. You needed to take a PCR test within 72 hours of arriving into Canada and have your results. So when I got this from CVS with messed up dates, it became a whole thing. Luckily I caught it before leaving Philly and took some extra PCR tests just in case. 

Arriving into Toronto, I was randomly selected for another PCR test. 

when I got into Vancouver, handled the baggage drama but everything else went smoothly. Grabbed snacks from the 7-11 and booze in the airport. Went to level 1, met my brother, and took a shuttle to Whistler.

the seats were comfy, smooth ride. Definitely recommend if you’re interested in an alternative to a car rental. Cracked some beers and ate 7-11 taquitos like all classy people do.

Arrived in Center village and strolled to the hotel which was super close. I’m 

We got settled then walked around a bit. We ended up getting drinks and burgers from El Furniture Warehouse (menu)

i got the mushroom Swiss burger with fries. It was $7 which was a steal. Seriously cheaper than frozen food at The Grocery Store. And the cheapest on mountain food I’ve ever had.

I didn’t love the bun. Too many seeds. But everything else was great. Would definitely go ahead. 

Very confused by their cocktails. i thought I was ordering a regular margarita and then she told it had wine in it. So I said no thanks. She then offered “bull dog style”. all a bit weird but I went with it. Definitely would not get this again.

Music playing was 1990s rap — biggie, DMX, ice tea. Felt like this place could also be in fishtown.
 

as we strolled through the village checking out the other places, I felt like I was on a college campus where you just hear music pumping in a distance. Overall, super impressed by Whistler. 
 

 

Completely forgot to recommend Warehouse. Cheap everything, but still good shit. We ate and drank there often. Glad you found that gem. Crystal lounge is good too. Usually cheaper pitchers of beer compared to other places. Decent wings. 
 

Just saw in your second post that you went to Crystal lounge. Nvm. 

Edited March 1, 2022 by toast21602

[skiincy]

 

Tuesday I woke up and was so excited to have my skis and my low light goggles.

My legs were on fire from Monday. The heavy snow and the piles of ungroomed terrains / moguls made my legs jello.

Skiing Whistler might be the complete opposite of somewhere like Deer Valley. I haven’t seen an inch of cord at Whistler. 

My legs felt trashed … like I just ran a marathon. But like a normal person who is sore after a marathon. Not like how Atomic continues to run and ski after a 50k race. 

So … Tuesday morning — I returned my rentals and grabbed breakfast at Gone Eatery. I had a chai latte and mushroom breakfast bowl while I took some work calls.

I took the Whistler gondola up and chatted with Schif who is in Dubai and was drinking with one of my college friends.
 

i saw a sliver of blue sky on Tuesday. I would love to see the full view.

I started off on Whistler side and tried to find my brother. He was on Peak Express and I asked if I would like it. 

My brother described the Whistler Bowl off the Peak Express chair as “the cliffs are steep and deep. And the slopes are butt puckering scary. Visibility was nonexistent when I went down. Huge powder moguls and steep slopes. It’s legit butthole puckering terrain.” The above pic is looking at Peak Express.

So … i continued to explore parts of Whistler. I was surprised by the snowballs rolling down the sides. In Colorado, it typically signifies that something is about to slide.

Blue sky? Don’t worry. The visibility was variable throughout the day.

By 12pm, it was back to low visibility. I went in for a quick lunch and to get my charger. Had a protein shake & headed back out.

By 2pm, it was big Flake energy at the top. Then raining mid mountain. And slushy and misty at the base. I was soaked as I skied back down.

My brother went back slightly earlier. He hit up the Olympics museum and said it was smaller than the one in Park City.

He went to Pizzeria Antico and got margherita pizza that was on happy hour. Odd that they gave him scissors to slice his pizza with…..

I missed happy hour but wanted to try a different pizza. I popped into Pangea for a Butternut Squash flatbread with feta & spinach. The Pangea hotel was weird. It looked like a WeWork for recent grads in China who like skiing. But the flatbread was delicious.   

The cocktail menu was full of ineundos like Citron My Face. i opted for a beer and kicked ass at Connect Four.

Edited March 3, 2022 by skiincy

[skiincy]

On 3/1/2022 at 3:43 AM, toast21602 said:

Completely forgot to recommend Warehouse. Cheap everything, but still good shit. We ate and drank there often. Glad you found that gem. Crystal lounge is good too. Usually cheaper pitchers of beer compared to other places. Decent wings. 
 

Just saw in your second post that you went to Crystal lounge. Nvm. 

Yeah so cheap and still good

Yeah! Went to crystal lounge today (Wednesday) again. I have to draft todays write up about the glacier. The Blackcomb Bowl and glacier was amazing.

[skiincy]

On Wednesday - Got the day started and my brother was scrolling Reddit. He saw this guy at Whistler when he was on peak express yesterday. The entire chair lift was hyped for him yesterday. Check out this link below!

Reddit - Whistler skiier

On Wednesday morning, I started up on Excalibur Gondola - Excelerator lift. The Tbar wasn’t open yet so we were doing laps on the Blackcomb side for a bit.

When it opened, we headed over to Glacier Express. It had a sign that shows the length of the line and visibility which I really think is wrong 🤷🏼‍♀️

Did the TBar. Met some guys from West Chester & Hershey in line. This was probably the longest line of the trip.

Hiked up a short bit and looked down at the Blackcomb Bowl. I take a similar pic at every resort so I had too 🤷🏼‍♀️

It was fluffy, deep, and you could really float. It felt like the backside of Snowbird on a powder day. The snow in Blackcomb Bowl was amazing and the ROTD. Loved it ❤️

We stayed to the right, kept our skis high, and hiked went down. It was wild. I overheard a guy show how much it’s receded in recent years… yikes 

Continued to ski down and bounce around on the Blackcomb side.

 

it was humbling and yet another awesome day in Whistler. 

[skiincy]

Wednesday night, I went to Crystal Lounge. Kinda funky to find but it’s right next to Old Spaghetti Factory.

 

i liked the scene. It was chill but cozy. Thanks for the recommendation @toast21602!

we got salads + nachos. Salads were good. Nachos were ehh. 

Then we came back for 2nd dinner and got wings since they were $0.10 (I think) 

Followed by hot tub life.