Heading to Whistler in Feb... Advice?

[jon4snow]

I'm heading to Whistler in February for the first time (in the winter) so I'm looking for some advice from those of you have have been before...

1) Fly into Seattle or Vancouver? (For some reason there don't seem to be any direct flights from EWR to Vancouver anymore [there were in the summer])
2) Transportation from the Airport

Originally I was thinking of flying to Seattle and then renting a car and driving to Whistler, but I've had some people caution me against it.

3) Areas I should absolutely hit on the mountain/things I should know about the mountain.

I'm also seriously considering either Cat or Heli Boarding for a day while I'm out there... I think I'm leaning toward Cat Boarding but I'd like some recommendations and thoughts..
4a) Cat or Heli
4b) Why?
5) Recommended companies

6) Any other thoughts and recommendations about a first trip to whistler... I'll be there for probably 5 riding days.

-Jon

[skidogg]

i would have said rent fat ski's but you said rideing so does rent a fat board work?

[biged]

Vancouver
Bus or deal with accomidations.
Ski the glacier on the back of blackcomb.
The other thing I noticed if you have a set of slippers which will fit in your pocket take them. Where them in the morning to walk to the gondis through the village and keep your boots off. Stuff them in your pocket for the ski day. Walking in race boots for a 1/4 mile in the village is misserable, one of my biggest complaints about villages. This is depending upon where your staying. The night life crowd at alot of bars is younger then in the US.

[skidogg]

go to the place with the aligator bus shoestring lodge and something something good food cheap stay crazy ass bar

[Crippity]

Jon4snow, fly out of JFK on Cathy Pacific to Vancouver nonstop. great rates no brainer

[Crippity]

dont rent car if small group, take shuttle from YVR straight to hotel

[ski the trees]

heli if you have the money, cat if you prefer value, but I'd probably skip both this year the snowpack is pretty unstable and avalanche prone so far. things can change though so I wouldn't rule it out completely either, just stay educated on the weather conditions from now until your trip to see if things improve.

links:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/561196
http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/weathe ... /index.htm

[Geoff]

My sister has lived in Vancouver since 1986 and I've been doing Whistler for 20+ years. Most of the tips here are spot-on:

Do not fly to Seattle.
Do not rent a car. Whistler has crap parking and you want to be a pedestrian staying close to the slopes.
Perimiter Bus Lines is the transportation from Vancouver airport to Whistler.

When it's socked in, spend your time in the midmountain tree band at Blackcomb. I've had trips where I never went above the tree line.

I've alway done my cat skiing in the BC interior where the snow quality is better odds. I personally wouldn't do an advance prepaid reservation at Whistler where you could end up shelling out big bucks to ski untracked sludge.

I usually stay at a friend's house across the street from the Creekside gondola behind the Husky station. I've done hotels in the main village and the upper village a few times when my free place wasn't available. Make sure you know exactly where you're staying when you book because much of the lodging at Whistler is pretty far from the lifts. There are free bus routes in the main village but they're slammed at peak hours. The more remote lodging is on pay bus routes and the bus service is much less frequent.

Whistler is big enough that you can't possibly get to it all in a week. There's really nothing to compare it to in the US for sheer size.

Get out early. The morning upload is really busy. I've done the Fresh Tracks thing a bunch of times where you upload to the Roundhouse, eat breakfast, and then get out skiing before the masses show up. Usually, the Emerald Quad is the only thing running early. It has some entertaining intermediate trees and is a nice warmup.

[MrsG]

^^+5 Fly to Vancouver, take bus/no car, stay in Village, Fresh Tracks was fun and worth it - sells out quick, snowmobile to Fondue place mid-mountain - not a must, but fun (you can also ride up in a cat if not interested in snowmobiling), did not do OB - but this year is dicey . . . so, be careful . . . and,

Pray for snow . . . they need it . . . and, beware, weather is a big factor and unpredictable - can make or break a trip:( . . . but, have fun anyway

[Mtn Man]

Mostly what Geoff said. Fly into Vancouver and get a shuttle bus/van. There is absolutely no need for a car once in the village. Although the condos on Creekside may require a cab once in a while since the buses don't go past the base area (at least that's how it was when Gsmashed and I were there). There are free buses everywhere in the village.

Runs to hit: Blackcomb side>>>good vis >short hike Spanky's Ladder to Ruby/Diamond/Garnett (Saphirre is usually a PIA to get into), Pakalolo, Couloir Extreme, Arther's Choice and Outer Limits trees when vis is down.
Whisler side>>>>>Peak to Creak, West Cirque/Mondays/Cockalorum/Doom and Gloom in good vis, Franz's Meadows Trees in low vis, short hike to Flute Bowl, Harmony Horseshoes.

I have pics of most of these runs in webshots.

Bars to hit: The Dubl Inn (Irish bar near Blackcomb gondi), Merlins, Dusty's, Brewpub, etc etc etc. This IS the best village in NA.

When are you going J? I was thinking of a long weekend in Feb/March timeframe.

B)

[jon4snow]

Awesome, Thanks all for the advice! Looks like I'll be heading into Vancouver and taking the bus or something up to Whistler.

[Geoff]

Awesome, Thanks all for the advice! Looks like I'll be heading into Vancouver and taking the bus or something up to Whistler.

Here's a link to the bus line from the airport to Whistler:
http://www.perimeterbus.com/express.html

There's also an ATM machine in the airport as you exit customs so you can get some Canadian money as pocket change. It's right next to "ICE Currency Exchange" in this diagram. Bus and van service usually stops at the McDonalds in Squamish. You can walk across the parking lot to the shopping plaza and get edible food with your new Canadian dollars.

[jon4snow]

We are probably going to fly out of Newark, NJ (EWR) to Vancouver (YVR) and take permiter up to whistler.

Unfortunately there don't appear to be any direct flights out of EWR... crazy since when we went in July there were tons.

There are some direct out of JFK, but they are more expensive (but $100-$150) and it's not that easy for us to get to :(

One more question... anything I should know about, luggage wise? I have a padded snowboard bag with rollers that was bought for a Colorado trip that I never took, so I've never actually taken my equipment anywhere that couldn't be reached by car.

[Talisman]

One more question... anything I should know about, luggage wise?

Be prepared to pay an arbitrary "luggage fee" to the air lines for a 'second' bag or for a bag being over weight. The fees are rarely seem to be the same, but the airline employees seem relentless in grubbing an extra $15-25 out of passengers lately.

[SkiDork]

What airline?