Whistler, land of Aussies, powder, and alternative routes to hot tubs

My adventures begin in Whistler, British Columbia, on a family ski trip with my mom, sister, aunt and cousin.  We leave Sault Ste. Marie excited and a little bleary eyed on an early morning flight to Toronto.

After arriving in Vancouver we take a bus to the resort via the scenic Sea-to-Sky highway.  The views are spectacular starting from the Lions Gate Bridge and Georgia Straight in Vancouver up through to "The Chief" in Squamish. After we arrive it starts pouring rain, is this what the next week will bring? I begin to wonder about coastal BC weather. We hit up the village market for beer and groceries and settle in to get ready for an early start the next day.

Waking up early for first tracks we get to chairlift as a family and begin the ride up. Still unbeknownst to me, the summit is another 10 minutes on a high speed chairlift, how can that even be possible?
After arriving at the top of the Solar Express, I realize that the temperature has dropped enough to turn the pouring rain into an onslaught of powder, welcome to the mountains.

Day 1: I am still a Whistler Blackcomb newbie, but the hill is packed as it is the biggest powder day yet this season. The family get's separated and I ski as a single on Blackcomb, avoiding lift lines and meeting an awful lot of Australians (90% of the working and skiing population seemed to be either Australian or from "Onterrible"). I demo some powder skiis which are literally twice the width of my own to keep myself on top of the snow, they are great for powder, but they might as well be 2x4s if you feel like carving the corduroy. Whistler Blackcomb is giant, I'm lost.

Day 2: My cousin Kenn arrives, and the fun really begins, the visibility at the top isn't great, but we spend the day trying to find the best off-piste runs and the freshest powder available. We ski the top of Whistler all day, hitting the Whistler, Symphony and Harmony bowls. These steep beautiful runs have ample snow and are studded with dangerous cornices, avalanche debris and rocky outcrops, which makes for a very interesting ski. After skiing the bowls we head up on the Peak Express and  in the distance can see an ant like trail heading up onto an off-piste peak. Debate? Not really. We join the train and after a half hour, a few lunch wraps and a lot of sweat, we reach the Flute Bowl.  The powder from the previous two days is still relatively untouched and the views are spectacular, what a great find. We relish in the untouched powder, ski through the glades and end an epic day of skiing.

Day 3: Kenn's friends from Vancouver, siblings Lee and Jen arrive and we head up Blackcomb. We ski "heaven" for a while, and while exploring the glades find "Oops" Cliff, check out my cousin's blog for details. Day by day I realize how much skiing in the mountains is different from skiing the bumps of Ontario, the decisions you make when dropping into a bowl, or taking a difficult run through the glades can have much more serious consequences when a cornice the size of a truck breaks off and buries you, or you get stuck upside down in a tree hole unseen by passers-by. Thankfully when we find a great patch of powder in the Jersey Bowl there is enough know how in the group to recognize a dangerous cornice and avoid an accident. Lee and I vie for biggest drop in but are both disappointed with our own efforts, we promise to try to find something bigger next time, nevertheless the drop is exhilarating and the snow is fantastic.

to be continued...