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BACKCOUNTRY SLEDDING
Thanks to Michelle, Shane and I hired some awesome Ski-doo Summit snowmobiles to take into the backcountry yesterday. We were quite prepared, with avi vests (airbag), transceivers, probes, shovels, food, and water. We checked the avalanche conditions before we set out and everything was reasonably stable. Still, we made sure we stayed safe. We went out to the Callaghan and took some trails into the backcountry. We checked out a couple of different bowls, including Brandywine Bowl.
The whole experience was very humbling and a definitely learning experience. Those machines are super fast and fairly hard to handle. We did a bunch of climbs and descents and I managed to turn the sled over four times (Shane once). We had a sick day and I was completely beat but inspired by the end of it.
Here’s some photos…
Just a few sleds
Kitted up
Shane
He’s happy
Me
Double woops
Checking out some lines
Shane showing the Avi Vest
And this is how it works
Hill climb
Shane on the way down
On the way back from Brandywine Bowl
Shane
A backcountry cabin
Nice!!!!!
Sounds like a yas had an awesome day!!!!!
Was Shane listenin to emotional tunes in that last pic?????
Tom has got ONE HOWLER of a GOGGLE TAN there!!!!!
Wednesday looks to be shapin up to be a good one for some POW!!!!!
I was out by a day or two, but it looks like ya still gonna get the goods?????
I wanna see that new GoPro in action, Dan!!!!!
Come here Mizu
Will definitely get some Gopro footage. Bring on the pow!
Come here Mizu
You book the ticket and I’m there, skip!!!!!
The snow hasn’t arrived yet but it looks like we have a nice spring storm on the way.
Rider’s Blog: Day 59
Had a cruisey late afternoon ride with Finney and Dan. My legs and arms were super sore and fatigued from sledding yesterday so I took it pretty easy. The lower mountain was nice and soft and there are fun little hits everywhere. Not much to report today but it was good fun to get out for a few runs. Hopefully this storm delivers and we will be riding pow again soon!
ENDLESS WINTER IN WHISTLER: BLACKCOMB MOUNTAIN OPERATIONS EXTENDED TO MAY 28
Snow Base of 346 cm (136 in.), 1184 cm (466 in.) Cumulative Snowfall = Incredible Skiing and Riding Conditions
WHISTLER, BC, March 28, 2012 – Blackcomb Mountain’s operations have been extended to May 28, 2012 to allow skiers and riders to take advantage of the incredible conditions on the mountain. Over sixty (60) days of skiing and riding remain in the season at Whistler Blackcomb, offering one of the longest seasons in North America.
“We are in the midst of another fantastic winter season here in Whistler so spring will have to wait just a little bit longer,” says Doug MacFarlane, Whistler Blackcomb mountain operations manager. “We’ve received over 342 cm (135 in.) of snowfall so far in March alone, making for some of the best spring conditions we’ve ever had. Extending the ski season on Blackcomb and giving the people what they want was an easy decision.”
When spring does arrive it will be celebrated in style in Whistler with gorgeous conditions, great deals and fun events.
Conditions
Current cumulative snowfall this season: 1184 cm (456 in.); 143 cm (56 in.) above Whistler Blackcomb’s annual snowfall average.
342 cm (135 in.) of snowfall so far in March (as of the 3:30pm Snow Report on March 28, 2012) making this the snowiest March on record.
With a snow base of 346 cm (136 in), the spring skiing and riding will be awesome.
Rider’s Blog: Day 60
Holy pow! We were only expecting 5-10cm overnight and Whistler Blackcomb only claimed 10cm this morning, but I swear we had at least 20-30cm up there. It was so deep up the top so I rode down and changed boards.
Dan and I rode some sweet lines and dipped into the trees a lot. The snow was really light up top and got gradually heavier as you got lower. We had a couple of really sick powder runs through Ratfink and also the trees down to Harmony. Dan might have some GoPro footage.
All the alpine stayed shut so it should be pretty sweet when they open. We rode till about 1:30pm and our legs were toast. Came home and Dan cooked me a lovely lunch haha. Mizu never made me lunch when he was in Whistler - lame dad.
Best day of the season! Not hard when it’s your 6th day haha. But there was some seriously good pow up there today and plenty more on the way. I’m feeling pretty happy right about now
Just going through the gopro footage. Hopefully some of it’s decent.
Mizu never made me lunch when he was in Whistler - lame dad.
I shared my chicken wings with ya!!!!!
Hey, now that I think of it, someone still owes me some chicken wings!!!!! And beers!!!!!
They finally updated the snowfall on the website. Officially 25cm new snow, 37cm in the last 24 hours.
Those snowmobiles look like heaps of fun! Nice pics!
Looks like it will be even better tomorrow for you guys!!!!!