WHISTLER 2010/11 - The Community Blog
OPENING DAY WHISTLER MOUNTAIN
Today was the best opening day I have experienced at Whistler. The cold temps have the snow on upper mountain in great condition. Snow cover is pretty good down to Emerald and Red chairs. The snow was fresh and knee deep in the trees from the Roundhouse to Red Chair. Unfortunately I only had time to get three runs in but I will certainly have a bigger day on the mountain tomorrow. I didn’t get a chance to check the park features yet, but I will check it out tomorrow; it looked like there were only a few rails anyway.
Creekside lower mountain
Looking down to Creekside from low/mid mountain
Creekside low/mid mountain
Good snow cover down to Red Chair
Trees down from the Roundhouse
Needs more filling in…
It’s good to be back! 
OMG, I am jealous, the PNW is in for an epic epic epic season.
But alas, I’m stuck in the Deep South and snow is the furthest thing from my mind right now. I’m jonesin’ to ride after seeing all this stuff and watching the Weather Channel- snow in OR, snow in BC, snow in WA, snow in ID, snow in MT, snow in WY, snow in CA, snow in UT, snow in CO.
Pretty good day I’ve gotta say, some nice fresh lines and reasonably good visibility. Lift queues were pretty crazy as you can tell by my previous picture. Went pretty well to start off with but my knee started to play up after 4-5 runs so cut it short and went back home to ice it up which I wasn’t terribly impressed with. Going to strap it up tomorrow before heading out as the neoprene brace that the physio got for me didn’t seem to be all that good when moving around with the board strapped on in the lift queues (this was where I was getting the most pain as it’s my front leg thats the issue. The brace should be good for when i’m working to keep it warm and provide support when standing around for long periods but for riding I think I’ll have to strap it up for the time being and just continue with my strengthening exercises and icing it on a daily basis.
whoo hoo! fun day today!! what time did everyone get up to shed?
I was stoked to get roundhouse roll for my first run of the season! pow pow pow slash pow pow
I thought it was warmer today when I looked out the window this morning, but sunshine can be deceiving. I checked the live temps and this is what I saw…
I finally picked up my season pass earlier in the day; it’s funny how a small piece of plastic can make me so happy. I explored a bit further today, going through the trees at Ratfink and further towards Harmony. The snow is really fresh and there is good base for mid November. I managed to get quite a few fresh lines today; I was quite surprised how much fresh snow there still is. I rode down to Whistler Gondola midstation to check out the cover. They were pumping the snow guns all the way down; the snow was sticking to my goggles as expected in such cold weather. The cover was patchy and icy, but there were some stashes of fresh snow on the far right side. The cover was really exposed as I approached midstation; grass, rocks, branches all sticking out. I wouldn’t recommend riding down there if you have a new snowboard, until we get more snow.
Lift lines were pretty busy at Emerald Chair and both gondolas were busy when for downloading late in the afternoon. It took about 30 minutes to get on Creekside gondola at the end of the day, but it did stop running for 10 minutes. With a bit more snow and cold temps, it shouldn’t be too long before we can ride down to the village.
Tomorrow’s high temperature is -15 in the alpine; get ready for another cold one! 
I stupidly didn’t check the temps before going out today.. definitely noticed it with my current gloves at times but otherwise managed to get through. Lift lines were the real killer when it came to keeping warm but not too much that can be done besides just moving around etc. Noticed one person in the lift line at emerald with a very white nose (frostbite) so the temps have definitely dropped from what they were yesterday.
Taped up the knee today and noticed a huge improvement with no pain at all so will continue to do that for a little while to come to be safe. Got a few fresh lines today aswell which was great, amazed that after 2 days theres still fresh stuff out there. Got some new bindings this afternoon after finally getting my staff pass sorted this morning so I’m really looking forward to getting out there tomorrow to give them a shot.
Yes board is also going really well.. could use a wax but otherwise it’s great in the powder even without setting the bindings back so I’m stoked about that
I’m stoked your knee is feeling better today. Which bindings did you get?
Went for the Ride Delta’s, I was initially unhappy with the cambered footbeds from when i used the contrabands but with my knee not being 100% I figured they’re worth a shot to reduce the strain on my knee, worst case i can get some footbeds with some more arch support. Given the straps are the same as the beta’s they should be pretty good since i’ve been stoked with the beta’s and the contra strap was a real pain with my current boots toebox.
Hopefully my gimp back gets through today ok. It’s been bad for months and I’ve been doing physio recently and seeing a lot of improvement. On opening day though it pulled so yesterday I had to give riding a miss (it’s a really tight QL muscle). Will just take it super easy today and hope for the best. And hopefully I don’t freeze to death, those temps are crazy low!!
VIDEO FROM OPENING DAY
Check out the line in the morning for Whistler Gondola.
Awesome got through the day with no real back pain!!! 
So releaved!
That’s great news, Dan.
We are heading to Neoalpine Yoga Studio this evening if anyone is interested. They have a 2 week unlimited trial for $30. It’s a really nice studio in Function Junction. We will be doing to Yin class at 5:00pm if you would like to come along.
http://www.yyoga.ca/our-centers/neoalpine
Yin
A meditative slow-paced class that explores long, deep stretching to enhance joint mobility and flexibility and by healing the body’s connective tissues. Enjoy a deep stretch especially through the hips, pelvis and spine. A therapeutic class to complement the energetic ‘yang’ styles of yoga and to balance an active lifestyle. Not recommended for pregnant women.
What sort of Jobs have you all landed this fine looking Vancouver season?
I’m teaching snowboarding for the mountain on a casual basis. I didn’t want to work much this season, so I can ride more and work on Boardworld.
Big lines again today at Emerald Chair…
That’s great news, Dan.
We are heading to Neoalpine Yoga Studio this evening if anyone is interested. They have a 2 week unlimited trial for $30. It’s a really nice studio in Function Junction. We will be doing to Yin class at 5:00pm if you would like to come along.
http://www.yyoga.ca/our-centers/neoalpine
Yin
A meditative slow-paced class that explores long, deep stretching to enhance joint mobility and flexibility and by healing the body’s connective tissues. Enjoy a deep stretch especially through the hips, pelvis and spine. A therapeutic class to complement the energetic ‘yang’ styles of yoga and to balance an active lifestyle. Not recommended for pregnant women.
Hey thanks Jeremy. Never done yoga but I think it would be very beneficial. Missed it this time though. What days do you normally go? And would I need a fancy mat or something?