After an unexpected surprise and a missed flight connection, I had to make a late night pit stop at the Seattle airport to pick up Chi before driving up to Whistler. It was a welcomed and sweet surprise though. 

Day 1 – Friday March 25, 2016

Tania and Dionne allowed us to sleep in due to our early morning arrival. We made breakfast though before picking up our lift tickets and heading out to the Whistler Mountain slopes. The base was packed and there were long lines to get in the gondola. 

After a short run to the next lift, the queues were overflowing! It was scary sight and I wondered if the whole weekend would be like this. After three lifts, we finally made it to the peak for photos on this sunny day… But we were hidden in the clouds. 

I wanted to head towards the backside to the Symphony Bowl, but it was closed off in the afternoon. So instead we did a couple of other runs and got lost a few times since the mountain is so massive and the signs aren’t very clear.

The snow was decent but our final run near the base was all manmade snow and moguls. It wasn’t too bad… I sorta liked it… felt like surfing but Tania and Dionne hated it and understood why people take the gondola down. We finished our runs with a deserving poutine and beavertail pastry. We soaked in the hot tub and went out for dinner in the village.

Day 2 – Saturday March 26, 2016

Today, we were up bright at early and determined to hit first tracks on Blackcomb Mountain. The lines were much more bearable and reasonable. I wanted to get to the 7th Heaven section because a friend recommended it but we got lost without clear signage. We ended up going down the front a couple of times. There were some hard icier patches but the slope was more constant compared to Whistler Mountain.

Still determined to 7th heaven without going on the T-bar lift, we asked for directions and found our way to 7th Avenue run. This green somewhat flat run had unexpected beautiful views that met my high expectations for Whistler. 

We made it to the 7th heaven peak and it was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. The untouched snowy peaks with clouds drifting inbetween was beautiful. I’m so glad we made it here. The runs were fun and it was just a massive snow field to ride down. 

We finished our runs with an early dinner at Blacks Restaurant before a relaxing evening at Scandinave Spa. The spa was beautiful and quiet… It was perfect to soak and relax in the hot pools.

Day 3 – Sunday March 27, 2016

It was a cloudy day with rain the night before but I knew if we go to the top… we would be riding on fresh powder. I have been spoiled and was excited to try Whistler’s powder. Also, it wasn’t a day about taking photos… (we took many the last two blue sky days!) Today was about simply snowboarding as much as possible to end the season. Since I didn’t make it to the Symphony Bowl… I wanted to do it today so we made our way towards it.

Before our 2nd lift to the peak, we saw a intimidating sign that marked double black conditions due to poor visibility. Other people turned back but we didn’t want to go down to the slushy/icy base. We were keen to try it… Our lift took us up into the clouds and the fog. We were in a whiteout and could barely see more than 10 meters in front of it. It was very challenging to see where we were going and the ground.

We stuck close together and went slowly before we started to see into the distance agian… And then, we could see the snow… oh and what fresh powder. Tania and Chi experience their first powder rides. They loved it –the smooth untouched field of fresh snow. It’s hard to explain but it’s like if you’ve been drinking artificial fruit juice your whole life… it’s good and fine but then you have real fruit juice and it makes you realize how bad it was before.

Of course, we had to do it again… but this time, into the bowl. I wanted them to experience a bowl! The only problem was… I couldn’t see or tell where and how to get into the bowl… I only knew the general direction from the trail map. I was somewhat confident that it was through this open area off the main trail but there were no signs. I was hesitant but we saw some skiers disappearing into the white fog and everyone was like “Let try it!”. So we did and we were rewarded with untouched powder agian. The air cleared and the sun started to come through. We could see were we were going and a open field with deep untouched powder. It was like the time I hiked up on Fernie for fresh powder… but this time, I didn’t need to hike.

The bottom suck though… we had to hike out of a flat part but there was a very fun and yet easy glades section that we loved. We did it all agian but this time, we got stuck in deep powder and couldn’t get up for a while. Too much powder yet agian.

We ate on the mountain and then went back to the hotel to pack up and drive back to Seattle. I said my goodbyes to Tania and Dionne and grabbed some Timbits for the road. Chi and I also took a quick break in Vancouver for ramen before getting home in Seattle.

It started off weak but finished with an adventure! Whistler Blackcomb lived up to the hype even on a popular long weekend. It was a fantastic trip to end the 2015-2016 season celebrating our love for snow and Tania’s birthday. Oh boy, snowboarding out West is incomparable and I have definitely become a snow/mountain snob… Until next season.