Monthly Archives: November 2011

Snow Report Nov 29th – 2011

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Whistler and Blackcomb mountains have officially had over 9 feet of snow! With this amazing blessing from mother nature we now have more terrain open than any other area in the world. That is over 4300 acres to find powder turns and over 4000 feet of vertical to call your playground. Just to put the icing on this winter cake the village was hit again today with another 10cm, here is a quick picture I took today while walk through the village.

The only downside to all this snow is the avalanche danger is high across the board and some very sizable flows have been seen around the ski area including a massive slide in Corona bowl. Which is directly above the ski out from the Blackcomb glacier.

Volkl RTM 84 Ski Review

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Volkl retired the AC line up last year and replaced it with the RTM series (Ride The Mountain). The AC50 was the top end ski within the range and skied beautifully with amazing edge grip and snap from turn to turn. So why did they replace an iconic ski? The answer is the revolution that swept the ski industry last year; Rocker technology! Call it what you want; early rise, full rocker, gull wing, reverse camber! The game has changed. The RTM 84 has won every major magazine award this season and has full rocker technology giving a smooth ride with easy turn initiation. The 178cm version has a radius of 18m and is aimed at advanced to expert skiers who ride mainly on the groomed runs but want a true all mountain ski. The RTM 84 is 15% lighter than the AC50 and with the new wide ride bindings from Marker the swing weight has noticeably been reduced. During tests this was one of my favorites and Volkl continues to build its reputation on equipment performance rather than marketing!

Whistler Photography

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Affinity Sports is lucky enough to have Rich Standerwick join our company for a winter season. Rich will be working in the shops and hitting the slopes all winter long but he also brings his photography skills with him. He will be shooting whistler throughout the winter and letting us use his amazing shots. Here is his first round of images, it covers Whistler in the fall, Whistler’s first snow and some Whistler Sunsets. Photo courtesy of Richard Standerwick Photography. cargocollective.com/rich-standerwick-photography

Whistler and Blackcomb Hit Snow Jackpot

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With Europe facing a snow drought and parts of the US relying on man made snow it seems that whistler has hit the snow jackpot. We are currently sitting at a base of 142cm with over 250cm of snow having fallen! The village is covered in snow with the banks beginning to build up at the side of the roads. The ski out has amazing coverage to the village for November and check out the forecast. That huge storm is heading our way! Normally at this time of year the alpine get hit with storms but the village is still being washed by rain. La Nina seems to be working her magic and keeping temperatures down so the snow line is hovering around the village.”"The mountain conditions are superb with full powder days being had by locals and visitors alike. The avalanche rating is high in almost all areas, all this snow has yet to settle and we have weak layers throughout the snow pack including a rain crust. Travel with caution!

K2 Superstitious Ski review

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The K2 Superstitious ladies skis is targeted at an all mountain skier who frequently leaves the runs to explore the powder. The binding set up is 1 pound lighter than the male version and is built to accommodate small boot sizes. This is the widest ski in the K2 supermodel series with a width under foot of 84mm. The whole range of ladies skis with K2 has a softer feel with a very forgiving damp ride to allowing skiers to make mistakes without punishing them.  This ski replaces the Lotta Luv which a has been a favorite withe female skiers for years. The graphics look way better up close and in person than represented on the web pictures; the bold colors give this ski a unique look. I would recommend this to ladies who ski a few weeks a year and have not hit the gym before arriving.

Fresh Snow!!!!

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From Wednesday morning the snow has been falling in Whistler, covering the town and mountain in a blanket of fresh snow. The snow has stopped this morning to reveal just what it has laid down for us, but the bluebird will not last for long. More snow flurries are forecast from Thursday Afternoon to Friday Afternoon, bringing 5-10 cm of snow!

The fresh snow has made for a current 67cm Base- and it looks like more is on its way for a great weekend of skiing. Village temperatures will remain freezing and are forecast to continue Friday through to Saturday, making for a cold and dry day. A few light snow flurries return on Sunday with 2-3cm expected.

Whistler Mountain opening details November 18th 2011

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Whistler Mountain will be opening on Friday, November 18th. The Mountain is forecasted for up to 35cm of new snow before Friday, which will mean that the snow base will be 90cm at Pig Alley, on top of what the snowmakers have pumped out so far this season.

You will be able to upload at both the Creekside Gondola and the Whistler Village Gondola. Underground parking for Creekside Gondola is beneath The Creekside market, you will see signs from the entrance into Creekside village, and then it’s just a small stroll over to the bottom of the gondola. For the Whistler village Gondola you can park in one of the car parking lots located opposite the gondola transit, daily parking rates apply.

Whistler Mountain operation hours will be from 8.30am to 3.00pm. 3 lifts will be open; Emerald Express, Big Red Express, and Franz’s Chair, allowing for a variety of runs. The Roundhouse Restaurant, at the top of the mountain will be open throughout the day for lunch, snacks and drinks with an amazing view.

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Blackcomb Mountain will open on Thursday, November 24, Whistler and Blackcomb Mountain’s official opening day.

Snow Levels Dropping Down Whistler Mountain

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The temperatures have dropped and the guns are out. The snow making crew on the mountain is busy making white stuff whenever the condition allow. The freezing level is around 1200m with large wet flakes hitting the valley bottom over the weekend but the ground has yet to freeze in the village. The clouds have cleared and a new heavy coating of snow has hit the peaks. The view below is from the top of Blackcomb looking down at the valley, it show the snowline and village below.

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A large front of precipitation is heading our way with Wednesday looking like 10-20cm of fresh powder.  My prediction will be for an opening day of later this week.

I hope you are ready.

Whistler film festival.

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Celebrating the 11th edition, Canadas’ leading winter film festival will be held from November 30th- December 4th 2011. Establish in 2001, this annual Film festival held in Whistler is a registered charity for the art of Film, offering professional development and open opportunities for pioneering film makers.

Screenings will be held at 3 venues:

  • My Millennium place (4335 Blackcomb way)
  • Village 8 cinemas (100-4295 Blackcomb way)
  • Whistler Conference Centre (4010 Whistler way)

This international film competition will host a selection of 80 original films from Canada and around the world including premiers from top directors, awarding $50,000 in prizes. It will feature 6 juried competitive sections and 1 audience award. The 6 featured films will be competing in the Borsos event (named after Canadian filmmaker Phillip Borsos), where the best Canadian feature film will be awarded a $15,000 cash prize, presented by the B.C branch of the directors Guild of Canada.

Nominees:

  • Dylan Akio Smith and Kris Elgstrand (Vancouver) for Doppelgänger
  • Christopher Petry (Vancouver) for Marilyn.
  • Guy Maddin (Winnipeg) for Keyhole,
  •  Randall Cole (Ontario) for 388 Arletta Avenue.
  • Jean Marc Vallee (Quebec) for Café de Flore
  • Philippe Falardeau (Quebec) for Monsieur Lazhar

Both the Quebec nominees took Best Canadian Film at the Toronto International Film Festival and are Canada’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.

Alongside the screenings will be The Whistler Summit, a conference for the Canadian film industry which offers opportunity to producers to find decision makers; providing sessions, discussions, workshops, 1-1 meetings and networking. 500 industry delegates will be representing 100 companies, with 5 countries expected to be in attendance.

Other Festival celebrations and a celebrity challenge ski race will take place during the festival.