Worth it - Whistler during up-coming Thanksgiving?

L

loveski

New member
Hi,
I'm new to this forum and I'm not sure if this is appropriate to ask but I would like to make decision with enough info in hand. :P

I originally plan to ski at Tahoe during Thanksgiving but realize that there might not be a snow there. Then someone suggested me to look at whistler. I went to http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com last night and got so excited! I'm about to purchase the package but would like to hear others' opinion if it's worth going there in the next 2 weeks.

I configure the package for 2 ppl, 4 nights at Holiday Inn Sunspree, 3 days lift ticket and air ticket from SFO for the total of $1200, $600/person.

What do you think? Will there be enough/good snow? Is this too expensive for the snow that I will enjoy? Should I wait till Christmas? I'm sorry if I ask too many questions. Really appreciate everybody's opinion. Thank you! :D
 
If you need to get a ski jone'z out, Whister is probably not a bad place. Baker in Washington seems to be getting nailed too. Not quite the fancy smancy resort atmosphere of Whistler, but the terrain is supposed to be great there. PNW is where it is at right now.
 
The odds are much better on Whistler than Tahoe at this point. However we don't know how much better because only the Jersey Cream/Catskinner area was open last weekend, probably less terrain and more crowded than Crystal based upon online reports.

So I would say first, see how much is open when Blackcomb reopens tomorrow. Whistler will not open until Nov. 24. This is a positive for someone planning a trip because its snow won't get chewed up before Thanksgiving, but you won't know how much will be skiable until you get there.

With Mt. Baker there are no questions about cover as the base is 60-80 inches. However it is raining at Baker today. The PNW is expecting more storms over the next week, with fluctuating snow levels. That should be good for the Whistler alpine. I would work the Whistler schedule to get a day in at Baker if you do this trip.

An alternative is to go to Seattle and daytrip some of the areas there, as all are open now. However, Mt. Baker is closer to Vancouver than Seattle, so if it were my $ I'd probably do Whistler and Baker.

In summary the Washington areas definitely have more snow than Whistler now, but the alpine part of Whistler rates to accumulate more snow while the Washington areas are going to get a mix of rain and snow over the next week.
 
it has been raining here in whistler the past day and a half all the way to the top. but as tony said, there are cold storm fronts in the forecast and as i type it has changed to snow and is supposed to continue for the next few days. my guess is that the snow quality here by the 24th will be very good and whistler mountain will be great because it hasn't been touched.
i was up on blackomb on the weekend and the crowds on saturday were as big as i've seen. sunday was much quieter though and i imagine crowds will return to non-existent by the end of next week.

i spoke to someone who was down at baker for opening and he said the snow was incredible. impossible to go all the way through and excellent coverage all over the resort. not sure what it's been doing down there the past few days, but it would take a lot of rain to kill a 160cm base. i'm sure baker would be a safe bet at this time.

i'm sure intrawest would be excited to see some US$ heading this way!
 
Extremely Canadian's opinion:

"Not yet. We don't start our clinics until Dec 10 as that is usually when the skiing gets good or at least decent in the high alpine. There is a reported base of 50cms and the skiing is great on the groomers due to the work they did summer grooming. But no off piste yet. If this weather keeps up maybe by the end of Nov or early Dec. I can't recollect exactly but I don't think you really want to venture off piste until we have over 100 cms."

And from another local contact:

"Judging by today's storm and the weather forecast I would expect all to open sooner than predicted, but the alpine always nees a lot of snow to open... A lot... And a lot more lately because of glacier retreat etc."
 
Thank you everyone for your input. I decided yesterday to book the package. I will just have to keep praying that it won't rain during that week! :lol:

I'm a novice skier, only ski on blue. So I hope I'll have a good time with the runs they open.

I'll come back and report on the condition. In the mean time, if anyone has any more news, please let me know. Thank you.... :P
 
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