Whistler Blackcomb Ski Trip, 2023

When the weather turns chilly and the leaves start falling, you know winter is just around the corner. Sooner than later there’s falling snow, cheery faces, and extra layers of clothing. Some people choose to stay cooped up in their house, snuggled up by the warm fire. Others, like myself, enjoy winter sports such as skiing or snowboarding.

Skiers on the east coast live in the Appalachian mountains. This mountain range isn’t known for its snow sports, but people make do with what they have. It’s said if you want to hit the real mountains, you have to go West. 

The opportunity of a lifetime was extended to me, and I didn’t think twice when I texted back “hell yea!”. I finally took this advice and visited Whistler/Blackcomb mountains located in Whistler, British Columbia in Canada. It’s the biggest ski resort in North America, and I discovered just how amazing skiing can get. We scheduled the trip back in October, but we didn’t fly out until February. I spent the next few months in excited anticipation for some of the best skiing in the world.

Crisis Narrowly Averted

The plan was to have everyone fly out to Vancouver Airport, then pile into a rental car to make the two hour drive north to Whistler. The days leading up to our trip quickly went by, and before I knew it I was waking up at 4am to make my first flight from Pittsburgh to Toronto.

Not only was this the first time I’d flown solo, but also the first time I’d flown internationally. As I took my first few steps through the airport doors, I realized I’d been in my comfort zone way too long. With my snowboard, backpacks, passport, and boarding passes, I manage to slide through airport security and customs and into Canada with relative ease. It wasn’t long until I was boarding the next Air Canada plane for the five hour flight from Toronto to Vancouver.

Everyone managed to make it to Vancouver in one piece, and we all began congregating at the rental car. As the last guy in our group was walking over, he seemed a little light on gear. We come to find that his snowboard (and all his snow gear) was put on the wrong connecting plane! He was not a happy camper, especially after the attendant told him he should “have a better attitude” and to “have faith” they could deliver his gear to him that night. His gear wouldn’t be landing in Vancouver until 8pm, and we’d be at the condo in Whistler almost two hours north by then.

The resort is called Whistler-Blackcomb, because it’s so big it spans neighboring Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. Our home for the week was a ski-in-ski-out condo called The Aspens, located right alongside the slopes of Blackcomb mountain. The room slept six according to the listing, but with three guys in the king-sized bed, two guys on the pull-out couch, and two guys on the futon, we fit seven.

It was beginning to look grim for my buddy and his missing gear. But at 2am, against all odds, they sent a driver to deliver his gear and everything was there! The emotional rollercoaster of the past 24 hours was finally over. Our trip was officially ready to be enjoyed.

Fresh Pow!

The lifts start running at 8:30 am, and the mountain closes at 3:30 pm. This comes to the surprise of east coast skiers, since we’re accustomed to smaller mountains that can light up the slopes at night. Here at Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, the mountains are simply too big to run lights, and they can’t have people stranded on the mountain when it gets dark.

Luckily, we didn’t have any beginners in our group. The peaks of the mountains were automatically labeled double black-diamonds, and they weren’t bluffing- the sheer exposure of empty space around you, the snowy conditions, and the constant 30 mph winds were icing on the cake at the top of the 7,992 ft mountains. It was a little unnerving at times looking down from the lift at the slopes, but it was confidently managed. 

Full disclosure- the skiing was unbelievable! We talked to some locals and learned the winter thus far hadn’t been great, but it snowed right before we showed up, gifting us the best skiing conditions the mountain has seen all year. Unlike the east coast slopes which are usually ice-covered with a few inches of snow, there was fresh powder for days.

Glades

Of course, it was only a matter of time before we were in the trees “chopping wood.” From the top of Blackcomb, it was a short ride down to reach the tree line (since we were above it), where we started flirting with the pine trees. We blazed trails through fresh, untouched snow over 7 ft deep. It was truly an unreal experience, and if you closed your eyes (and didn’t hit a tree!) it was like surfing on cloud nine. Perhaps that’s what inspired the name of that section of mountain we enjoyed the most- 7th Heaven.

It was the best glade skiing I’ve ever experienced- and maybe ever will experience. There were vast expanses of untouched snow, and we were running up and down those slopes for hours. You could go up and down that mountain all day and never leave the powder.

It was a pretty nice setup; we spent hours on the slopes, became exhausted from working the trees, then retreated to the outdoor slope-side hot tubs included with our condo. The tubs were perfect temperature, and the jets were much needed. Once we decompressed for an hour or two, we’d eat dinner and start drinking. The town wasn’t too big, so we walked from our condo into a number of different bars and restaurants (shoutout to Buffalo Bills and Tapley’s).

Our legs were blasted from going all-out the first day, but the excitement was just too much. The second day we tried out Whistler, the neighboring mountain. We took the gondola up the Blackcomb mountain, then took another gondola from the middle of Blackcomb all the way over to the middle of Whistler mountain. The engineering genius of the peak-to-peak lift was almost as incredible as the views.

While some lifts were scarier than others, the most intimidating lift by far was the one that takes you to the peak of Whistler. The icy winds and high elevation, combined with the sheer exposure of being at the literal peak of a mountain, was enough to have me giving the lift a death grip as we reached the top. But it didn’t stop there.

(Start the video at 1:22)

From the top, there’s only one way down- down! As we started our descent into Whistler Bowl, we quickly found out nobody could see the snowy terrain we were going over! The contours of the snow, the angles of the mountains, and the whiteness of the windy snow were completely indescribable, as all anybody could see was a veil of white below their feet and out in front of them. We dropped in only to find hidden hills and moguls we only knew about after going over them. Luckily, when (not if) you’d fall, it felt like falling into a big white pillow.

A Few Close Calls

We can safely say that nobody seriously injured themselves… but we had a few close calls! As we were surfing between trees, my buddy fell backwards head-first and cracked his head off a tree! Luckily he was wearing his new helmet he got just 2 months ago! I’d skied with him before at Holiday Valley the year before when he didn’t wear a helmet, and I thought he was crazy. After whacking his head off that tree, he now swears by wearing a helmet, for if he wasn’t wearing one, it would’ve turned from a ski trip into an ER trip.

He wasn’t the only one with a close call though. As I was scooting between the trees, I saw a short but firm branch sticking out just above my head- or so I thought. I quickly received a massive “thunk” right off the top my helmet. I didn’t think it was too serious at the time, but the next day when I put my helmet on, I noticed a huge dent in my helmet. It would’ve put a hole in my head if I wasn’t wearing my helmet, without a doubt. Kids, wear your helmets!

The trees and steep slopes weren’t the only hazards out there though. There were signs everywhere marking off cliff areas and avalanche-prone slopes. They didn’t tell you to avoid those areas, they simply notified you what lay ahead, which I found funny. But what I didn’t find funny was almost falling off two different cliff faces!

The first instance was when I was skiing through the trees (of course). I saw the cliff warning sign, but figured I would just ski alongside it instead of going over it. After riding down a few hundred yards, I quickly discovered that I’d found myself on the actual edge of the cliff, and beginning to fall off. My brain kicked into survival mode and I realized I had to make my next moves perfect in order to get back to the main trail. I managed to not fall off the cliff, but not without raising my heart rate and getting soaked from sweat.

The second instance was less severe, but still noteworthy. We were turning left for a trail, but instead I decided I’d go straight then turn left at the last second to make it back. As I started down I quickly realized what lay just 20 yards ahead of me- another cliff face. There wasn’t any way to surf my way out of this spot, so I had to unbuckle from my board and hike back up to where I could manage myself back onto the trail. After that run, as we were waiting at the lift, I saw the cliff face I was at the top of and breathed a sigh of relief seeing what I almost launched over.

Views

Of course, all dangerous environments have an element of beauty to accompany them. I can’t give enough credit to the views through pictures, but I sure tried my best.

The views were absolutely incredible, and each part of the mountain had something different to offer. Even going from the top to the bottom of the mountain provided different perspectives. At the peak you were above the clouds and the tree-line, and it was noticeably colder and windier. As you rode down, you plunged into the clouds where the visibility got tough. The further you went down, the bigger the pine trees got, too.

At a few of the lifts, I noticed people sticking their ski poles up in the air. I had no idea what they were doing until I noticed little birds flying around and landing on them! I was immediately intrigued and wanted a bird of my own. I stuck my hand up in the air for a few minutes and lo and behold, a bird came over and perched on it! He was chilling for almost a whole minute before flying away somewhere, searching for food we weren’t supposed to be giving them.

Strangely enough, there were a large number of Australians working and skiing at Whistler/ Blackcomb resort. I never got a real explanation of why that is, but it was an interesting feature I hadn’t expected. Over the course of the trip, I talked to people from all over the world including Australia, NYC, Seattle, Manchester, and Toronto. I enjoyed talking to them on the lifts and at the bars and was intrigued listening to their world view perspective.

A Trip for the Books

After five days of skiing, drinking and hot tubbing, our vacation came to an end. We woke up at 2 am Tuesday morning to drive back to the airport and catch our 6 am flights back to the east coast. I got back to Pittsburgh that evening after smooth-sailing through airport security and customs yet again.

(Side story: As I was waiting Tuesday evening at PIT to receive my board bag and head home, I encountered JuJu Smith-Schuster, who just got done winning the NFL Superbowl two weeks before!)

I was soon left with just fond memories and awesome pictures of that incredible trip out West. My experience at Whistler was one I’ll never forget, and I can’t wait to go back and chase fresh pow in the years to come.