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Published: January 14th 2007
It’s been hard to keep my blogs updated. Internet café’s have been difficult to get to so that’s why Rohan and I have been sharing blogs.
We’ve been in Whistler now for the past 7 days and it’s finally time to say goodbye to the mountain and head off back down to Vancouver. Whistler Blackcomb is an amazing place to visit. Boarding on these mountains is absolutely awesome. Whilst staying here temperatures ranged from 0 to -30 degrees and that’s thanks to the Arctic Blast that you may have heard about in the news. And let me tell you, I don’t work well in -30.
We only managed to get up the mountain 4 out of 7 days to snowboard, due to strong winds. Roh and I went to buy lift tickets but we were told they were going to close the mountain, so instead we thought we’d go cheap and walk up the mountain to get in a run. We realised real quick why we pay for lift tickets. Walking up those mountains was a really stupid idea and not at all worth the effort. We were both totally buggered in 5 mins and in that mountain air
it’s so hard to catch your breath.
We had 3 great days of blue sky and sunshine towards to the end of the week so we made the most of those days. The scenery wherever you are on the mountain is magnificent and the view from the top of Whistler Mountain is absolutely breathtaking. It was extremely cold on the top of the mountain, but well worth the journey to the top.
Most runs down the mountain down last for ½ and hour of more, which is a little better then Perisher or Thredbo’s longest runs of around 5 mins at the most……. but you really can’t compare Whistler to any Australian snowy mountatins.
Well the last run of the day was certainly interesting. Rohan and I decided to take on a run called Peak to Creek. This run went from the top of Whistler Mountain all the way to Creekside which is where we were staying. This run was around 5 km from the top to the bottom with a 1.5 km drop in altitude. It was -30 at the top and we were warned by the lefties to cover all exposed flesh to avoid frostbite.
The run down was awesome. Heaps of fresh powder covered the step decent. It was a long fast run and I was totally numb and frozen. My balaclava froze solid to my jacket and I couldn’t cover my entire face. When we finally hit the bottom of the mountain, Roh and I went straight to the pub to thaw out near a heater.
I had a really bad experience in this pub ….. and it wasn’t alcohol related. I was feeling a little light headed and went for a walk around the pub to get my breath back. Little did I realise, but I was experiencing a case of Hyperthemia. To make matters worse I had too much oxygen in my blood from the sudden decent and began to hyperventilate. My body began to shutdown and I literally could not move. The bar staff called the paramedics for me who examined me before taking me to the local clinic in Whistler village for examination. Once at the clinic, I was given a hose coming out of a huge heater to warm me up, as my whole body was shivering. My body temperature was measured at 34 degrees and that
was at about ½ an hour after the paramedics were called. After 2.5 hours in the clinic I finally thawed out and I was given the all clear. That wasn’t how I had planned my last run in Whistler. I’m fine now, so now need to be concerned mum .
Back in Vancouver now and it’s about -3 degrees here. Seattle next stop.
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Matt S
non-member comment
Too Cold
Hi Daz, photos mate! I am really jealous about the powder, but you can keep the Hyperthemia. Matt