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Published: December 28th 2015
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If you want great ski...you need great snow! Seems so easy to write...and these days, in some places in the world, so not easy to find! Ask our friends in Europe what do they find of the snow in the Alps. I have always said the last few years, next time we will ski in Europe, it will be between mid-January and mid-February. I have no problem to ski on machine made snow in South Africa, but in the Alps it's another story.
So this time, for our third little ski trip of the year, we made it to Whistler. Not our first visit here, as I visited Whistler with Tiffany and Leslie back in summer 2011. Tiffany even left a third of a front tooth in the swimming pool of the Westin at the time. We started the year in Gudauri, Georgia...than a small side skiing trip in South Africa in July...to a last stop in Whistler, just ahead of Christmas.
Skiing in North America doesn't have the reputation of being cheap...and for once, luck and homework were seriously on my side. First, I have few points left with Starwood, and the Westin prior
to Christmas is expensive...but not if you use points...so that was done...avoid a hefty check-out bill. The hotel was packed, so this time the upgrade was not as impressive as last time, but we had a comfortable loft suite for our three nights here. And the best about this place, is by far the kitchen that's coming with the suite!
Next part of the budget that does hurt solid, is the ski pass and ski rentals. Specially true today as neither Leslie or Tiffany can be considered as children anymore...so it's adult ski rentals, and junior passes. But there is a but, and I was lucky on that one. I paid 60usd per day, for the ski pass AND the ski rentals....yes, only 60usd per day per person. The trick is simple...on Black Friday Americans/Canadians run to buy TVs and other electronics...but ski passes and rentals do go on sale too...and instead of paying a whopping 180usd per day per person, it was only 60usd! The grand total of daily 180usd would have been the price paid had I waited to rent and by the ski pass once in Whistler. Next little and truly important point to
note, the Canadian Dollar is at an historical low compare to the USD...another advantage to head North! Imagine, 3 skiers, for three days....and just imagine the savings on this one...by clicking "book" on the right day!
The snow was pretty amazing...we had 1.5 meters at the base of Whistler Village, which is only at 680 meters from sea level....and up to 3 meters snow at the top....we skied all the way up to 2300 meters...amazing powder snow all the way done. A week before our arrival, close to a meter of new snow felt on the two mountains of Whistler and Blackcomb. We skied three full days, and on the first night, we had 30cm of new snow overnight....amazing! All that with most days without any snow during the day! I truly love the concept of snowing at night, and sunny day time, but it takes some effort to get there!
The trick to get the most of your trip...is to sleep in Vancouver the night ahead, and to jump on the first bus leaving Downtown Vancouver at 6am on Pacific Line. This put us at the Westin at 8am....and on the slopes by
9am...for a full day of superbe skiing! We skied three days, with at least 5 hours of gorgeous slopes everyday. Trust me, everybody was in bed early everyday!
The Westin has in each suite a nice little kitchen. So everyday, we cooked for dinner, and most days also for lunch. Ok, if you want to stay on a budget, you should not cook sockeye salmon or halibut, and head for amazing Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. But this is the holiday season, so I guess...cooking was truly fun. I can understand that most people believe holidays should be left mainly for relaxing. On our side, we woke up at 7am....skied above 5 hours per day....and cooked up to three hot meals per day...and it was fun! I have to actually thank Leslie for cooking a serious share of all those meals!
Funny comment. We skied Niseko in Japan back in February 2014. That time, we were surrounded by Australian skiers...and Australian staffs....all over the place. Here...we nearly met more Australian skiers than Canadian ones...and guess the most fun, at least 50 to 60% of the staff on the slopes are Aussies, you barely see
a Canadian...it's a small world! And yes, we had to queue a little for the first gondola ride of the morning....but the slopes are so long, that you spend very little time of your day queuing.
On those 3 days, we skied a day and a half on Blackcomb mountain, and the other day and half on Whistler mountain. I can now finally say that I have skied in Canada. This won't be the last time I'm skiing Canada. Lake Louise is on the wish list too...and guess what, they open most years their slopes around the 15th of November....so yes, just before Christmas, the prices are lower...and the snow, is a sure bet. We cannot say the same thing today about the Alps! If you want to ski in December, come to the Rockies!
Next snow is coming for me in a few weeks time....in a place far far away from most skiers wish list!
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