Whistler Blackcomb Photo Journal

This photo journal serves as a reflection of my trip out west to British Columbia Canada to ski at Whistler Blackcomb. There are photos of the mountains, photos of people skiing, photos of Tim Hortons, and photos of ski machinery. This journal is a collection of my favorite images that best translate the indescribable feeling of being at Whistler Blackcomb.

Pacific Hemlock

On our second day at Whistler, when we decided to explore the Blackcomb side, I took this photo while on the lift. The lift line cut through some trees and offered some amazing views of the mountains. ( I did some research and found out that the trees in this area are predominantly Pacific Hemlock)

Backcountry

This photo embodies the word for me now. When someone says it, this is the first thing I think of. Steep incline, dense trees, sparsely spaced trees, almost above the alpine, and quality snow.

Glacier Express Lift

My nerves were already off the charts, but riding up this lift for the first time was different. It wasn't a normal lift ride, because at the top I would have access to a Blackcomb Glacier. Most people can't say they have skied a glacier, especially someone from New Hampshire, but I am one of those few. I feel extremely lucky. I skied on some of the oldest snow that day.

Prep

It's the moments like this that I really enjoy capturing. Everyone is clipping into skis, adjusting pole straps, tightening backpacks, adjusting goggles, pulling face masks up, clipping helmet straps, zipping coats, and prepping for the fun part. Skiing down the mountain.

Glacier Hike

While the Glacier Express Lift gets you close to the glacier, you actually have to ride Showcase T-Bar for about 3 minutes then hike for 3 minutes to access the Blackcomb Glacier skiing. This image is of Kendall and Aidan walking the flat part to find a good area to drop into the glacier "bowl"

Bowl (skiing) - "skiing on wide bowl-shaped areas with or without trees" (ski.com)

T-Bar - "A t-shaped bar suspended from the moving cable of a ski lift, used to pull two skiers at a time uphill as they stand on their skis." (yourdictionary.com)

Spanky's Ladder

Spanky's Ladder is single hand-idly the best trail name. Spanky's Ladder gets its name from it being a "ladder" made of snow. You throw your skis on your shoulder, use your poles for balance and stomp into each foot hole (a.k.a a ladder rung). The higher up the ladder you go, the steeper the drop off to your left is. All I could think climbing up was "don't trip, don't drop you skis, get a good foot hold."But once you get to the top and clip in, because the steeps with amazing snow make it worth the stress.

Pacific Fog

This was taken the morning of our last day when we were traveling from the base to the alpine zone. Most of the time while at Whistler there was some sort of visibility issue, whether it fog, snow, or being in a cloud. Most of the time it was manageable. I had to include a photo that shows you just how dense it could get, the tree furthest to the right was about 25-30 feet in front of me.

1,427

This is what you see right before you board the Peak 2 Peak Express. It was my first tram ride ever. The Peak 2 Peak Express connects the alpine zone of the Whistler peak and the Blackcomb peak. It was designed and built by Germans, because they know what they are doing.

Anyway, while Aidan crapped his pants over how high up the tram might be, I couldn't wait for the views. From the tram you could get a true look at each mountain, those dang trees and the river that runs between them. The tram reaches a peak height of 1,427 feet in the air.

Pole Straps

Aidan spent $150 on ski poles that don't have pole "straps" before this trip. Instead he has these permanent straps on his mittens with a loop located at the purlicue that locks into the top of the pole. At first I thought it was an overpriced idea, but thinking back on it, it's a genius piece of engineering. They don't get caught up if you fall, because they auto release. There is no extra ski strap flapping around in the wind, and since you are already paying a premium on that feature they make the poles adjustable with interchangeable baskets.

Purlicue - "the space between your thumb and index finger" (wiktionary.com)

Rundown T-Bar

At the top of a lift that we only rode twice there was an old T-Bar setup. They had stripped it of all the bars but had left the operating huts and all the lift poles. I did some research and it closed because the glacier thawing was so bad that it turned the top section near the hut into a cliff. It's now considered expert terrain for skiers.

Glacier Cave Adventure

The whole time we were in this glacier cave, Kendall was screaming at Jordan, Aidan, and I to get out because "I don't want to have to explain to Andrew's mom and your mom that you guys dead because a glacier cave collapsed on you when the sign says you shouldn't be in there!" So I snapped a few pictures and scrambled back out of the cave.

Glacier Glades

These glades technically weren't on a glacier, however, they were off of the Glacier Express Lift so the title seemed fitting. Jordan lead the way through some tight trees and gave some pointers on tight turn skiing which helped me in the moment and I for the future.

Warren Miller

Unless you have ever watched one of Warren Miller's ski films you will not understand this reference.

Before every showing of the newest Warren Miller they show a preview/trailer of the film with the most perfect hype up music to get rowdy too. People are whistling, screaming, "woooooo!!"-ing, and when I see this photo I think of that music.

Ski Area Boundary — Not Patrolled

This photo is the precursor to one of Kendall's daily photographs. This was day two's photo spot, standing next to a "ski area boundary — not patrolled " sign. We all stood by the sign, to give the parents at home a little scare. We dipped out of bounds for a little bit but ended up back on the trail until we stopped at the glacier cave.

Outlook

After a 20 minute gondola ride from the base of the mountain to the top of the alpine zone you step outside and see the Olympic rings and Canadian flags to your right, the Peak to Peak Express to your left. You walk past the ski racks to an empty space, drop your skis on the ground, clip in and you look up to this view.

Blue Bird Day

Whistler is not known for their Blue Bird Ski days. Most of the time the mountains were a mix of fog, clouds, or snow, making the mountain challenging because you couldn't see 10-20 feet in front of you. In addition you were going down a black that would easily be a double black or triple black at Gunstock, Wildcat, or Cannon in New Hampshire. So when we got above the alpine zone on the third day and there were no clouds, we knew it was going to be a great day of skiing.

Olympic Views

We quickly learned that the winter Olympics had been held at Whistler in 2010. There were Olympic rings on and off the mountain, and it got me thinking that the village at the base of the mountain was likely built up to handle the amount of people who would be trying to watch the Olympics.

Scoping Lines

Stepping out of the gondola on the first day, all of us were immediately scoping out where to ski. I whipped out my film point and shoot, Kendall and Jordan grabbed some photos with their phones, and Aidan suggested that we go to the very top of Whistler peak first. We ended up taking Peak Express to the top and getting a very rewarding first run.

Lift Line

Every time I hopped in a lift line I was either staring up at the mountain or staring down at what skis people had. Even though I had just purchased new skis I was interested to see what skis were popular in the area. I saw a lot of Rossignal and Atomic. Lucky for me I saw one of my favorite skis of all time, the Chris Bentchetler 100 and 120's. What makes them so special is that he puts his own art on the top sheet and the bases of the skis.

Top Sheet - "The top layer of a ski, typically a sheet of clear plastic with the ski's graphics printed on its underside." (skimag.com)

Base of Ski - "Base may be used to describe the under side of a ski." (skis.com)

Scale

This photo just shows the scale of the mountains that surrounded us. The person in the green jacket was about 3 feet in front of me, but as you follow the lift line up the mountain the chairs turn into grains of sand. I just love how a photo can capture the magnitude of the mountains.

1st T-Bar Ride

It was my first ride on a T-Bar. I don't think I have ever been to a ski resort in NH with one, so I had to try it. Super funky, the tension was always bouncing you as you make your ascent.

Skin Trail

There were a lot of people on the skin trail this day, the people who were hiking and skiing Flute bowl were looking for the powder staches... Since I don't have ski's with the ability to ski I had walk on the hiking trail. But it made me realize how badly I wanted to purchase a ski setup for skinning. I could skin up to Tuckermans Ravine, I could ski Wildcat, Cannon, and other mountains in NH, ME, or VT.

Skinning - "Skinning is the act of skiing up a hill or on a level surface. If you want to ski, you must have to have special bindings on your skis." (hikeitbaby.com)

Earning Our Turns

We got up early this day. We wanted to ski Flute Bowl. A ski bowl only accessible by hiking or skinning. It took about 10-20 minutes to hike/skin the trail. Aidan even met a nice gentlemen who was skinning for the first time also, they both wanted some steep skiing with some nice snow (pictured on the left).

Cool Off

At the top of Flute bowl we met up with Jack, the red head, and talked about where we should drop into the bowl, what would have the best snow, and layered back up before we got cold.

Into Fog

Last ride on the tram it was a pretty foggy in the valley between Whistler and Blackcomb. At the highest point during the ride where you normally see a river you only saw fog.

Night Life in the Village

Woke up in Portsmouth, NH at 3:30am EST and were walking around Whistler Village by 7:00pm PST. We were shot from about 8 hours of flying and another 2 hours of driving, but we all wanted to scope out the village. Find the Tim Hortons, the grocery store, the souvenir shops, and of course clothing shops to prove to people we skied Whistler Blackcomb.

Timmies

All that needs to be said is that Tim Hortons donuts are heavenly and ten times better than Dunkin's Donuts. I can not say which chain has better sandwiches or coffee as I do not like coffee and I never bought a breakfast sandwich from Tim Hortons. Being from New England this may appear as a betrayal, but the truth is, Dunkin Donuts buyers are so dedicated to Dunks that they don't give anyone else a chance. Please bring Tim Hortons to the Seacoast.

Sea to Sky

Took an exit off the Seas to Sky highway onto a backroad to get that true Pacific Northwest vibe. The windy roads, beautiful trees, fresh air, fog, and of course some rain.

Pacific Northwest Road Fog and Trees

Seattle has always been one of those bucket list cities. While I was only in the Seattle airport for an hour I still feel like I visited Seattle. I say this because I was in the Pacific Northwest, nested in the backroads with trees, fog, mountains, and rain. This photo is my version of those iconic Pacific Northwest photos you see on Instagram of the windy backroads filled with fog and trees.

Pacific Temperate Rainforest

Riding the tram for the first time you are just looking out the windows trying to absorb all the views. What you see most are the trees. The Pacific Northwest trees that I can't get over. I did some research and the mountains are nested in the Pacific Temperate Rainforest, the largest temperate rainforest on the planet.

In Bounds

This in bounds run was one of the hardest, steepest, and coolest I took during the whole trip. This little bowl, couloir, steep, whatever you want to call it was off of the Spanky's Ladder Hike. What you see in the photo is only half the run, we traversed from the left over to this section with snow that was boot to knee deep and steep.

Leg Burner

This photo was taken during our very first run at the mountain. We were all catching our breath so we could continue turning and burning the rest of the day.

Freshies

Day 1. First official "lift" ride. Conditions: 5 fresh inches on Whistler peak and in the Whistler Bowl. Nothing more needs to be said.

A River Runs Through It

Looking down 1,427 feet wasn't one bit scary. All I could think about was how beautiful the river under us looked. I thought of salmon swimming in the river and the film, A River Runs Through It. A film about a kid who loves to fly fish.

Tram View

For years I have watched videos of pro skiers getting on trams that bring them to the peak of a mountain. For example, the trams at Jackson Hole Wyoming, Chamonix France and Squaw Valley California. While I am not a pro skier and this tram didn't bring me to the top of the alpine zone or the peak of a mountain, I still felt like someone from a Warren Miller movie gearing up to ski a big line.