waltt@tekecs.UUCP (Walt Tucker) (11/07/85)
I see that Whistler Mtn in British Columbia just added a chair lift that
increases their vertical drop to 5280 FEET. This takes the record as the
ski area with the longest vertical drop in North America from neighboring
Blackcomb ski area, which has about 4200 vertical feet.
I'm taking a trip up there in February. I'll let you know how it goes.
-- Walttron@fluke.UUCP (Peter Barbee) (11/09/85)
>I see that Whistler Mtn in British Columbia just added a chair lift that >increases their vertical drop to 5280 FEET. This takes the record as the >ski area with the longest vertical drop in North America from neighboring >Blackcomb ski area, which has about 4200 vertical feet. > Not that it really matters but the areas are reversed, Blackcomb now has the mile of vertical, Whistler used to have the highest vertical on the continent. Since people are giving reports of areas I will say a few things about Whistler/Blackcomb. I live in Seattle but have made several trips to Whistler. Blackcomb; 6 chairs, 1 T-bar (high lift), 5280 vertical feet. Imagine all 5280 in one continuous fall line run, no runouts, minimal flat sections (you cross a couple of access roads), now open your eyes, it's real. Blackcomb talks about "the long run" and they deliver. Top to bottom - no stops, legs burn and faces grin. With the high lift this year they open up three steep bowls above timberline, glacier skiing. These are runs we used to hike to. The chairs are new and comfortable, the lodges serve decent food and remember the current exchange rate favors US money. Whistler; 9-11 chairs (I'm counting them on my fingers and keep getting confused), gondola, and a couple of T-bars. 4100 vertical. Absolutely the best out-of-bounds skiing in the NW. The upper T-bars give access to 4 or 5 big, wonderful bowls (some hiking necessary), just watch out for the Voodoo Chutes! The skiing within the area is pretty awesome also, the lifts cover about 180 degrees around the mountain (or seem like it) and there is any type of skiing you want. Whistler Village; this is where you stay, from your lodge/condo/loft suite you can walk to the base of either Whistler or Blackcomb (we're talking a couple of hundred yards). It's about 75 miles north of Vancouver B.C. or five hours from Seattle, good road all the way. The village has everything you need, grocery store, nightclubs/pubs, gourmet shop, liquor store, and whatever. With the exchange rate things are cheap, during low season you can stay two to a loft w/kitchen & hot tub for $50 US a day, including lift ticket. This is easily the best skiing in the Cascades as far as the hill is concerned. In fact it competes with most major national areas. The problem is with the snow. Cascade concrete. Of course when comparing to areas in Washington and Oregon the only places with better snow are Bachelor and Mission Ridge. It also is low (base 2500 ft) so there is not always snow all the way to the base. Happy skiing, Peter B
acton@ubc-cs.UUCP (Donald Acton) (11/13/85)
In article <5820@tekecs.UUCP> waltt@tekecs.UUCP (Walt Tucker) writes: >I see that Whistler Mtn in British Columbia just added a chair lift that >increases their vertical drop to 5280 FEET. This takes the record as the >ski area with the longest vertical drop in North America from neighboring >Blackcomb ski area, which has about 4200 vertical feet. This information is slightly wrong in that Walt has the two mountains mixed up. Whistler did add a new chair lift but it didn't increase the mountains vertical drop any. The new chair is suppose to come up from the back bowls and ends near the upper lodge. Whistler has also increased the capacity of its two T-bars. Blackcomb added a new T-Bar increasing its vertical drop to 5280 feet. This has also opened up a lot of new skiing terrain and they hope to remain open into June. (There is even talk of providing skiing for 12 months of the year.) Previous to Blackcomb's expansion Whistler had the longest vertical drop at, as Walt said, around 4200 ft and Blackcomb wasn't far behind. This new addition gives British Columbia the two mountains with the largest vertical drop in North America and they are right beside each other. Skiing opened there this past weekend (Nov 8) but I didn't go. If any of you wanf more info just drop a note and I will try and help. Donald Acton