Snowboarder Captures Depressing Snow Conditions From Whistler's New Chairlift
Riding Thru Life is a YouTube channel dedicated to snowboarding videos: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Recently, the channel posted a conditions update for Whistler Blackcomb in Canada, known for its normally epic conditions and terrain.
"December 20th, 2023... Just to give you an update on the conditions at Whistler Blackcomb. We are in the middle of a Pineapple Express. It is super warm, it's kind of spitting on me right now, raining at the top..."
The reasoning behind filming the video was that "I've been seeing all sorts of doom and gloom headlines about resorts closing."
But the man behind the YouTube Channel Riding Thru Life assures viewers that "it's highly unlikely Whistler will shut down."
As the footage spans different areas of the mountain, the conditions do indeed look grim: no snow in the village, grass poking through near the chairlifts, a little more coverage at the top of Garbanzo, and dirty snow on the trails.
The filmer explains, "you only have so many runs open on the mountain, so you get funneled into these zones where everybody is. It's pretty sketchy. I was up here with Shea last week, and he almost got run over three or four times. There are a lot of high speed, sketchy riders mixed in with beginners... it's a recipe for disaster."
The Fitzsimmons was supposed to help with this, as Whistler Blackcomb just recently underwent a huge construction project since late-spring to upgrade the Fitzsimmons Express on Whistler Mountain.
Related: Whistler's New Fitzsimmons Express Nearing Completion- Will It Help With Crowds?
Matt Lorelli of POWDER explains that "the lift is a popular choice for beginners and intermediates looking to access low-altitude groomers, or as an alternative to the seemingly always busy Whistler Village Gondola."
The upgrade changed the lift from a four-person to an eight-person high speed detachable chairlift.
However, crowding seems to be a problem across the board. Down here in Tahoe, even with the hard work of the snowmaking crews and snowblowing at Palisades, the trails that are open are pretty packed. This weekend I took the Funitel down instead of running the trail you can now ski to the base on.
It's just, well... sketchy, and most of us would rather wreck our skis on rocks than getting run over by someone else!
The video includes the beautiful and sadly accurate quote about current snow conditions: "This is nasty!"
The YouTuber contemplates skiing down to the bottom, saying, "this is definitely a mistake, but I'll go to show you."
Show us he does. And it sure is nasty.
Whistler did get almost 6 inches on Christmas Day, so maybe things have improved. Maybe you have to ride the Fitzsimmons to find out.
Related: Whistler Blackcomb Resort
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