When Whistler melts...

Ron.BurgundyAl gore was right, it's been hot as fuck

So was talking to my Dad last night about the state of whis and the whole lower west coast in general regarding skiing. Over the past few winters the freezing levels slowly seem to be rising and the pow days dwindling (case and point grouse, seymour, cypress having zero snow and whis ski out only doable half the time).

Given the fact that the coast mountains are ideal for pow, with the garaunteed wet weather, moving the ski scene further north would be a solid solution. We agreed Smithers would be a sick alternative as they already have a good mountain (Hudson Bay Mountain) that has a whole alpine yet to be opened. Not to mention the town has a big enough airport for the money bags to fly in from west van on the weekends.

Where do you think the next "big ski town" will be in BC? Revy? Jumbo? etc?

Revy wasnt any better this winter homie, I went for a trip out in feb and got rained out with the lower lift closed. The whole interior of BC took a hit this winter.

Global warming does not just change the climate in 3 years dude, just because we had a rough winter last year doesn't mean we're never going to have snow again.

Utah had an awful january and it was almost identical to a january in 1934. Its called weather patterns, its never the same every year.


There is no doubt the earth it warming up, but over a period of 30 years and a future 30 years MIGHT have a significant effect, judging climate change based on 3 years is silly as fuck. Utah had one of their best years EVER 3 years ago, just give it some time, stop freaking out and making threads about global warming.

eheathstop freaking out and making threads about global warming.

Not sure if I'm the one freaking out haha

This thread was designed to ask opinions on towns and mountains in BC that could hold the growth and expansion that whistler saw 30+ years ago. Accounting for the sustainability of holding a snowpack for another 50 years from now. We are not here to discuss climate change, simply the possibility of expansion in BC's ski scene.

So if you're gonna be a cunt, then please leave.

Al Gore believes he invented the internet OP... that it is all

j.varAl Gore believes he invented the internet OP... that it is all

holy shit im so tired of this

without going on too long a rant.. gore never said he invented the internet. when he was gunning for the democratic nomination in the 90s he said he was instrumental in the initiative that created the internet as we know it, which he fucking was. he was one of the first politicians to actually recognize the potential of ARPAnet with more public access and development, and was directly responsible for it getting the funding and political attention it needed to begin growing into what it is today

so next time you have the urge to add to the conversation with some inane comment like this........don't

Titsandwich11holy shit im so tired of this

without going on too long a rant.. gore never said he invented the internet. when he was gunning for the democratic nomination in the 90s he said he was instrumental in the initiative that created the internet as we know it, which he fucking was. he was one of the first politicians to actually recognize the potential of ARPAnet with more public access and development, and was directly responsible for it getting the funding and political attention it needed to begin growing into what it is today

so next time you have the urge to add to the conversation with some inane comment like this........don't

thought i would get a response like this lol, its called a joke man.. chill

j.varthought i would get a response like this lol, its called a joke man.. chill

and i knew id get a response like that

keep repeating your hackneyed joke, i just feel the need to chime in sometimes and remind people theyre retards for parroting it ten years later

Whistler worked so well largely because of the massive population around it (US is close and Van) and its accessibility. I don't think you could really replicate it anywhere else which is one of the reasons that Jumbo will never work, other than the environmental stuff.

If whistler melts, I'm switching to surfing full time. It's a fucking desert here at the moment.

Shames would be cool to get some more lifts on their ridiculous terrain, but at the same time it is already cool cause you can access it by walking.

eheathGlobal warming does not just change the climate in 3 years dude, just because we had a rough winter last year doesn't mean we're never going to have snow again.

Utah had an awful january and it was almost identical to a january in 1934. Its called weather patterns, its never the same every year.


There is no doubt the earth it warming up, but over a period of 30 years and a future 30 years MIGHT have a significant effect, judging climate change based on 3 years is silly as fuck. Utah had one of their best years EVER 3 years ago, just give it some time, stop freaking out and making threads about global warming.

Here in Idaho we haven't had a good winter in 20 years, maybe that's just pebble creek. And also I'm only a teenager so I haven't kept track of the winters til like 5 years ago

Kicking Horse had a pretty solid year on the top two thirds of the mountain. When shit gets sloppy at the lower elevations, KH and Lake Louise ride it out.

That being said, Jumbo is not going anywhere fast. Oberto Oberti is broke and has nothing for investors. Jumbo just lost it's enviromental approval which they had for nearly a decade and then didn't do anything with. They have now put their focus on Valemont where they have some weak terrain in no man's land that no one cares about. If he can make that work, he will tell you it will be the next big thing, however, it will fail too.

Hudson's Bay mountain looks sick but they suffered from the warm storms this year as well.

hemlockjibber8They have now put their focus on Valemont where they have some weak terrain in no man's land that no one cares about. If he can make that work, he will tell you it will be the next big thing, however, it will fail too.

Didnt know that was the case valemount sounds like a sure fire bust haha

Revy/Golden have money coming in from calgary and vancouver but I really cant see any vancouverite driving another 5 hours or whatever to valemount.

What I think is the issue with BC as a ski resort investment is were just wayyy too oversaturated with already solid resorts with great terrain/snow. Geographically, whistler is the only mountain able to run like a ski in ski out "city". The Bow Valley mountains can and already have a similar setup and are garaunteed snow for long into the future, but not reliable for consistent pow (due drier weather systems).

Wondering if we'll see a large population shift out of Vancouver over the years to come as its getting expensive as fuck and less and less ideal snow wise.

How's Golden doing regarding growth?

Ron.BurgundyDidnt know that was the case valemount sounds like a sure fire bust haha

Revy/Golden have money coming in from calgary and vancouver but I really cant see any vancouverite driving another 5 hours or whatever to valemount.

What I think is the issue with BC as a ski resort investment is were just wayyy too oversaturated with already solid resorts with great terrain/snow. Geographically, whistler is the only mountain able to run like a ski in ski out "city". The Bow Valley mountains can and already have a similar setup and are garaunteed snow for long into the future, but not reliable for consistent pow (due drier weather systems).

Wondering if we'll see a large population shift out of Vancouver over the years to come as its getting expensive as fuck and less and less ideal snow wise.

How's Golden doing regarding growth?

The population will definitely not shift from Van. People do not live there for snow, quite the opposite actually. It has an almost non existent winter compared to other major Canadian cities. That's why it's so populated. Most people don't actually ski.

Ron.BurgundyDidnt know that was the case valemount sounds like a sure fire bust haha

Revy/Golden have money coming in from calgary and vancouver but I really cant see any vancouverite driving another 5 hours or whatever to valemount.

What I think is the issue with BC as a ski resort investment is were just wayyy too oversaturated with already solid resorts with great terrain/snow. Geographically, whistler is the only mountain able to run like a ski in ski out "city". The Bow Valley mountains can and already have a similar setup and are garaunteed snow for long into the future, but not reliable for consistent pow (due drier weather systems).

Wondering if we'll see a large population shift out of Vancouver over the years to come as its getting expensive as fuck and less and less ideal snow wise.

How's Golden doing regarding growth?

Vancouver won't change much. Demographics will shift but it's there for the long haul. It's a big city because it is a port and it's beautiful. Young people will rent for life or move to the lower mainland. That won't change much for skiers other than maybe a few extra skiers at Baker. Hemlock and Manning won't do well with changing freezing levels.

Ski resort development is not about logic. It's about scams to get investors to jump in early and sell real estate and then get out before it gets messy. The family hill scene has some growth to do. Low infrastructure investment and good service/ decent skiing. It's not going to move mountains but it's a segment that will change and grow. For this, there are lots of options in BC.

Golden is small. It's actually shrunk a tiny bit in the last 5 years. It is slowly slowly shifting away from a redneck town to a mountain town. A lot of people do a lot of work here to make it a sick place to live. I left whistler for it. It has less snow but more consistent temperatures. The town is like a blank canvas with an unreal playground in the background. They have finally announced the last stage of the highway upgrade. It will make some sort of difference as Calgarians suck at driving and it will help them get here.

Fun fact, over the last 10 years, snowfall in the western US is almost exactly at the known average. Shocking.

Some years are big, some are not. Alta doesn't snow exactly 500" every single season. People need to stop losing their shit because of one down year.

Yeah Whis didn't have the best season but let's be honest, even if it wasn't dumping 50" every second week, any day with snow on the mountain is better than a day without and honestly I don't think it was that bad. Besides the rain in February that crushed the lower alpine, there was still plenty of coverage up top.

The snow crews did a pretty unreal job of keeping the home runs open most of winter even with the soaring temperatures in the village, so maybe it was a bit slushy and crowded but shit coming home at the end of the day is still one of the best runs.

The weather is and always will be unpredictable. Climate change is happening but there is no hard evidence to suggest resorts in the North-West are going to suffer substantially because of it.

Once Japan stops getting snow, then we know we're in real trouble.

eheathUtah had an awful january and it was almost identical to a january in 1934.

Heath was there