Whistler BC - Feb 24-27

We got lucky with an invite to stay at a friend's condo during the Olympics and headed up with 5 of us crammed into a 4-door sedan. Whistler really did a nice job for the games - the Sea to Sky highway has been improved to the point where it takes 15-30 minutes less to get up there from Vancouver. In the village they had live music, big screen TVs, ski jumping demos every night (called the Fire and Ice show) and lots of exhibits. Fire and Ice was the highlight, with 8 skiers and boarders throwing flips through rings of fire at night - a perfect cap to the evening (or start of the evening for the childless crowd). Another big attraction was a set of giant Olympic rings you could climb on and have your picture taken.

We did manage to see one event, the women's slalom. We made it up to the standing-room-only area at the finish line and were able to watch the skiers come down and make the final 15 turns before the finish. It was foggy and snowing so visibility wasn't that great, but it was fun to see. The 8-year-olds we had with us only lasted about an hour, so needless to say we didn't see the whole thing.

Not a problem though, as the skiing was the highlight. It snowed every day, and because all the day parking lots were closed and you couldn't drive up without a pass - the hill was empty. No lift lines to speak of. This includes the Peak2Peak gondola, which whisks you from the Roundhouse at Whistler to the top of Jersey Cream at Blackcomb in 11 minutes. I was skeptical of the value of this investment until I arrived at the top of Whistler on Thursday to find all the top chairs closed for avalanche control and because of wind. 11 minutes later I was skiing Blackcomb and getting the freshies.

My favorite run is Ruby bowl, and it delivered two days straight. 6-8 inches of fresh snow each day and only a handful of other skiers made for some of the best skiing I've had there. It was a bit warm, but the snow at the top of the hill held up nicely and was dry enough to be enjoyable.