The month of May is a very interesting time in Whistler. The sun is shining, the temperatures are soaring, the snow is melting, the beaches and golf courses are open, and the mountain bike trails are getting prepared for an opening in the very near future (May 17th, to be exact).
With temperatures reaching the 30’s (Mid 80’s for my American friends), it’s not uncommon to see the general population in Whistler wearing shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops, while standing beside a skier or snowboarder who’s fully decked out in gear which looks WAY too warm.

(Case in point. PS, retro one-piece suits NEVER go out of style in Spring time)

That being said, the end of May brings about a new sport – the Whistler Triathlon (I wonder if we can turn this into an Olympic sport). The Whistler Triathlon isn’t your regular run of the mill triathlon. In fact for a very short period, between May 17th (opening of the Bike Park) until May 27th (last day of spring skiing on Blackcomb) opens up a window for the die-hards. Start the day off skiing or snowboarding, followed up with a downhill mountain bike ride in the afternoon, and topped off with a round of golf or a wakeboard at Green Lake in the late afternoon. Or for those feeling VERY adventurous, you can even possibly make it to Vancouver Island in time for an evening surf session.

You know you’re in a sports oriented town when these are serious discussions, of how many different sports you can accomplish in one day!

Maybe this is why no one seems to age in this town 😉

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One of my favourite Whistler photographers has released his first set of photos in his Whistler 2013 gallery.

A few of my favourites below:

(Harmony Chair)

(James Heim standing on top of the world….ok, 7th Heaven)

(Dana Flahr killing the powder on Blackcomb)

To view the entire gallery, click HERE

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That’s right, 5 days and 75 films, along with many many specialevents on the go, Whistler Film Fest is getting right into thethick of things!

Night One was was a success with two films being screened, andfrom everything I’ve heard it was nothing short of perfect!

Day and Night Two are chock filled with 15 films being screened,as well as a special Trailblazer Award and Intimate Conversationwith award winning actress and producer, and one of my favourite’sto watch on TV, Rashida Jones (The office, Parks & Rec).

And she’s not the only famous name in town right now. Mr. DanielRadcliffe (Harry Potter) and Channing Tatum (Magic Mike) have bothbeen cruising the Village Stroll, much to the ladies delight.
Julia Stiles (The Bourne trilogy) and the legendary Canadianfolk/rock guitarist Bruce Cockburn are also in the village thisweekend. Hopefully I can run in to good ol’ Brucey, and have himwrite me into his next song. Pipedream, maybe??

Ok, back to the movies!
SO many choices. With 15 happening tonight, and another 58 overthe next three days and nights, I’m really at a loss of which totry and catch. It seems all of the movies are THE ones to watchthis year.
Makes it a little difficult to be in so many places at once. Hmmm,time to find a scientist and build myself a few clones that can gowatch all the movies, and relay it all to my mind atonce.

On second thought, that sounds like a brain overload. I think I’lljust stick to hoping that I’ve picked the best ones!

(My favourite, Rashida Jones)

(Daniel Radcliffe. Spotlight and Q&A – Nov. 30 – MilleniumPlace)

(Magic Mike himself – Channing Tatum)

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On the 1st day of Opening Day, my truelove gave to me….pure, utter, unadulterated excitement!

As Whistler and Whistlerites gear upfor the start of another amazing season, in the 16 days leading upto Opening Day, I’m going to give you 16 different ideas of someawesome things to do this winter season!

With Whistler Mountain opening early, the buzz around the villagehas been electrifying. Add in a whole bunch of fresh snow, and allof the locals are absolutely giddy!

Blackcomb Mountain is still scheduled to open TOMORROW, Thursday,November 22nd.

Let’s round out this list!

NUMBER 1:

Exploring the mountain!
Map out your wonders. Get stoked. Have an amazing season!

It’s that time of year again, where there’s one main thing on mostpeople’s minds. And that’s which run should I ride next? With anendless choice of runs to choose from, and a seemingly endlesssupply of snow for the next 6-7 months, you’ll have plenty of timeto hit your favourites, some hidden gems, some that you’ve onlyever heard about, or perhaps this is your first time on themountain, and pretty much EVERYTHING is left to be explored!.

Which ever it is, the start of the year so far has beenincredible, and leads me to believe that we’re in for one heck of asnowy year.
I’m secretly wishing for each month to be comparable to lastMarch, where we got 14 feet of snow throughout the month. 14feet! Every day was a fresh powder day!
Perhaps it’s a pipe dream to wish for that every month, but onecan hold out hope, no?

In the mean time, I’ll keep dancing my snow dance for MotherNature, and try to convince her to send it all this way again!

**Photo Courtesy: Jeremy King | AlohaWhistler Accommodations

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On the 2nd day of Opening Day, my truelove gave to me….Powder, Helicopters, Powder, Open Bowls, Powder,Untouched terrain. Oh, and did I mention Powder?!

As Whistler and Whistlerites gear upfor the start of another amazing season, in the 16 days leading upto Opening Day, I’m going to give you 16 different ideas of someawesome things to do this winter season!

With Whistler Mountain opening early, the buzz around the villagehas been electrifying. Add in a whole bunch of fresh snow, and allof the locals are absolutely giddy!

Blackcomb Mountain is still scheduled to open this Thursday,November 22nd.

Back to the list, my good friend!

NUMBER 2:

Heli-Skiing!
A private, untouched, MASSIVE mountain for you to ride on?! Ithink so!

Imagine the feeling of a having the choice of over 432,000 (nearlyhalf a million) acres of untouched snow. That’s 173 glaciers, or475 runs. Which one do you choose first? In all honesty, it doesn’tmatter, as each and every one of your runs will quite possibly besome of THE best runs of your life!

On top of that, one of the best perks about this is that there’sno lift lines involved either. The only wait you have to do, is tocomfortably strap into your seat in the helicopter, and fly rightback up to the top of the mountain.
This is riding in style!
There is so much powder out there that some people have evenuttered the words “too much”. But I think those people are silly,and just don’t fully appreciate a day where powder is trulyking!
You know how easy it is to slice through butter with a hot knife.Now, put those hot knives on your feet, and pretend the powder isthat butter, and well, I think you get the idea!

Between you and me, I don’t think you’ll be able to wipe the smileoff your face at the end of the day.

** Photo Courtesy: Darryl Brennan | Whistler HeliSkiing

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On the 3rd day of Opening Day, my truelove gave to me….a little taste of Whistler!

As Whistler and Whistlerites gear upfor the start of another amazing season, in the 16 days leading upto Opening Day, I’m going to give you 16 different ideas of someawesome things to do this winter season!

With Whistler Mountain opening early, the buzz around the villagehas been electrifying. Add in a whole bunch of fresh snow, and allof the locals are absolutely giddy!

Blackcomb Mountain is still scheduled to open this Thursday,November 22nd.

The list. Let’s get back to it!

NUMBER 3:

Whistler Tasting Tours!
Whet your appetite for some of the scrumptious splendors Whistlerhas to offer!

It’s tough to choose which restaurantsto go to in Whistler. There are an absolute ridiculous number tochoose from. Araxi, Barefoot Bistro, 21 Steps, Earls, Bavaria…. Icould continue, but by the time I finish this list your mind willhave already gotten lost in thoughts of what’s in your fridge rightnow.

So this little tour here will help you out! There are two options:The Hidden Gems, and The Finer Things.
Each tour will bring you through 5 different restaurants (as wellas a Bonus Mystery stop) and let you sample one course in eachplace. It is a progressive tour that ends with an absolutelydelicious dessert.
If one night isn’t enough for you, then return for a second, andtry 5 completely different restaurants.

This is certainly a unique way to dine out in Whistler. You andyour taste buds will most certainly become best friends by the endof this night out!.

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On the 4th day of Opening Day, my truelove gave to me….untouched goodies, and a private cat to getthere!

As Whistler and Whistlerites gear upfor the start of another amazing season, in the 16 days leading upto Opening Day, I’m going to give you 16 different ideas of someawesome things to do this winter season!

With Whistler Mountain opening early, the buzz around the villagehas been electrifying. Add in a whole bunch of fresh snow, and allof the locals are absolutely giddy!

Blackcomb Mountain is still scheduled to open this Thursday,November 22nd.

To the list we go, Batman!

NUMBER 4:

Cat-Skiing!
Ride what very few others have touched in the comfort of your ownSnowcat!

Now, you may be wondering, what the heck is he talking about,riding up the hill on an animal?!?
And if you’ve never heard about this before, then I understandthat train of thought. A Snowcat is kind of like a modifiedgrooming machine, that can seat up to 12 people, and can drive overa diverse amount of terrain.
This means it can give you access to pristine fresh tracks, overand over again throughout your day.
You can get up to 10 fresh runs a day, and by the end wonder whyon earth you aren’t doing this more often!

You’ll be amazed at just how much snow there is out there. I’vegot my fingers crossed for you, that you happen to make it up on aday where it snows a fresh two feet over night. Trust me, you’ll bein heaven!

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On the 5th day of Opening day, my truelove gave to me….an early opening!

As Whistler and Whistlerites gear upfor the start of another amazing season, in the 16 days leading upto Opening Day, I’m going to give you 16 different ideas of someawesome things to do this winter season!

We’re less than a week away to the “Official” Opening Day.However, the unofficial “Official” Opening Day is TODAY (SaturdayNov. 17th). The Whistler Alpine will be open, and you can bet yourbottom dollar you will see nothing but smiles all day. In factsmiles all day, every day for the next 6-7 months.

Blackcomb Mountain is still scheduled to open November 22nd.

Back to the List we go!

NUMBER 5:

WHISTLER MOUNTAIN UNOFFICIAL OFFICIAL OPENING DAY!
First tracks of the season have been laid out as of 8.30 thismorning on what will surely become another epic year!

It’s been raining in the village sincelast night, yet there have been a few die-hards camping out sinceyesterday afternoon (see picture below) to ensure they’re first inline, and get the first lines on the snow this season. Impressivefeat considering how soggy they must have gotten over night.

On the upside, the forecast is calling for a wholllllleeeee lot ofsnow over the next 5-6 days. Upwards of 160+ cm’s in the Alpine(for you folks not wanting to do math on a Saturday, that’s nearly5.5 feet of white gold). Jealous yet?

Needless to say, the season is starting off well!

Posted on Saturday, November 17, 2012 | Comments (0) | Category: Aloha News, Resort Information, Whistler Accommodations, Whistler Events, Resort News | Permalink

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On the 6th day of Opening day, my truelove gave to me….an early morning, food and fresh snow!

As Whistler and Whistlerites gear upfor the start of another amazing season, in the 16 days leading upto Opening Day, I’m going to give you 16 different ideas of someawesome things to do this winter season!

We’re less than a week away to the “Official” Opening Day.However, the unofficial “Official” Opening Day is TOMORROW(Saturday Nov. 17th). The Whistler Alpine will be open, and you canbet your bottom dollar you will see nothing but smiles all day. Infact all day every day for the next 6-7 months.

Blackcomb Mountain is still scheduled to open November 22nd.

Now, onto the List we go!

NUMBER 6:

Fresh Tracks!
Early access to the lifts, a wicked buffet breakfast,and being the first ones on the slopes that day. What more couldyou want (aside from free helicopter rides…sigh)? There is a catch, though. It involves waking up EARLYand waiting in a line. Now, if you’ve talked to anyone who’s doneFresh Tracks, they’ll all tell you that that small catch is a pieceof cake for what you’re about to get.
Early access up the lifts, a buffet fit for a powderhungry crowd, and the chance to be the first ones to lay tracks allover Whistler.

Why yes, yes that does sound appealing.

How many times have you gone up the lift early in the morning, andalready see tracks coming down the mountain, and you’re wonderingto yourself “how in the hell are people already stealing mylines?”
YOU CAN BE ONE OF THOSE LINE-STEALING PEOPLE! And on your nextride up the lift, you can show it off to all the people on thechair with you. Probably with a smug smile on your facetoo. 

Oh. One more catch, I guess. They cut off the line after 650people. To you that might sound like a lot, and that you don’t haveto worry. And on a day with no powder, you MIGHT be correct.However, if you come across a knee-deep dumping over night, youshould probably set your alarm clock a little earlier, bring somecoffee in a thermos, and get yourself in line. Because she shallfill up quick, my friend. And there’s nothing worse than beingperson number 651 in line and missing out on all the baconat the top. Heck, the bacon alone is worth waking up earlyfor.

Every person who’s ever done fresh tracks. EVER. will tell youthat it is above and beyond worth it. Especially if you luck outand get snow deeper than you thought possible.
Just don’t fall asleep at the bar during Après after a long day ofriding hard. They tend not to be fans of that. Sillybars.

Posted on Friday, November 16, 2012 | Comments (0) | Category: Aloha News, Resort Information, Whistler Accommodations, Whistler Events, Resort News | Permalink

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On the 7th day of Opening day, my truelove gave to me….a helicopter, and sense of adventure!

As Whistler and Whistlerites gear upfor the start of another amazing season, in the 16 days leading upto Opening Day, I’m going to give you 16 different ideas of someawesome things to do this winter season!

NUMBER 7:

Helicopter Sight Seeing tours
Ever want to see what hundreds of miles of mountains looklike? 

So if you’re not the type of person who gets thrills out of skiingin remote places, only accessed by Helicopter, why not ddo a flyover of all these places, and take in the absolute beauty that theWest Coast has to offer?

Tours range anywhere from 12 minutes to 45 minutes, with landingson the Glacier.
It’s a pretty unique experience that may just leave youbreathless.

It’s also a great way to map out the runs you want to do duringyour stay in Whistler. Expensive way of doing it, but it wouldcertainly be a story to tell all your friends back home!

Posted on Thursday, November 15, 2012 | Comments (0) | Category: Aloha News, Resort Information, Whistler Events, Resort News | Permalink

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