WHISTLER, BC November 18, 2014 – Much to the delight of eager skiers and snowboarders, Whistler Blackcomb will be opening five days ahead of schedule on Saturday, November 22. The decision to kick off the winter season early was made possible after natural snowfall at higher elevations was followed by a streak of below average temperatures, providing prime conditions for snowmaking.

“Our snowmaking team has been working hard to take advantage of this early season cold snap in Whistler and has converted over 60 million gallons of water into snow over the past few weeks,” says Doug MacFarlane, Director of Mountain Operations at Whistler Blackcomb. “Their efforts, combined with the natural snowfall we have already received at higher elevations, has enabled us to get things rolling early again this year. And with more natural snow in the forecast for later this week, it should be a fun opening weekend.”

Whistler Mountain will be opening five days ahead of schedule on Saturday, November 22 with five lifts running. Guests will have the option to upload from either the base of Whistler Mountain via the Whistler Village Gondola, featuring brand new cabins, or the Creekside base via the Creekside Gondola. Blackcomb Mountain will open, as scheduled, on Thursday, November 27, 2014.

“With all the excitement of opening day, we want to remind guests early season conditions will apply, especially off piste,” says MacFarlane. “It is important to obey all mountain signage, ski and ride on open runs only and stay within the operational area marked by ‘Temporary Boundary’ signage.”

First upload on the Whistler Village Gondola and Creekside Gondola will begin at 8:30am, with last upload at 2pm on November 22, with mandatory download off the mountain. Emerald Express, Big Red Express and the Franz Chair lifts will be running, allowing access to 1800 vertical feet of skiing and riding terrain. Runs set to open include Upper and Lower Ego Bowl, Upper Whiskey Jack, Upper Franz’s, Papoose, Orange Peel and Pony Trail. There will also be a small terrain park accessible from the top of the Emerald Express chair and green learning terrain serviced by a Super Carpet at Olympic Station. Guests can keep updated on the most current lift status information at www.whistlerblackcomb.com/the-mountain/lifts-and-grooming or from mobile devices via the Whistler Blackcomb LIVE app, powered by TELUS.

Opening day guests will have the first chance to experience the brand new Whistler Village Gondola cabins installed this fall. The new Sigma “Diamond” level walk-in cabins dramatically improve the experience for skiers, snowboarders, and sightseers with eight passengers able to sit comfortably on bench seating. The new cabin configuration also gives guests the option of bringing their ski/snowboard equipment inside with them or storing it themselves in the outside racks provided.

Opening day will be the first time skiers and riders at Whistler Blackcomb will experience the benefits of the newly introduced RFID technology around the mountains, including mountain access gates at most lifts. Guests are reminded to store their new RFID Access Cards in a left-side pocket away from cell phones, credit cards and foil in order to reduce signal interference at the access gates. For more information about RFID at Whistler Blackcomb, visit www.whistlerblackcomb.com/rfid.

Whistler Mountain dining locations set to open on November 22 include Essentially Blackcomb Cappuccino Bar and Garbo’s Grill in the Carleton Lodge, Dusty’s Bar & Grill and Dusty’s Backside in Creekside, the Roundhouse Lodge on Whistler Mountain, and the Garibaldi Lift Co., Whistler’s world-famous location for après.

Whistler Blackcomb Guest Relations in Whistler Village is currently operating daily from 9am to 5pm. The Blackcomb Day Lodge and Creekside Guest Relations will also be open from 9am to 5pm daily beginning Wednesday, November 19. All three locations will be open from 9am to 7pm on Friday, November 21 and from 7am to 5pm on Saturday, November 22. From November 23 onwards only the Village and Creekside Guest Relations will operate daily from 8am to 5pm until Wednesday, November 26 when the Blackcomb Day Lodge will open again in preparation for Blackcomb Mountain opening for skiing/riding on November 27. The Hours of Operation for all Guest Relations locations can be found at www.whistlerblackcomb.com/the-mountain/hours-of-operation.

Ski and snowboard rentals will be available at the base of Whistler Mountain at Gondola Rentals, from 8am – 5pm, Essentially Blackcomb from 7am – 5pm, the Salomon Store from 8am – 8pm, and the Fairmont and Can-Ski Westin from 8am-6pm. Can-Ski Creekside will be open at the Creekside base from 8am – 5pm.

Private and adult Max 4 ski and snowboard lessons will be available on Whistler Mountain, and can be booked online or by calling 1-800-766-0449. Discover Whistler Days are on now through to December 14 offering 25 per cent off select group snow school lessons.

Beginning November 22, Whistler Blackcomb’s Snow Report will be updated daily throughout the season and can be accessed online or by calling 604-932-4211 in Whistler, 604-687-7507 in Vancouver, or toll-free at 1-800-766-0449.

For Canadian and Washington State residents, Whistler Blackcomb offers the EDGE Card, allowing guests to ski/ride from $69 (CDN) a day. EDGE Cards are valid for use all season long, and are available at early bird pricing until November 30, at www.whistlerblackcomb.com/save.

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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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On the 8th day of Opening day, my true love gave to me….atruly Canadian experience!

As Whistler and Whistlerites gear up for the start of anotheramazing season, in the 16 days leading up to Opening Day, I’m goingto give you 16 different ideas of some awesome things to do thiswinter season!

NUMBER 8:

Dogsledding tours!
Mush mush mush your way across the land with some of THE mostenergetic dogs you’ll ever meet!

Why not try an activity that dates back nearly 4,000 years?Researchers hint that life in Northern Canada may never have beenpossible without these guys!

Want to feel like a true Canadian? Hook a few of these guys up tothe gang-lines, and grab a glass of pure maple syrup to drink alongthe way as you head up to your igloo for the night. Don’t forgetyour ice skates, as the igloo is on a hockey rink. I’m pretty sureI just described Canada to a tee, eh?

Ok, maybe you won’t end up at an Igloo, guzzling back maple syrupall while playing hockey. But hey, commandeering a fleet ofenergetic sled dogs is a pretty damn neat thing to do! How many ofyour friends back home can say they’ve done that? I’m guessingalmost none.  
Go on. Make them envious! 

Oh, and usually there’s a litter of puppies on the complex thatsteal all the attention. Pretty sure no one can say No to puppies.They pretty much win every time. And no, you can’t just “borrow”one and take him home with you. Apparently they’re not fans ofthat. Weird. (I say this based on assumptions. I’ve never heard ofa friend of a friend of a cousins friend trying that…..)

Posted on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 | Comments (0) | Category: Aloha News, Resort Information, Whistler Accommodations, Whistler Events, Resort News | Permalink

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