The Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000

I love Whistler. There is seldom an invite to this Canadian paradise that I will decline. That is why when I got Kate’s email last fall about organizing a Whistler trip during the first weekend in February, I instantaneously RSVP’d. My fondness for Whistler, Blackcomb and the lively village nestled between these two mountains only increased after Ryan and I took a trip into Blackcomb’s backcountry on an exceptional late April weekend during the Telus Festival. After taking a gondola, two high speed quads and a t-bar, we were a 20 minute skin from the entrance to one of the most epic alpine zones that easily accessed. After buying the $50 backcountry “one ride up” lift ticket on Saturday morning, Curtis, Brandon, Russ, Ryan and I returned. In the photo above, Curtis drops a cliff on Decker Mountain with a view of the Coastal Range in the background.

I knew it was going to be a good day the instant we reached the access gate. Despite a mild hangover from shenanigans at Maxx Fish the night before, I was ready to ski. As I glued my skins on, four very attractive women skied through the gate. Like myself, they proceeded to delayer and slap on skins. Only in Whistler.

We quickly reached the saddle, ripped skins and swiftly skied down several hundred. After a quick boot pack up another ridge, we had a clear view of the Decker Glacier. On the other side of the ridge we could see Seventh Heaven, the Blackcomb resort proper and Whistler off in the distance. We opted for a run on untracked snow that ran up to the base of Decker. Despite warmer weather and plenty of snow, the snow on the north facing slope was soft and fun.

We skied down to just above the lake, crossed a sketchy traverse and landed at the foot of the Decker Glacier. Here we skinned up for awhile before reaching the ridge that runs up to the summit of Decker. We broke for lunch, took in the views, watched a heli land across the the valley and began our descent.

After making a descent of Decker, we traversed back towards where we made our first run. We quickly reached the ridge, transitioned and slayed the nearly perfect snow all the way down to the lake.

With several successful runs under our belt, we made our way to the traverse that winds around the side of Blackcomb to Disease Ridge. After another 30 minutes of skiing cat tracks and groomers, we were back at the base area enjoying a beer at Longhorn’s.

On Sunday I was able to convince Russ and Ryan to join for a ski adventure. After talking to several folks at a ski shop in the village, I had gotten it in my head that we should ski the Duffey Lake zone, which is about an hour north of Whistler on Highway 99. We got bit of a late start, but after packing up our gear and cramming everything into my Volkswagen, we reached the parking lot at the sand shed just before noon. Ahead of us was a densely gladed approach up to Rohr Ridge. The beginning part of the climb included lots of bushwhacking. Trees, branches and unstable sun baked snow made the skin up interesting at best. In the end, we covered 2900 vertical feet in just under three hours.

Based on the poor quality of snow on the south facing slope we climbed, expectations for the ski down were pretty low. Thankfully, the north facing slope made our descent just the opposite. The snow was light and deep enough to have fun with. After watching Russ ski an incredible line and Ryan bomb down after him, I took my turn and plunged off the side of Rohr Ridge. I even lined up 7 footer and skied out of a powdery landing.

We skied the first 1500 feet on an open face named Stellar Bowl. The second half of the descent ran through the trees, including a delicious pillow line. We eventually reached the Forest Service road that followed the drainage back to the highway. Fortunately, there was enough of a downgrade where we did not have to pop off our skis, we were able to pole and slide all the way back to the car. As we packed the VW, sipped Rainiers and prepped for the 5 hour drive back to Seattle, Ryan admitted to me that during the climb he was not at all convinced this was a good idea. That doubt vanished after making his first dozen turns; and was glad to have come along on this ski adventure.

Climbing route in red, descent in yellow

The first day I spent at Whistler was skiing with about a dozen friends from Seattle. We cruised groomers all day on both mountains under full bluebird skies.

Like any good day spent with friends, more than a couple of beers and margaritas were served up at Longhorn’s during après. After all the legendary skiing, incredible snow and challenging terrain; there is one other thing Whistler is known for: partying. Mix all these elements with a quality group of old friends and it’s really the perfect weekend, a Whistler Weekend.

More photos on Flickr, or check out the slideshow below.