As explained in the Utah thread, our plans changed and we’re now heading to Whistler instead. We’ll be there the first week of March - just 3 of us - wife, myself, and 5 year old daughter. Recapping, it will be my daughter’s first time on skis and my wife is still very much a beginner while I’m a pretty advanced skier and love tree skiing. However, with the family in tow, I’m just looking forward to a family vacation and my priority will be on them having a great experience. (essentially paying it forward for better skiing enjoyment down the road)
We will be staying in the village of Whistler in a full kitchen condo with a very short walk to the gondola. BIG bonus for Whistler with my wife is the opportunity for significant seafood and Asian fare! She’s already planning out nearly every meal to maximize happy hours with oysters and sushi!
So, if anyone has any practical advice, skiing tips, or food thoughts, I’ll be all ears for the next few weeks.
Whistler, and Blackcomb too, have excellent ski schools. If your daughter is comfortable being left with strangers she will learn far faster than if you take on teaching her yourself. I can elaborate if you ask, but in short, no parent should ever teach their own kid either to ski, unless that parent is an experienced instructor.
I’ll add that my wife went from a beginner to intermediate with Whistler instruction, and greatly enjoyed the experience. She then could join the rest of the family on the upper slopes without fearing for her safety or feeling like she was holding everyone else back. So, I advise at least some professional instruction for her as well.
Peter - thanks again! DEFINITELY enrolling my daughter. She takes instruction very well and is used to adapting to a variety of environments, so I expect she will do well. I get a headache just thinking about trying to teach her from the very beginning. I would assume the experts know exactly the right steps to get her up to speed. And, my wife is looking forward to taking some more lessons and really making the effort to improve.
Here’s a very detailed question: We arrive on a Saturday afternoon with our first day of skiing on Sunday. Our last day available to ski will be the following Friday. There are ski camps offered for kids that are 5 days long starting on Monday. (same instructor all week which is a big bonus I think in terms of learning and comfort and fun) If I put her in regular ski school on Sunday, that would potentially mean 6 straight days on the snow which seems like a lot for a 5 year old. I’m even a little concerned about the 5 straight days. So, I’m kind of torn. Should I put her in individual days of ski school starting on Sunday or do the “camp” + 1 day?
Our kids were a little older than 5 when we started taking them to Whistler, but my nephew and niece were that young when the extended family started spending a week there every winter. They loved the ski school routine. I think the extra day, though, might be too much, mainly because of the discontinuity between the Sunday session and the ski camp, not because six straight days are too many.
Peter - So, what should I do with her on Sunday, the day before the camp starts? Plan to do non-skiing activities like tubing and skating? Unfortunately, it’s not ideal for us that the camp doesn’t start until Monday. If I had to pick a “day off” from skiing for her, it would be in the middle of the week and we could all take it off.
Mark - funny! Except for the hot Aussie dude!!! Knowing my wife, we’ll be eating raw oysters, seafood, and sushi 1-2 times every day. She’s excited to take advantage of the freshness of the seafood out there and out tastes (especially her’s) are pretty adventurous.
Sorry to burst your bubble but if you’re going to Whistler in March prepare to be disappointed. Most likely you’ll have hard pack conditions, no new snow, rain, and probably have to download from the mountain instead of skiing down.
Plus side is that the food and wine at The Barefoot Bistro is fantastic.
If you’re on the lower part of the mountain, this is sad but true… if you get up to the top of the mountain, you might not get 10 ft of fluffy powder, but it won’t be so bad… lesson to be learned: Get High! (which is not hard to do in Whistler)
Don’t rain on his parade, Sax. . The snow is very hit or miss at W-B, I’ve been there when it was snowing at the top and raining mid mountain, that was the sucks. But it really depends on the weather, if you’re getting fresh snow (all the way to the base), it can be epic (I’ve also been to W-B after a huge dump and it was definitely epic). None of this can be predicted now. The village is awesome tho, my favorite of all the places I’ve been to. Tons of stuff to do outside of skiiing, which will be great for your family.
Hey I hope I’m wrong Joe but IMO the best time to ski Whistler is Dec/Jan not March. Plus I din’t mention El Nino, not a very good storm track for up there. But like you said, there’s plenty of other things to do for the family.
Have you ever tried Nordic skiing? That’s what we do on our day off. I used to tow my younger daughter when necessary. Now I can’t keep up with the younger crowd. They did 80K yesterday.
There is also tobogganing at the Olympic Nordic center, which is a bit of a drive out to Callahan. There are buses that you can take.
On certain days you can ride a bobsled, or ski and shoot at the biathlon course.
Don’t let Steve discourage you on the snow. I’ve had great powder days on Whistler in March. Weather there can be terrific any day of the winter, or a whiteout blizzard, or rain, and/or fog, or a mix depending on where you are in the 5000+ ft. of terrain.
I’d agree with Steve - Whistler in March is hit & miss, although top 1/2 is almost always great. Issue is your daughters ski school is very likely on the bottom 1/2.
So, chances are you’ll love it at the top of either, but your daughter & wife, may not enjoy the beginner/int slopes so much. The rain can be non-stop there.
Lake Louise isn’t really a lot more reliable in March. Can be lots of rocks at that time of year. Sunshine is at least higher and has better snow.
Yah but in terms of fun, Whistler is 10X better with food/spa/entertainment options no?
I used to live in Vancouver for 16 years, and have been to Whistler countless times from end of Nov to April. While there is a difference in weather, i’ve never had a bad time.
They bring the tots up to mid-mountain when conditions warrant. It can get crowded on the Emerald Express family zone, but probably not
an issue mid week in March.
A chart of snowfall by month.
Day 1: sketchy n hard
Day2: 4-5 inches of fresh
Day 3: rain at the very bottom, whiteout up top w upper lifts closed
Day 4: awesome piles of snow to play in.
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