Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain face each other. Their physical connection at the base would suggest similarities between them. But, this is a story of how two mountains can create two completely different skiing or snowboarding experiences. A view from the valley foreshadows the mountain's stories.
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We are famous for our 33 feet of “natural” snow a season, so why bother making it?
Our snowmaking crew begins combining air and water as early as mid-September to help prepare the mountains for Mother Nature’s snow. With portable snow guns, we can farm snow in areas we know require more snow coverage before people can ski or ride on the terrain.
This helps us offer a great skiing/riding product for guests right from the season’s get-go in November. Interestingly, our snow making team’s snow lasts longer than the natural stuff, which helps us extend the season at Whistler Blackcomb to late May; the longest ski season in North America.
At Whistler Blackcomb we have 270 snow guns in our snowmaking fleet with 39 automated guns, 69 manual fan guns and 162 air/water guns.
Our water reservoirs have a capacity of 52 million gallons, a breakdown of 20 million gallons on Blackcomb and 32 million on Whistler.
39 million gallons of water is needed to cover the Olympic Downhill courses and the training runs.
Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains use a combination of fan guns and air/water guns. Snow guns range from fully automatic (start, stop and adjustment automatically) to manual guns that require hourly checks by staff.
Snowmaking begins at -2 Celsius. As the temperature gets colder we are able to put more water through each gun making more snow in less time. -15 Celsius provides maximum production out of each gun and we continue to make snow well into the -20C.
Humidity affects what we call a "Wet Bulb Temperature" the lower the humidity the colder the temperature will feel and act. Zero Celsius at 100 per cent humidity will still result in a snowmaking temperature of zero Celsius. However zero Celsius at 10 per cent humidity would put us at a level of snowmaking that acts as though it is -5 Celsius.
In 24 hours, our snowmaking team can fill an NHL hockey rink to the top of the glass with snow.
10,000 gallons of water per minute can be converted into snow on Whistler Mountain and 5,000 gallons of water per minute on Blackcomb Mountain.
On average, each year our snowmaking team turns 130 to 180 million+ gallons of water into 650 to 900 acres a foot deep of snow.
Jan Tindle and Anton Horvath’s office is at 1650 metres on Whistler Mountain. It’s called Pig Alley and is Whistler Blackcomb’s official weather forecasting spot. Pig Alley has been chosen for the official weather forecasting spot because forecasters believe it’s an accurate snapshot of the average snowfall around the mountains.
"That spot seems to be a bit more protected. We used to use a plot at the bottom of Harmony but we found it wasn't a good average," said Horvath.
This site is an official Environment Canada reporting station and VANOC weather station as well. There, Jan and Anton look at different forecast models to see what the day ahead may bring in the way of weather.
"From experience you can see certain trends coming through," Tindle said.
A good weather forecast is important when trying to plan ahead for the next day.
"We need to have accurate weather data for us to effectively carry out the avalanche control work," she said.
She admits that it can be a stressful job, trying to keep on top of changing weather systems and trying to get the alpine avalanche-safe for the public.
Tony Sittlinger and Nigel Stewart are the weather and avalanche forecasters on Blackcomb Mountain.
There are specific avalanche routes that are laid out over the mountain and 90 per cent of the time avalanche control involves dropping bombs at targets on those routes. But on a big snow day there may be avalanches occurring in areas that are not usually controlled.
"The big things for us in avalanche control are: the snowfall, the wind and the temperature," Tony Sittlinger indicates. "The wind and temperature are almost more important than new snow."
Sittlinger, Stewart, Tindle, Horvath and other patrollers spend the morning after a new snowfall preparing the mountain, particularly the alpine, by dropping bombs to purposefully trigger potential avalanches.
They aim to have the alpine open as quickly as possible and are usually working for a 10 a.m. opening of the alpine terrain. But, the patrollers will work until early afternoon to get the alpine safe, even if it means only a few hours of high alpine skiing and riding for the public. Safety is definitely the number one concern and patrollers appreciate everyone's patience while they work fast and effectively to clear each zone. Then, it's powder time!
The Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association (CARDA) was founded in 1978. The organization is dedicated to saving the lives of avalanche victims through the use of highly trained dog and handler teams. Made up of volunteers who have passed an intensive training program, CARDA strives to maintain a network of efficient avalanche search and rescue dog teams in Canada.
At present, Whistler Blackcomb is proudly represented by thirteen avalanche dogs and their handlers. The dogs work full or part-time, depending if their handler is a professional or volunteer patroller. The teams have a range of experience, from puppies entering the first stages of training to dogs with years of experience. Their names are Burleigh, Finna, Norah, Quest, Zhiggy, Haole, Lexy, Kally, Koda, Mac, Gracy, Kaya and Hector.
The dogs and their handlers develop a powerful bond through ongoing, rigorous training exercises based on a system of reward for tasks successfully performed. Although it is a disciplined relationship, the feeling of love and friendship between the dogs and their handlers is immediately evident - they are a team.
