Whistler Blackcomb has had a rough go of it so far this winter. A lack of snow in the lower elevations has resulted in a lot of buzzworthy social media posts and videos, and lift lines have also been an issue.
So what happens when Whistler Blackcomb gets 42 centimeters of snow on Friday Night into Saturday morning? Get ready to wait in line, buddy.
This video from Graeme McRanor gives you a general idea of how many people’s day started on Saturday. According to Daily Hive, the lift line to the Creekside Gondola went onto the Sea-To-Sky Highway and then onto Lake Placid Road for a long stretch.
In terms of crowding on the slopes, crunch points formed, resulting in some rough lift lines. Ben Mofitt captured a TikTok video of him waiting ninety minutes in a lift line for the Emerald 6 chairlift.
It’s tough to determine what Whistler can do to fix this problem. More new lifts in the base areas can help out, but they could also create new crunch points. In addition, they just opened the Fitzsimmons Express, a new chairlift in the Whistler Village area. Vail Resorts has limited lift ticket sales during peak periods since last ski season, but the threshold for how many people are going on the slopes is not made public. Limiting the number of days Epic passholders have at Whistler is one idea, but it would be a divisive move
Was waiting for the lift lines worth it? Based on this snow, I’d say yes.
Image/Video Credits: Graeme McRenor, Ben Mofitt, Alex Beaulieu-Marchand
