Whistler mountain opens early!

Awesome news, the mountain is opening early and skiing on whistler will begin.  Blackcomb will still be closed until the 26^th, but for those that don’t have their season pass and gear yet now is the time!

See you out there!

Whistler Blackcomb EARLY OPENING ALERT!!! Whistler Mountain is opening this Saturday. Wax your gear and come on out to kick off the our most epic season yet. Skiing and riding on Emerald Chair, Franz’s and Big Red Express. There are killer deals to be had this weekend. Book by Nov. 15 and save up to 39% on lift/lodging packages.

 

 

Cornucopia: Whistler’s Celebration of Wine and Food

Time to fill your face with the good stuff before the season eats away at all your cash and leaves you eating craft dinner or something from the ghetto gourmet series get out, eat, drink and be merry!

Celebrate gourmet food coupled with fine wine in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Sit in on fascinating seminars with wineries, critics and wine professionals, or attend Winemaker Dinners where sumptuous multi-course meals are paired with a variety of wines. Swirl, sniff, & sip a selection of vintages at various tasting events, take a Chef’s Trip to the Farm, or make the scene at our renowned after-parties and brunches. Cornucopia brings Whistler to life with a feast of food and wine festivities to capture your every sense.

Cornucopia

Elements Urban Tapas review

Previously Elements has been mentioned on the blog before, but the post was by my other half, I’d never even been to Elements before today.

It is most definitely worth a second mention as it now stands as my prefered breakfast spot in Whistler.   I had a hunger for french toast and Elements didnt disappoint.  In fact I kind of got greedy and got not just a side plate of fruit but the full fruit breakfast to go with the main, the waitress was slightly confused as to why 2 people were ordering 3 breakfasts but it a ll tasted great and I’m glad we did, even if I did look greedy. 

Even though I was stuffed when I saw the people at the table next to us about to tuck into a mean looking eggs benny I was ready to start eating breakfast all over again, in order that I could walk out, rather than be rolled out I opted to try it another time.

For more food opinions in Whistler check out here

 

Short film on the history of snowboarding in Whistler

I can take no credit for anything to do with this vid, but I thought it was pretty cool so it needs to be shared

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/3346750]

Edit; its not embedding so you’ll have to click the old fashioned way !

Another Whistler picture

Yesterdays snow is melting away and warmer temps are predicted for the remainder of the week, the village will be bare again soon.  The mountainside should hopefully hold onto to what we have and start to build the base for an awesome season to come.

Spotted this pic on the Prior website and thought I should share;

Snow is falling……

Whistler is turning white. It maybe wet snow that we are getting but its snow none the less.

Check out this copy and paste job from environment Canada, in particularly Thursday.

Synopsis..A Pacific front is crossing the South Coast today bringing snow to the mountains. The front will move east of the region on Monday with lower freezing levels and flurries in its wake.

Whistler – Blackcomb.
Tonight..Periods of snow.
Alpine temperature steady near minus 1.
Snowfall accumulation near 10 cm.
Freezing level 1300 metres.
Mountain top winds southwest 40 km/h gusting to 60.
Monday..Flurries.
Alpine temperature steady near minus 1.
Snowfall accumulation 2 to 5 cm.
Freezing level 1500 metres.
Mountain top winds southwest 30 km/h.

5 Day Trend..A ridge of high pressure will build over the region on Tuesday bringing some sunshine and drier conditions. Another frontal system will approach Wednesday spreading snow and windy conditions through Thursday.

Tuesday.. Mainly sunny.
Freezing level 1200 metres.
Wednesday.. Periods of snow developing in the afternoon.
Snowfall accumulation 5 to 10 cm.
Freezing level 1500 metres.
Thursday.. Snow at times heavy.
Snowfall accumulation 30 to 40 cm.
Freezing level 1800 metres.

 

A picture to remind us whats to come!

Whistler becomes part of MTV with Peak Season

Whistler is making itself known to a new audience on the 19th of October.

MTV have picked up Peak Season, a docudrama that follows the lives of young people in Whistler, predominatly a cast of just 7 locals.

 It could be great, or could make us cringe, but I for one will give it a watch and make my own mind up on the 19th. 

For a more indepth look at what to expect check out the pique.

Whistler village forecast to get a dump of snow

The weather network has forecast for Whistler village, not just up on the mountain, to receive a healthy 10cm of snow on Tuesday.

Oh yes.

Whistler Turkey Sale – Ski and Snowboard gear

If you are looking to get yourself kitted out with either ski or snowboarding gear for the forthcoming season, an awesome place to start is Whistler’s annual, and now legendary ‘turkey sale’. Whistler Blackcomb dubs this event as its thanks for ‘snow and the mountain enthusiasts that dream all summer long about the day it starts to fall again’.

If you have are a local, a season pass or Edge Card holder the sale starts at noon on Friday. If you’re none of those then unfortunately for you have to wait until 9am on Saturday morning The sale lasts until Monday evening and if you would like a sneak peak at what is on offer check out Whistler Blackcomb’s page on Facebook, which has some pictures of the inside of Merlin’s decked out with gear for the sale.

Happy hunting!

Ghetto Gourmet

An idea ‘borrowed’ from Snowboarder magazine is Ghetto Gourmet. For those people who are doing a season in Whistler (or anywhere), spending most of their cash on new snowboarding gear and beers you can overlook the bare necessities and keep yourself well fed. There is always kraft dinner, but for a few more options I’ll post them on here.

The requirements behind them are that they are cheap and filling.

Nutrition is a bonus!

Basic tomato and basil sauce for pasta

Description

This is a perfect sauce to use as a base. You can add a variety of other flavours to the finished sauce, just cooking for a few minutes to create a completely different dish when you have a bit of extra cash.

Ingredients

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

3 x 400g cans of chopped tomatoes

¼-½ tsp dried chilli flakes

2 tsp balsamic vinegar (Seems like apricey addition to a cheap meal but make this a handful of times and its worth it)

2 tsp sugar

1 large handful basil leaves, torn into small pieces

salt and freshly ground black pepper

 grated parmesan cheese, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and gently cook the onion and garlic until softened.

Stir in the tomatoes, chilli flakes, balsamic vinegar and sugar.

Bring to a simmer and cook slowly for 45 minutes-1 hour. (Important to break down the toms and stop the dish being sharp)

Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper. This can be left chunky or blended in a food processor for a smooth sauce.

Serve spooned over cooked pasta with plenty of parmesan cheese.

Possible additions; chopped black olives and marinated artichokes fried bacon and mushrooms, prawns, capers and chopped parsley, chopped chicken, red onion and red peppers, fried in olive oil , fried slices of chorizo sausage, chopped black olives and pieces of mozzarella cheese or whatever else you have lying around.