Cypress | Outdoor Vancouver

It’s Snow Time!

Karl Woll | November 12, 2009 8:45 pm

I’ve been seeing a lot of Tweets like these and its getting me excited for winter:

@Mt_Seymour: We have 7cm of snow and counting! – Nov 6
@CypressMountain: Snowing all day! Opening as soon as we have enough snow! – Nov 10
@GrouseMountain: Today’s snowfall pics: http://tinyurl.com/yfyl6rd – Nov 10
@WhistlerBlckcmb: Wow, check out the forecast! Between 45-70cm expected by Monday! – Nov 12

So here’s a look at these 4 mountains, when they are opening, and what, if any, will be the impacts of the Olympics this winter season for them. Starting up the Sea to Sky and working east:

Whistler/ Blackcomb

Whistler Opening: Saturday, November 14
Current Snowbase: 95cm
Blackcomb Opening: Thursday, November 26
2010 Olympics Impact:

During the Olympic and Paralympic period, which begins January 25 for course set up, over 90 per cent of terrain will remain open. The only closed runs will be those in the area of the race course on Whistler Mountain along with the training runs on both mountains. During the Paralympics in March, over 90 per cent of the terrain will also be open with only the race course and training runs closed on Whistler Mountain.

Whistler Mountain Run Closures (January 25 to March 27)

Dave Murray Downhill, Wild Card, Jimmy’s Joker, Upper Franz’s

Whistler Mountain Run Closures (January 30 to March 27)

Bear Paw, Tokum, Crossroads

Whistler Mountain Run Closures – other

Bear Cub (February 1 to February 28), Raven/Ptarmigan (February 1 to March 21), Crabapple (February 1 to February 17)

Blackcomb Mountain Training Run Closures (January 29 to February 28)

Springboard (riding the Solar Coaster Express, which is open to the public all season, will provide phenomenal views of Olympians training on Springboard), Lower Cruiser

For a complete look at 2010 Olympic impacts, including parking, go here: http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/olympics/index.htm

Cypress Mountain

Opening Day: Friday, November 13 (Easy-Rider Chair and Cross-Country Area)
Current Snowbase (Mid Mtn): 45cm
2010 Olympics Impact:

I posted earlier on what looks like will be a hugely impacted experience, you can review the impact summary here. But basically, parking seems like it will be chaos, the Eagle Chair will be off-limits the whole season, and there will be no public access from February 1 to March 8. Along with this, Cypress recently announced blocking access to Cypress Provincial Park during Feb 1 – Mar 8, and some trails for 4 months! (More info here: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/cypress/). This obviously has a lot of back country goers quite mad.

Grouse Mountain

Opening Date: TBD Friday, November 13 (Paradise Bowl and Greenway Chair 4pm)
Current Snowbase: 50cm
2010 Olympic Impact:

This is an impact I can dig. During the Olympics, Feb 12 – 28, Grouse will be open 24 hours a day! I went on a midnight snowshoe trek last year and it was great. This is when insomnia is fun!

Mount Seymour

Opening Date: TBD Friday, November 20, 9:30am
Current Snowbase (summit): 45cm
2010 Olympics Impact: None

Enjoy the season!

Related Posts:

Click for a RANDOM post from the archive

Tags: Cypress,Grouse,Olympics,Seymour,Whistler
Categories: Snowboarding & Skiing
2 Comments »

Cypress 2010 Commemorative Season Pass – Worth It?

Karl Woll | June 25, 2009 2:45 pm

I’ve been wondering what I should do for snowboarding next winter (yes, I know the season is 6 months away). I have been lucky enough to get the Whistler Student Pass the last few years for about $430, which is great value. Next year though, I won’t be able to get that, and I know I can’t afford to pay full price for a season pass. Recently, Cypress announced on July 7 they will be putting their 2010 winter season passes available for sale:

We are excited to unveil Cypress’ 2010 Commemorative Season Pass offer for the 2009-2010 season – a once in a lifetime value for a once in a lifetime season at Cypress Mountain. The Pass offer has been specifically created as Cypress Mountain will be host to the Freestyle Skiing and Snowboard Events of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in February 2010.

Alpine Pass: Adult $259, Youth $169, Senior $139, Child $129

Cross Country Pass: Adult $154, Youth $111, Senior $102, Child $93

The pass sounds like a steal until you read the 2010 Impact Summary

Timeline A: Season Start to December 25

No parking in Lodge Lot

No parking in Lot 1

Construction Zones in Alpine Area

Highly Impacted or Closed Eagle Express Chair Terrain

Highly Impacted or Closed Rainbow Ski Run

Regular Services on the mtn will be subject to relocation, change and restrictions.

For a Alpine Area Park Map Reference please click HERE.

Timeline B: December 26 to January 3

No parking in Lodge Lot

No parking in Lot 1

Construction Zones in Alpine Area

Highly Impacted or Closed Eagle Express Chair Terrain

Highly Impacted or Closed Rainbow Ski Run

Regular Services on the mtn will be subject to relocation, change and restrictions.

Timeline C: January 4 to January 31

No parking in Lodge Lot

No parking in Lot 1

No Parking in Lot 3

Construction Zones in Alpine Area

Highly Impacted or Closed Eagle Express Chair Terrain

Highly Impacted or Closed Rainbow Ski Run

Regular Services on the mtn will be subject to relocation, change and restrictions.

Timeline D: February 1 to March 8

Ski Area (alpine and nordic) Closed to the Public for Olympic Games Preparation, Competition and wrap up.

No access to the Alpine or Nordic areas.

Timeline E: March 9 to Season End.

No parking in Lodge Lot

No parking in Lot 1

Construction Zones in Alpine Area

Lot 3 re-open to public on March 15th.

Highly Impacted or Closed Eagle Express Chair Terrain

Regular Services on the mtn will be subject to relocation, change and restrictions.

To get a better sense of the impact you can view this high-res trail map. No Eagle chair will cut about 1/3 of the terrain out, plus parking and construction sound like they will be a huge headache…

I guess even with such a large impact for $260 you can’t really complain…. During the Olympic blockout you can get a Seymour Mountain add-on pass for $119

Related Posts:

It’s Snow Time!
Backcountry Skiing Access During The Olympics
Gearing Up For Winter Fun Pt. II

Click for a RANDOM post from the archive

Tags: Cypress,Olympics,Season Pass
Categories: Snowboarding & Skiing
3 Comments »

LG FIS Snowboard Worldcup & Mountain Fest.

Karl Woll | February 11, 2009 11:15 am

It’s going to be a big weekend for winter sports with the 1 year countdown to the Olympics. One of the big events happening is the 2009 LG FIS Snowboard World Cup at Cypress. There is a lot of buzz with Shaun White being slated to compete in the half-pipe competition.

The 2009 LG Snowboard FIS World Cup is scheduled to hit Cypress Mountain West Vancouver, February 12 to 15, 2009. The world’s best snowboarders will be competing in disciplines of snowboardcross, halfpipe and parallel giant slalom in the hopes of winning over $150 000 in cash.

SNOWBOARDCROSS
Thursday, February 12, 2009

10:00-12:00 | Qualification (Men)
13:00-14:25 | Qualification (Ladies)
Friday, February 13, 2009

13:30 – 14:45 | Finals (Men’s & Ladies’)
14:45 – 15:15 | Awards Ceremony

HALFPIPE Presented by SportChek – (SOLD OUT)
Saturday, February 14, 2009

08:25 – 14:00 | Qualifications (Men’s & Ladies’)
15:00 – 16:00 | Finals (Men’s & Ladies’)
16:00 – 16:30 | Awards Ceremony

PARALLEL GIANT SLALOM
Sunday, February 15, 2009

09:00 – 11:00 | Qualifications (Men’s & Ladies’)
13:00 – 15:00 | Finals (Men’s & Ladies’)
15:00 – 15:30 | Awards Ceremony

Also, to coincide the the world cup, Park Royal Mall will be the host of the LG Mountain Festival.

The Canadian Snowboard Federation will be transforming a section of the parking lot behind the South Mall at Park Royal Shopping Centre into the LG Mountain Festival, February 13 – 15, 2009. The 3-day festival will coincide with the LG Snowboard FIS World Cup at Cypress Mountain, which will host the world’s best snowboarders.

The LG Mountain Festival will run for 5 hours a day and will feature a Snowboard Rail Contest, DJ Series (A-TRAK, Kid Sister, Team Canada DJs), LG XOXO Fashion Show presented by Change, Powder Room Teenie Weenie Bikinis, Coors Light Beer Garden, Vendor Village and a Big Screen playing highlight reels from the day’s competitions at Cypress. Each evening, the World Cup winners will receive their awards on the festival stage which will be covered by international media.

Admission to the LG Mountain Festival is FREE! FREE! FREE!

General Festival Hours:

* FRIDAY, February 13 – 3pm – 8pm
* SATURDAY, February 14 – 4pm – 9pm
* SUNDAY, February 15 – 12pm – 5pm

Related Posts:

Showdown Over The City
2009 TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival
It’s Snow Time!

Click for a RANDOM post from the archive

Tags: Competition,Cypress,Park Royal,Shaun White,Snowboard
Categories: Events, Snowboarding & Skiing
1 Comment »

The Yeti – Canadian Snowshoe Racing Series

Karl Woll | January 30, 2009 7:40 am

Race #2 of The Yeti – Canadian Snowshoe Racing Series is coming to Seymour this Saturday, Jan 31.

The Yeti™ Mountain Snowshoe Series was founded in 2001 by Marc Campbell (formerly Cooney) and Rick Carty in response to an ever-increasing demand for managed outdoor adventure. It is Canada’s first mountain snowshoe series and is open to participants at all skill levels, from beginner through advanced level athletes, who want to be outdoors and having fun.

Named after the Abominable Snowman that roams the Himalayas, the Yeti™ started its first season with three races, two on Mount Seymour and one on Cypress Mountain, each with both 5km and 10km courses.

The next 2 races of the series are at Grouse (Sat, Feb 14) and Cypress (Sat, March 7)

Related Posts:

Click for a RANDOM post from the archive

Tags: Cypress,Grouse,Race,Seymour,snowshoe,The Yeti
Categories: Events, Snowshoeing
1 Comment »

Spring Skiing In January?

Karl Woll | January 19, 2009 7:31 am

Continuing on with the really weird weather we’ve been having this winter, the mountains are experiencing spring-like temperatures. On Friday I had a chance to go snowshoeing at Cypress and was sweating and shedding layers before even starting the trail. On Sunday I went up to Whistler for a day of snowboarding where temperatures were 10°C in the alpine (compared to much LOWER temperatures in the village). This string of warm weather is expected to continue for a least a few more days: “A strong ridge of high pressure will remain stalled over the south coast allowing sunny and warm conditions.” – from the Whistler forecast

While I enjoyed the warm weather, unlimited visibility, and snowboarding in just 1 layer and no toque, I hope this trend reverses so we can get some more fresh snow! One good thing about this warm spell is that it ‘may’ help to stabilize the snowpack and reduce the avalanche risk for the remainder of the season. As you can see from the picture below, some areas of Whistler / Blackcomb are still roped off.

It was so warm up top we ended up checking our jackets and toques, but didn’t go quite as far as Tawcan and his buddies went at Cypress. I also had the chance to ride the Peak 2 Peak for the first time, which was awesome. Its great to be able to ‘jump’ mountains in a matter of minutes! Also, the views of the village and valley were brilliant.