What’s it doing in Whistler right now?

One of the biggest topics of conversation about Whistler is what it is currently doing here. From weather to traffic to lift status, these are the questions everyone wants answered before they make the trip up. Having lived here for 10 years, I have developed a pretty good system based on reliable sources to help best understand the mountains and what is going on. Of course, I have the benefit of being able to go out on my deck and see what the weather is doing, but there are sufficient online resources to get a handle on what is going on in Whistler from anywhere in the world.

  • What are current conditions like?

  • Will it be busy this weekend?

  • Did it rain?

  • Is it raining?

  • What lift will have the shortest lift lines this weekend?

My process for understanding current conditions

Having lived here for 10 years, there are specific sources I find helpful to get a sense of what is happening around Whistler. These are in order from most to least helpful.

  1. The default weather app on my phone - to get an idea of what kind of temperatures and precipitation we’ll get.

  2. Whistlerpeak.com - Check the snow stake on WhistlerPeak.com to see how much it has actually snowed at any point during the day. If there is clearly rain here (no snow accumulation or visible rain), then I typically turn off my phone and end my evaluation here as “it’s bad”.

  3. Whistlerpeak.com - Check the base area (Creekside, Sundial Hotel, Blackcomb base) webcams to get an idea of how busy the base lines are

  4. Avalanche Canada - Even if I’m not headed to the backcountry, it can be helpful to know what the snowpack is doing and what the forecast is for snow conditions. If you are headed to the backcountry, this is a MUST visit before leaving the ski area boundary.

  5. Whistler Winter and Sea to Sky Road Conditions Facebook pages - Both of these pages are pretty toxic and full of rage bait, but if there is something significant going on (i.e., apocalyptic lift lines or highway closures), it’ll show up here first.

  6. WB Ops updates - They still post these on “X” for some reason, but WhistlerPeak.com has the API feed to their homepage so I check it there. They are inconsistent on posting updates, but some days their updates can be very helpful to find out about parking, lift openings and closings and delays. They will NEVER post about bad conditions or the size of lift lines, so you’ll have to trust other sources for those.

  7. Google Maps - for the drive time to the hill. Whether you are coming from Vancouver, Squamish, or even Cheakamus or alpine, Google will give you a good idea of how busy the highway is.

  8. Snow Forecast - To get an idea of where the snow line might be and how much precipitation we’re expecting through the day.

  9. The Whistler Subreddit - This community is fairly active and will occasionally have helpful opinions or updates on what his happening on the mountain.

Things I don’t pay attention to:

  1. Whistler Blackcomb.com - I honestly don’t care what they have to say… and not visiting their website keeps you clear of the onslaught of retargetting advertising you will get served after visiting their site. Whislterpeak.com has everything you need and isn’t trying to sell you anything.

  2. Haters - there are people out there who will never have anything positive to say no matter what. They see Whistler as an expensive place with heavy snow and long lines. There is no doubt it can be this, but it can also be the best place in the world, so don’t let the haters throw you off.

  3. Influencers - Whistler is a content machine. There are many, many people who are paid to visit Whistler and provide positive reviews of experiences, conditions, and businesses. These should always be taken with a grain of salt but if you ever seen an influencer say it’s bad, it must be really really bad.

What is the forecast?

Is it going to snow? Where is the snow line? Will the alpine be closed due to wind? Here are the best sources:

  1. Snow Forecast - A gigantic supercomputer that outputs temperatures, snowfall amounts, and winds at three elevations (Base, mid-mountain, and peak). This tends to overstate everything by 10-20%, but it does give you a good idea of what will happen.

  2. The weather app on your phone - It will tell you what is happening in Whistler pretty reliably. Just remember that the forecast for “Whistler” will be for town, and it can be quite different at elevation on the mountain

  3. Zoom Earth - shows you more macro weather patterns so you can see if there is moisture, high pressure, or heavy winds headed our way,

What is the mountain like right now?

Whistlerpeak.com will tell you everything you want to know, including webcams, forecasts, and live temperatures/ winds. There is no better source for information on the mountain.

Is there snow in the valley?

Luckily, there are MANY webcams to answer this question: