Day 277, 7 April 2013, Whistler, B.C. The weather forecast for the mountain was promising... Cloudy with Sun. Visibility - variable. What that meant in reality was dense fog - visibility of 1-2 metres in some spots. Sun was not copied on the weather forecast it would seem. Spent a couple of hours playing hide & go seek with other skiers. And then jumped on the bus home. If people were visiting for just one week of Spring skiing at Whistler, this would not have been the week to do it. On the silver lining note however, there has been some great new snow landing amongst all the fog and rain and howling winds... So if it fines up tomorrow, we'll be in for a treat.
PS. I coined a new word today... After three days of exceedingly "variable" visibility, I've come up with "Whistlerbility" - for those days when you can't actually see the mountain, even when you're standing on it.
PPS. I've given up taking photos of foggy mountainsides. Here's a gorgeous snap of what lies beneath Whistler - and what will soon be emerging (next couple of weeks!) Apparently they've been known to wander out in front of skiers from one particular spot on the mountain where 13 or so are known to be hibernating. Apparently if you spot a mother bear with her Spring fur-ball cubs, you're fine. If she spots you, ski fast and wear your brown ski pants.
There's also this cracking video on Youtube. (Search for Black Bear Sliding Down Ski Slope at Whistler.) Don't know who took it, but I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a close encounter with a bear, that's for sure.