I got 25 people going to Whistler for some snowboarding! We'll be there next Monday. I heard the conditions were bad. Please tell me we would still enjoy ourselves on the slopes? Please recommend some good restaurants in the village and good places to hang out please.

You can no longer ski to the bottom of Whistler or Blackcomb - you'll need to download to get back down. The high Alpine areas still have enough snow, but there hasn't been any new snow in almost two weeks, so it isn't so good. Whistler seems to have less ice than Blackcomb - the Harmony area is still pretty good skiing. You should still have some fun, although you may find the choices limited unless more snow falls soon.

thanks AFL booo very sad.
i hope it snows this week.

Can novices still ski high up or is it too dangerous for a beginner?

Beginners can absolutely go all the way to the top of either mountain. If you take The Peak or Harmony chairlifts to the top of Whistler, you can then take a trail called Burnt Stew, which wraps around the back of the mountain, through spectacular scenery. The entire run is a green circle, and is quite easy, ending up at the base of the Harmony chair. For some inexplicable reason, there is a big sign at the bottom of The Peak chair, warning you that this lift only services expert terrain, but it is totally incorrect. You can ski right over to Burnt Stew, as well as a couple of intemediate-level routes (Peak to Creek, and The Saddle).

On Blackcomb, you can go all the way to the top on the 7th Heaven lift, then take the appropriately-named Green Line, which returns you to the base of that lift, via Expressway. There are also two or three beginner routes that divert you instead to the base of the Solar Coaster lift. You probably don't want ski further down the mountain at this time of year.

Hi tankgirl -

We were just in Whistler from Mar 02-06. Sorry to hear that no more snow has fallen since our departure. We still found the runs at top of the mountain to be pretty good, however, we are advanced skiiers.

As for restaurants, we tried Ric's Grill - new restaurant. Had a very good meal - they do everything but we had excellent steaks and fish. Every year we go to a restaurant called Gaitor's - unfortunately, we all felt the food quality has dropped off noticeably since last year. Caramba's is still a family favourite - we love their wood fired pizzas.

Make sure to have reservations - lift lines were short but the restaurants were quite busy while we were there. Check out the ski sales - we got some great deals at Helly Hansen on some 2004 apparel! Have a great trip and be sure to where water resistant clothing - we got pretty wet on days there was precipitation!

Not sure where you're getting your lift tickets but consider stopping in Squamish at the 7-11 - they had tickets on sale - two for $99!! That's a great deal considering a full day pass when purchased on the mountain is something like $77 with tax.