Virgin Power Appreciation Society

Blackcomb, BC, Canada

Blackcomb is less talked about than its partner Whistler, but that doesn't make it a place to avoid. Oh no.

The locals know more about which mountain to ride at for the day on any given weather pattern, which is hard for a vacationer to work out. However, after a dump of snow, there is no shortage of rideable terrain to make you giggle like a fool.

Certainly the runs underneath, around and in the area of, the 7th Heaven chair lift are great. There are also a number of reasonably steep bowls (Jersey Bowl), and then of course there is the glacier... although not steep, it's wide enough to provide lots of freshies.

Some of the double black diamond runs are a little overrated. The Couloir Extreme gave me visions of a 60 degree slope with a tiny run down the middle, but it's not.

I found less tree runs to do on Blackcomb, but those available were probably better in their fun factor. However, they're not so doable once the snow has been around for a while.

Last point on Blackcomb is that there can be a number of calf burning cat tracks to take you out. Getting caught at the bottom of 7th Heaven and having to ride back to the village can hurt after a long day of shredding the fresh.