The Whistler Mountain half of British Columbia’s Whistler Blackcomb ski resort will open this Saturday, Nov. 16, the resort announced Tuesday.

Headline from Seattle Post: The opening comes 13 days earlier than originally planned, thanks to cold temperatures, natural snowfall and productive snowmaking equipment, resort officials said.

With five lifts running at Whistler, skiers and snowboarders will have the option to upload from either the Whistler Village Gondola or the Creekside Gondola. Blackcomb Mountain is still expected to open as scheduled on Nov. 28, Thanksgiving Day in the United States.

“Early season snowfall combined with our snowmaking team converting over 60 million gallons of water into snow the past few weeks, has allowed us to get things started early again this season,”  Doug MacFarlane, mountain manager at Whistler Blackcomb, said in an email. “With all the excitement of opening day, we want to remind guests early season conditions will apply, especially off piste. It is important to obey mountain signage, ski and ride on open runs only and stay within the operational area marked by ‘Temporary Boundary’ signage. Guests should be aware there will be rocks and other hazards below the snow surface; we do not recommend skiing and riding outside the temporary boundary in any circumstances.”

First upload on the Whistler Village Gondola and Creekside Gondola will begin at 8:30 a.m., with last upload at 2:30 p.m Saturday. Emerald Express, Big Red Express and the Franz chairlifts will be running, allowing access to 1,800 vertical feet of skiing and riding terrain. Runs set to open will include Ego Bowl, Upper Whiskey Jack, Upper Franz, Papoose, Orange Peel and Pony Trail.

More details at www.whistlerblackcomb.com.

Watch seattletimes.com/traveloutdoors later this week, and the NWTraveler print edition on Sunday, for a roundup on off-slope recreation, dining and other fun at Whistler, along with other coverage spotlighting snow sports for this winter.

Headline from Global News: Whistler Mountain will be opening 13 days early, on Saturday November 16.

Officials say thanks to the cold temperatures, early snowfall, and their snowmaking, the mountain will be able to open almost two weeks early with five lifts running.

Guests will have the option to upload from either the Whistler Village Gondola or the Creekside Gondola.

Blackcomb Mountain will open, as scheduled, on American Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 28.

First upload on the Whistler Village Gondola and Creekside Gondola will begin at 8:30 a.m., with last upload at 2:30 p.m. on November 16.

Headline from The Pique Newsmagazine: Whistler Mountain to open Saturday Opening nearly two weeks ahead of schedule; Blackcomb to open Nov. 28

Whistler Mountain will open this Saturday, Nov. 16, nearly two weeks ahead of schedule.

With consistent snowfall in the alpine, Whistler Blackcomb announced the early opening Tuesday, Nov. 12.

“Mother Nature obviously blessed us with snow right to the valley last Thursday (Nov. 7) and it’s snowing in the alpine right now, so the forecast looks good,” said Whistler Blackcomb’s senior vice president of marketing and sales Stuart Rempel. “We’ve been able to make a lot of snow and our groomers are up there pushing all those big piles of snow around.”

Whistler Mountain will open at 8:30 a.m., with uploads from the Village Gondola and Creekside, and skiing off of Red, Emerald Express and Franz’s Chair, said Rempel.

Blackcomb Glacier is expected to open Nov. 28 as originally planned, Rempel added.

More information to come as it becomes available.

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This is great news for anyone planning a Whistler vacation this winter. Remember, we offer discount Whistler lift tickets with any vacation rentals from this website.

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November 13, 2013