First Snowfall

I was lucky enough this year to be home from my seasonal wanderings in time to catch the first flakes of snow drift into Whistler Village. In the month that lead up to this auspicious day, there had been a number of teasing snowfalls in the upper reaches of the mountains, but it wasn't until that beautiful October afternoon that we felt the white stuff on our faces outside our front doors.

After the first snowfall every year, the emotional climate of Whistler changes. The air becomes electrically charged with the collective current of excitement for the coming season. From that day on, whether it rains to the top or delivers a record breaking amount of powder, the mood of the Village has turned from mourning summer to waiting for Opening Day.

Opening Day, those magical words, is usually forecast far in advance leaving us salivating in anticipation. The most devoted of snow sport fans will already have their sliders of choice waxed and tuned to perfection, their boots waiting by the front door long before Day One.

Always beneath all of the planning is the hope for that “Early Season Start”- that precious gem that comes along once every few years, where Mother Nature delivers and the good folks at Intrawest decide to start up those chairlifts a week or two in advance of Opening Day.

There is a great deal of speculation every November- will it be Remembrance Day long weekend? Will we be making turns before our neighbours to the south are feasting on turkey? I do recall one blessed year where I was busily waxing and sharpening my gear late into the wee hours on November first because of a rumor that Whistler might open the next day. Standing in the lift line at seven-thirty the next morning, my devotion was rewarded with one of the first rides up the Gondola.

All of the new arrivals in our town are bursting with the energy of their First Whistler Season. Many of them have never seen snow before. You can tell them apart because they are the joyful people rolling around in the first three inches of the stuff while the rest of us more seasoned veterans look on. For the record, I don't believe it's a look of disapproval- it's just that we're deep in the memory of our own first Whistler snowfall.

And so, new comer and long time local alike, we join our hopes and hold our breaths, waiting for the grand start of the 2009/2010 winter season. Will this be the year that all of our previous snowfall records are blown out of the sky? Will this be the year that the park is, decidedly, in the best shape it's ever been? Will this be the year I finally get airborne and land a 360 switch?

The best part of the waiting is that everything is possible. This season has yet to be written. The collective hopes and dreams of the masses will carry it forward into life. All too soon we'll be sitting on a patio on the other side of April reveling in the memories.

I'll see you in the lift line on Opening Day.