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Position: Communications Coordinator
A.k.a. Snow Guru!
Bio: Growing up in Greater Vancouver Alex had a strong love for Whistler very early on. So after having some fun traveling around the UK, Europe & New Zealand, moving to Whistler was the most natural thing to do.
She dabbled in a couple different departments within Whistler Blackcomb but is now proud to represent this amazing place she calls home through the communications department. Wake up to the sound of Alex’s voice on the Snowphone as early as 6am all winter long!
LET IT SNOW!!
Position: Communications Coordinator
Bio: Jeff is the newbie in the PR Department at Whistler Blackcomb. After spending the last ten years working sales in the big smoke and riding as a weekend warrior, Jeff was up for a change in pace and wanted to drop the “weekend warrior” tag and ride some pow! So it’s off to Whistler Blackcomb for the 2007/2008 season to bring you up to date and accurate Snowphone reports.
Shred the gnar!
5am
For the Snow Phone Team the day begins before 5 a.m. on the drive into the village, when they are checking the sky for clues about how the day's weather will unfold.
They have about one hour until the first recorded weather information has to be taped and available on the Snow Phone and website. They need to record a 6 a.m. update for people who are making the trip to Whistler that day.
6am Report - Whistler Groomers
That first message is compiled after talking to groomers on Blackcomb and with the faxed information from groomers on Whistler, who measure the overnight snowfall around 4:30 a.m.
But with conditions forever changing, that recording is the first of four throughout the day.
7:30 Update - Pig Alley Weather Station
By the 7:30 a.m. update, they have been given the official readings from the avalanche forecasters on Whistler Mountain, Jan Tindle and Anton Horvath. They read the information on snow depth and new snowfall from a spot at Pig Alley Weather Station: 1,660 meters/5,445 feet elevation on Whistler Mountain, under the Whistler Village Gondola.
"Settlement will likely not affect the reading between 6-7:30am. New snow will make for a higher base at 7:30am. Settlement is more likely to be reflected if there is no new snow between AM and PM readings," said Tindle.
Although the difference in the snow pack may only be 1-2 centimeters, the Team will update the recordings to reflect the new numbers.
11am Update
The patrollers spend the morning after a new snowfall preparing the mountain, particularly the alpine, by dropping bombs to trigger potential avalanches. They aim to have the alpine open as quickly as possible and are usually gunning for a 10 a.m. start. But the patrollers will work until early afternoon to get the alpine safe, even if it mean only a few hours of high alpine skiing and riding for the public.
The updated avalanche information is then relayed back to the Snow Phone Team so they can update the Snow Phone for the 11 a.m. recording.
3pm
The final Snow Phone recording is ready by 3 p.m. and usually includes the overnight expectations. And then it all begins again the next day.
