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THE OUTSIDER: Early bird or lazy local? The ‘Outsider’s’ choice

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HURRY UP AND WAIT The 2020-21 ski season has required skiers and snowboarders to arrive late or very, very early in order to avoid long lineups.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the rivalry between our two mountains Whistler and Blackcomb. As both Pique and I expected, it generated a lot of discussion, debate and sarcastic support or denigration in an effort to get more people to “ski over there, not here,” vis-à-visBlackcomb sucks, don’t go.”

This passionate-yet-harmless banter got me thinking about another local topic of division, and no, I’m not talking about skiers versus snowboarders. It’s about the way we approach our time on the mountain, namely how early we choose to get out of bed.

Judging by the lift lines I’ve seen in the village, Upper Village and Creekside prior to 7 a.m. this season, I’d imagine a lot of Whistler locals are in the same camp as me: The bigger the pow day, the earlier you get up. Every ski town in North America follows the proverb of the early bird gets the worm, so this isn’t surprising. But getting up at the crack of dawn to stand in the freezing cold (or rain) for hours in your ski boots isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time. 

For example, some of my friends who work in the bar/restaurant industry are not stoked on the dawn patrol. Despite locals’ popular opinion, that doesn’t mean they don’t love skiing as much as the rest of us. Their tactic is to sleep in a bit and hit the mountain in the late morning when the initial upload lines have (hopefully) dissipated and the alpine is ready to open. Plenty of other night-shift workers employ the same strategy, what I have jokingly termed the “lazy local.”

Whether it’s pow-day FOMO, a 16-year habit that’s never going to break, or a misguided paranoia that we’re going to one day run out of snow, the thought of uploading at 11 a.m. on a powder day fills me with anxiety. Where the hell are we going to park? That freezing level is forecasted to rise. All those people are going to ski the Jersey Cream lift line before us!

The 2020-21 season in Whistler has polarized the early bird versus lazy local more than ever. Arriving at 8:30 a.m. on any day, let alone a weekend or a powder day, can send you on a multi-hour, cross-village pilgrimage. You either get to the lift early or accept that it’s better to come back later or on another day. The Vancouver daytrippers don’t really have the option for the latter; they booked their day, drove two hours (or more, depending on traffic) and want to get as much vertical for their commitment of time and money before driving home again. A 4 a.m. start to go ski inbounds has never really crossed my mind (with exception of Opening Day, of course), yet this season, hundreds of commuting skiers and snowboarders are evidence of just that. And power to them.

So, does the 4-a.m.-start, daytripping skier outrank the 6-a.m.-start local in dedication? The local early bird made a point of moving to Whistler to prioritize mountain access, so that’s a tough argument to make. In turn, does the local early bird’s alarm clock dedication make them more of a “real” skier or snowboarder than the lazy local? I used to think it did, but that’s because my ski friends then were all early birds, too.

All the skier and snowboarder subculture groups on the mountain are motivated differently. I have friends whose primary purpose is to upload, do a couple of groomers then chill at the Umbrella Bar, Euro-style (unfortunately not this year— thanks COVID-19). Others won’t hit the mountain unless it’s a social gathering of six or more people, despite how little skiing actually gets done. There’s solo skiers who just want a few pow laps before they start work. There’s fresh moms and dads whose new-found priority is to get their offspring to nail their pizza-french fries. 

The longer I live in Whistler, the more I’ve come to realize that no skier or snowboarder is above the other. Jerry or Core, City or Sea-to-Sky, Early Bird or Lazy Local—just keep hitting the mountain until you’re satisfied.

Vince Shuley is still an early bird. For questions, comments or suggestions for The Outsider, email vince.shuley@gmail.com or Instagram @whis_vince.