Edge Cards are the way to go ski Whistler Blackcomb

 by Keith and Heather Nicol

Whistler Blackcomb is certainly one of the top ski resorts in North America and it just around the corner for people living in the Comox Valley. But the high lift ticket costs discourage many people from skiing there except if you get an Edge Card (available if you live in BC or Washington state). According to the Whistler Blackcomb web site you can pay anywhere from an eye watering $305 to $351 for a single day ticket bought at the ticket window . But my 2 day Edge Card bought in September 2025 for this season cost me around $115 per day of skiing. But of course to be a good value you need to use it and so with time ticking on this year's ski season son Michael and I headed to Whistler on April 23 for some great spring skiing. It had been 10 years since I had last skied Whistler and so I was looking forward to skiing its above tree line slopes- something that our local mountain Mount Washington doesn't have. Although conditions were firmer than we thought we might encounter, the snow softened nicely on 7th Heaven whose runs face south. Another bonus is that the views from the top of 7th Heaven are truly spectacular skiers were lined up taking videos and selfies after they off loaded from the chairlift. Over all we made 12 runs on a variety of lifts and can't wait to return to Blackcomb before May 18th- the final day of skiing for the 2025-2026 season to use up our second day of skiing. Check out the Edge Card and buy it early for the best prices if you want to ski Whistler Blackcomb and make it affordable. For more info see: https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/

 

 

Checking out the Cherry Trees in Bloom in the Comox Valley

 

By Keith and Heather Nicol

Vancouver and Victoria are well known for their cherry trees in bloom in the spring and although the Comox Valley does not have the number of trees of these bigger centres they do have some locations worth checking out. One of our favourite streets to view every spring is Anna Place in Courtenay which not only has many well established trees in bloom lining the entire street but it also has a superb view of the Comox Glacier as you can see in the pictures below.  We either bike or walk along this street every spring when the blossoms at their peak.  If readers have other favourite cherry trees or favourite streets in the Comox Valley let us know where they are.   

 

Spring Wildflowers along the Tsolum River in Courtenay

By Keith and Heather Nicol

 On  Saturday March 28th  we decided to take a break from skiing at Mount Washington to check the fawn lilies and other wildflowers along the Tsolum River in Courtenay. The last couple of weeks have seen some mixed weather with rain and cool temperatures some days but more seasonable temperatures on other days so we weren't sure quite what to expect.

Fawn Lilies are delicate spring wildflowers

  There were carpets of fawn lilies in bloom along the trails which really brightened up our walk. These trails are located behind the Exhibition Grounds off of Headquarters Road in Courtenay and there is lots of parking. Take the main access trail (really a road) toward the river and we found many clusters of fawn lilies on the trails to the right near the river. You don’t need to walk very far before you see the flowers in bloom along the trail and under the trees.

                                                 Heather getting a picture of some fawn lilies along the trail

 We are not sure how long they will last but if like early spring flowers check out this area and don’t forget to bring your camera. If you are into pictures you might want to bring a tripod and something to kneel on since the carpets of flowers are best photographed low to the ground and the ground can be wet. Another bonus of our walk was seeing a couple of great horned owls. They were quite a distance from the trail and we only saw them since there were several photographers with long telephoto lenses taking photos of them as we passed by. There are other song birds in the area and in the past we have seen Pileated woodpeckers at this time of year. Binoculars might not go astray...see you on the trail. 

                                                     I think these blue flowers are Siberian squills