Latest Reviews: SKI & SNOWBOARD GUIDE TO WHISTLER BLACKCOMB ADVANCED / EXPERT Edition

FREESKIER: Skiing's Independent Magazine. February 2005

"If you're heading to Whistler this season, pick up a copy of Knee Deep Production's Guidebook to Whistler (whistlerguidebooks.com). This amazing guidebook features more than 120 runs not on the trail map, covering all of the best terrain on Blackcomb and Whistler. No word yet on if Brian Finestone and Kevin Hodder, the authors, have faced death threats from locals pissed off about the revelation of numerous secret stashes, but we can bet that not too many free drinks are coming their way."

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SKI CANADA Magazine. December 2004

"Whistler in your pocket
More than 3,000 hectares, more than 200 named runs, more than nine metres of snow every winter...Even if you're an expert skier, Whistler can be an intimidating place when you're not a local. That's where mountain guides Brian Finestone and Kevin Hodder's book Ski & Snowboard Guide to Whistler Blackcomb will come in handy. Heaps of aerial photos with superimposed lines and labels will let you find some of Whistler's best off-piste secrets - more than 120 runs that you won't find on the trail map. Information is often relayed through practical symbols for quick reference. As well, its printed pocket size so you can carry it with you and study Whistler's secrets in the gondola on the way up - to really impress the locals."

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SKI PRESS. Spring 2005. Vol 19 No.4

"SKI WHISTLER WITH A LOCAL
Everybody knows the best way to ski Whistler/Blackcomb is with a local yokel. Too bad not every W/B knows a local yokel. The next best thing is a new book by Brian Finestone and Kevin Hodder called Ski & Snowborad Guide to Whistler Blackcomb. Finestone, a W/B public safety supervisor, and Hodder, a mountain guide and challenge coordinator for TV's Survivor, have put W/B's secrets into this handy book that's easily tucked into a jacket pocket. The Advanced/Expert Edition is chock full of info on hidden bowls, steeps, chutes and glades only the natives know about. The books includes map, photos, suggestions on how to link runs to maximise time and avoid liftlines, plus a glossary that'll soon have you talkin' Whistlerspeak like a native."

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SKIER: Canada's Ski Magazine. Spring 2005

"Given Whistler's two massive, trés-Euro mountains, you have to wonder why no one has done this before when its so common in Europe. Yin: points you to the goods and 120-plus runs that aren't on the trail map; minimizes confusion engendered over local expressions like "Fraggle Rock" and "Danger Bay"; dissects all major terrain pods on both peaks; numbers lines and overlays them on black-and-white photos that make far more sense than whimsical trail-map perspectives; put-me-there ski shots from SKIER contributors Damien Cromwell and Bryn Hughes. Yang: line descriptions usually terse in favour of a surfeit of symbology - potential combos of up to 28 symbols! Of course, many of Whistler's visitors don't speak English or, when they do, don't understand what "you might die here" really means."

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WHISTLER THIS WEEK. Jan 5-12, 2005

Click on the image at left to view the article at a larger, more readable size.

The Secrets Are Out
Finestone and Hodder bring a rock climbing-type guide to Whistler-Blackcomb's advanced terrain

Published Date: 2004-12-16 Time: 09:18:38 By G.D. Maxwell
Book Review: Ski & Snowboard Guide to Whistler Blackcomb: Advanced/Expert Edition by Brian Finestone and Kevin Hodder

Where the heck is Winky Pop? Or Bernie's Bumps? Or Calvin and Hobbes? Where does the Grey Zone end and CBC begin? How do you get to Teetering? Shall I bring trunks if I meet you at Hot Tub?
One of the great ironies about skiing and riding at Whistler-Blackcomb is the relative anonymity of the two biggest ski hills in North America. A number of years ago, I was struck with the results of Snow Country's annual reader poll. While Whistler-Blackcomb was their favourite and got the highest marks for terrain, almost no one could name their fav run on either mountain.
And it's a syndrome not unknown to locals either. I've lost track of the number of times someone's told me, "You've just gotta ski this run I found. Don't know what it's called but here's how you get to it."
Brian Finestone and Kevin Hodder had heard the same thing. They'd dealt with confused, lost, frustrated people trying to make the most of their holiday in paradise but unable to decipher the all-too-crowded, two-dimensional mountain maps.
So they wrote the book on skiing and riding Whistler and Blackcomb's best, steepest, scariest and most harrowing terrain. And they're willing to take the heat for ratting out the locals' best kept secrets.
"I had one friend whose take on the book was, 'Oh, that's it; it's over.'" Brian explained. "But when I pointed out to him nothing in the book would ever change the fact that a local has an overwhelming advantage and all we'd done was put a name to the runs these guys could see from the chairs and slopes anyway, he admitted it probably wouldn't really matter."
But it most definitely will matter to anyone who's remotely interested in where they've been skiing, where they should be skiing, and, most importantly, how to go about getting the most out of their time at these two overwhelming mountains.
Using crisp aerial photos, a logical approach and realistic evaluations of the skills needed, the risks involved and the contraindicative conditions, Brian and Kevin lay bare the best terrain on Whistler and Blackcomb. Anyone with even minimal logistical skills can glean the information they need to efficiently tackle both mountains, find the fabled runs and slide into après with tales too good to believe. And if they lack even that skill, the book includes a Must-Do list for both mountains.
But the guide embraces more than just a show-and-tell description of single, double and triple black diamond runs. It outlines the avalanche control sequence on both mountains. It educates on mountain signage, etiquette, weather patterns and hazards. It guides you to epic link-ups of runs and zones on both mountains. Hell, it even tells you how to make the most of your time in the pipes and parks.
Taking their inspiration from rock climbing guides that allow good climbers to access great routes in terrain they've never seen before, Brian and Kevin have penned a guide that's likely to become a must-have for visitors and locals alike. Not content to shine the light of knowledge on the best expert terrain, they're hard at work on a companion guide to beginner and intermediate slopes.
But for now, I'll head off to my favourite part of Whistler Mountain looking for the two distinct runs that are Doom and Gloom. And all these years I just thought that was the whole area below the terminal moraine at the bottom of Whistler Bowl.
Ski & Snowboard Guide to Whistler Blackcomb: Advanced/Expert Edition is available locally at Armchair Books, Can-Ski, Escape Route and most other gear shops. Around $23, worth every penny and a damn good thing to stuff into anyone's stocking.

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