It's so hot in Whistler that people are skiing in their underwear

Despite the teetering winter BC experienced, nothing has stopped some skiers from trying to make the best out of the season—even through record-breaking warm temperatures.

Aaron Moore was one of many skiers who headed to Whistler on Saturday as warm temperatures reached 18.9ºC. To beat the heat, he left his snow gear behind and skied down the mountain in only his undies, boots, and a toque.

 

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A post shared by Aaron Moore (@aarin2quared)

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, Saturday temperatures broke a five-year-old weather record. The old record was 14.4ºC.

Another skier, Jeff Ashton, shared a video of himself catching a lift and roaming the mountain barefoot to beat the heat over the weekend.

 

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A post shared by Jeff Ashton (@itsjeffashton)

Moore told Daily Hive the warm weather made the skiing in Whistler unpredictable.

“Some parts choppy and icy, while sunny sections super slushy,” he said.

However, he added that despite the conditions, “it was hard not to enjoy the day with the smiles on everyone’s faces and eclectic outfits.”

A statement from Whistler Blackcomb explained further that the warm temperatures are affecting snow stability and required a few earlier closures in some alpine areas and access lifts due to increased avalanche risk. However, it is not largely affecting daytime access to alpine areas.

“This can change rapidly based on the day and our avalanche forecasting team is consistently monitoring conditions in order to determine the safest course of action,” the spokesperson added.

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According to Whistler Blackcomb, it’s remained relatively cold on the northern exposed runs thanks to some shaded areas. This means there are still winter-like surfaces despite the recent warm ambient air temperatures.

“Near freezing temperatures overnight and radiant cooling of the snow surface brought us into a melt-freeze cycle outside of the Northern aspects, providing the classic spring skiing conditions where the snow surfaces would be frozen initially in the morning and see general softening as the sun rises higher in the sky throughout the day,” the spokesperson added.

Cooler weather is expected by mid-week, which will lead to a return to “an active weather pattern, bringing light snowfall over most of our mountain through the weekend.”

ECCC

Whistler Blackcomb still plans on ending winter ski operations on April 14 before it kicks off the Spring ski season on the mountain exclusively from April 15 through to May 20, which is contained to a single mountain.