What are the major supermarkets in the area? Preferably en route from Vancouver airport to Whistler.

Also, any recommendations on where to buy ski/snowboarding gear? I know they usually jack up the prices at the resort store, so I was wondering if there were "go to" shops just outside of whistler.

 

If you've never gone boarding or skiing before, you might just want to rent equipment. I know sometimes the rental stuff is crap, but if you look for demos, you'll find better stuff....although at higher prices. If you go out to buy stuff before you understand what you want, you might end up with gear that doesn't suit your needs. Ie. If you go snowboarding for instance and decide that you really like to board in powder and don't care about the terrain park, your board and boot type will be a little different than if you wanted gear for terrain. That said if you want to buy gear ahead of time, like gloves, jackets, goggles, etc, check out REI or www.backcountrystore.com. Backcountry is in Utah so there's no tax, and free shipping if you spend enough. Plus their return policy is great and the prices are really good. Also, there's a grocery store in the Whistler village called City Market I think.

 

Nah, I'm an experienced boarder. I've got my own "hardware." Just looking for deals on boots/helmets/jackets.

But I'd rather check out helmets and jackets at the store. That kind of stuff I'm not crazy about buying through the internet.

 

Hey Puff,

Coming up here for some skiing this Xmas?

For supermarkets, we have:
Safeway
Save-On-Foods
Real Canadian Superstore (large size store & has almost everything)

For sports & ski shops, try:
Sport Mart http://www.sportmart.ca
Sport Chek http://www.sportchek.ca
Coast Mountain Sports http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgr...erty_id=431657

 

for snowboard equip i would go down to boardroom shop at http://www.boardroomshop.com/main/storelocations.cfm
theres a store on 1745 W. 4th Avenue

theres a lot of other snowboard shops around boardroom too to compare prices..

for a supermarket i would go to the IGN down w. 4th avenue too. then from there go back on HWY 1 all the way to sea to sky HWY
have fun in whistler .. its a blast

 

Cross street of 4th Ave and Burrard has a number of shops within walking distance of each other. There is also a supermarket up in Whistler Village as well so you don't have to carry all those groceries if you don't have to.

 

Cool! Thanks for the info! I hear they are getting tons of natural snow up in Whistler. Can't wait!

 

IMO I would avoid the big chain stores like sportmart and sportchek (the Forzani Group sucks). I personally like to buy all my snowboarding gear from skate/snowboard shops. It may be a little more expensive, but the selection of brands and quality tends to be much higher there. Make sure you buy the boots that are most comfortable on your feet, not necessarily just the best price. Try on several pairs before making a decision.

I am absolutely pumped about the snowboarding season this year, but I doubt that I'll make it out to Whistler. I'm a little concerned about how I will be able to carry boards in the G w/out the fold down seats I'm used to having. At least I can borrow my dad's FX45 if I can't make the G work!

 

its gonna be great this year.. lots of snow..
yeah dont go to any sportmart or sportchek. its all low end brand snowboard equip there.

 

Bah, you have no reason to go to Whistler....you've got Lake Louise in your backyard! I instructed at Lake Louise for a year and loved it there....such a great hill.

 

That's true Shane, Lake Louise is a lot of fun! I'm going to try and make it out there this weekend, but I have a feeling I'll get impatient and stop at Sunshine.

Thanks to this thread I went out to Mission Snowboards yesterday and spent $600 on new boots and bindings, now I have a real good reason to go out more this year

 

I have taken my son and any friends he wants to Lake Louise every reading week for the last 6 years of his college. They ski, I sit in the lodge and people watch and tip a couple. Great atmosphere there.

 

Ahhh, definitely a great place to sit and people watch....errr I mean babe watch! I found there to be sooooo many beautiful women there.....definitley lots of beautiful Asians. In the office season, I held two jobs there. One was working at Wilson Mountain Sports in the Samson Mall selling ski/mountain gear. The other was bartending at the Glacier Saloon at the Chateau Lake Louise. I lived out there back in 1991, partied lots and made some really good money (the Japanese tipped VERY well).

Instructing at Louise was one of my favorite times in my life.

 

Hey, is the NFL shown up in that area? What about NBC? Wondering if I'll be able to watch the Sunday night football game up there.

 

Dude, don't worry! We have all of that on Cable TV or Satellite. We're not THAT remote up here