Gemstone Bowls Area

The Gemstone Bowls are a group of bowls high up on the left side (looking downhill) of the Blackcomb Glacier area. These bowls are accessible from the Glacier Express Chairlift area via Spanky’s Ladder. The Gemstone Bowls area gets its name because of the names of the bowls in this area: Diamond Bowl, Garnet Bowl, Ruby Bowl, and Sapphire Bowl.

 

Similar to the Whistler Peak area and Saudan Couloir, the Gemstone Bowls offer challenging, steep, open alpine skiing for expert skiers.  The Gemstone Bowls are known for their Black / Double-Black / Triple-Black runs, amazing scenery, and deep powder that collects in this area after winter storms.

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Skill Level

• All the Gemstone Bowls are expert skiing zones that require strong off-piste and steep skiing skills.

• Only approach these bowls when snow and weather conditions are good.

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Maps

• Whistler Blackcomb Winter Trail Map: https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/the-mountain/about-the-mountain/trail-maps.aspx

• OpenSkiMap: https://openskimap.org/#15.35/50.101304/-122.876854/-146.2/58​

 

Gondolas/Lifts

• There are no gondolas or lifts in the Gemstone Bowls area. Access to the Gemstone Bowl area is via the Glacier Express Chairlift and then Spanky’s Ladder.

• Spanky’s Ladder: Spanky’s Ladder is the access path to get into the Gemstone Bowls. You can access Spanky’s Ladder by following Spanky’s Ladder Traverse, which starts near the top of the Glacier Express Chairlift. At the end of the traverse, there is a narrow (one person wide) and steep boot hike—Spanky’s Ladder—that takes you to the top of the ridge above the Gemstone Bowls.

 

Lodges/Huts

• There are no lodges or huts in the Gemstone Bowl area.

 

Main Routes

• There are no Green or Blue runs in the Gemstone Bowl area.

• There is no main Black route through the Gemstone Bowls. Each of the bowls is a viable route down to the Blackcomb Glacier bowl.

• The easiest (but still challenging) Black route through this area is through Garnet Bowl and down into Ruby Bowl.

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For more specific details about this area (and other areas) on Whistler Blackcomb check out my Whistler Blackcomb Guidebook ...