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 Whistler Blackcomb has consistently been rated in ski and travel magazine surveys as the most popular ski resort in North America.
The resort is huge, and its myriad attractions, both on-slope and off, have helped it to become one of North America's favorite international ski spots. Visitors flock here from Australia, Asia, Europe and Latin America as well as North America. The resort has plans to link its two mountain peaks with a Peak to Peak gondola which is scheduled for completion in December of 2008. It will travel 2.7 miles from Whistler's Roundhouse Lodge to the Rendezvous Lodge on Blackomb Mountain. The new gondola will transport winter and summer guests in 28 sky cabins, two with glass floors affording views of the Fitzimmons Creek and valley between the two mountains. While Whistler generally gets rave reviews, two drawbacks that come up most often by word of mouth sound worse than they really are. One is Whistler's weather. Close to the Pacific Ocean at a low base altitude just over 2,000 feet, Whistler can at times get heavy rain or dense fog. But the weather at the bottom isn't always what's happening at the top—it may be raining in Whistler Village, but snowing (or even sunny) on the summit. Crystal-clear, sunny days are a frequent surprise, especially later in the season, and on those days skiing conditions are just awesome. Secondly, skiers will sometimes cite horrendous lift lines (primarily at base areas early in the morning) as Whistler's other problem. In reality the few lines that develop look longer than the actual wait, thanks to high-speed lifts at the three base areas.
The resort is comprised of five villages. Whistler Village is the closest neighborhood to the main lifts for both mountains. Stroll the cobblestone streets, window-shop or have a latte in one of the many outdoor patios along the way. Two first-class hotels—the Pan Pacific and the Westin—provide the best access to the slopes. Village North, set north (but downhill) of Whistler Village, is where the locals go for the essentials. It holds a section called Marketplace where, along with a host of goods and services. You'll also find the post office, a grocery store and a liquor store. Upper Village, the Blackcomb base and site of the elegant Fairmont Chateau Whistler and Four Seasons Resort Whistler, is a 10-minute walk east of the heart of Whistler Village. While it has its own public base lodge, ticket office, children's center and shops, it's smaller and far less active than Whistler Village. You can walk over the covered bridge to the Upper Village for some great shopping and fabulous food. Town Plaza connects Whistler Village and Village North/Marketplace and is lined with hotels, restaurants and shops. Each of these villages is about a 5- to 10-minute walk from the others. A residential section adjacent to the Upper Village is called Blackcomb Benchlands. Creekside, also known as Whistler Creek, is the original Whistler base on the south end of the valley. It's undergone a major rejuvenation and is home to the legendary, original Dusty's Bar & BBQ, as well as Legends and First Tracks Lodge, Whistler's premiere suite property. The Creekside base area was redesigned with families in mind; it's quiet at night, without the clubs and street noise of the Village. Creekside is a five-minute taxi ride south.
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Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort Facts: Address: 4545 Blackcomb Way, Whistler, BC, Canada V0N 1B4 (resort); or Area code:
604 (Note: Use the prefix when dialing local telephone numbers within
Whistler) Dining: +++++
Base elevation:
2,140 feet (Creekside); 2,214 feet (Village) Base elevation:
2,214 feet (Village) |
There
are several reasons for this: two mountains with the largest vertical
drop on the continent, 5,280 feet; tremendous
bowl skiing; and runs that wind down the mountain seemingly forever—the
longest run on each mountain is 7 miles. To top it off, the town
has a people-friendly, five-village base area with lodging, restaurants
and nightclubs, much of which is within walking distance. The main
areas of Whistler Village are designed for pedestrian-only traffic.
Whistler
is a destination resort with a local population of about
10,000. But, as resorts go, this one ranks among North
America's largest. Built in a European style, it has more than 120
restaurants and bars, more than 200 shops, plus more than 100 condos,
B&Bs, lodges and hotels offering nearly 5,400 units. What began as a pedestrian-oriented base village has
grown into a complex that often requires a bus or taxi ride to move from place to place or from condo to the slopes. A sometimes-confusing system of free and pay buses facilitates travel throughout
most of the area.
Now
that the International Olympic Committee has chosen Whistler (and
Vancouver) to host the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, their
winding Sea to Ski Highway seems paved with gold but has "not nearly
enough passing lanes," according to Canada's news magazine,
Maclean's. Major highway upgrades are now in progress to the tune of C$600 million, as well as improved marine, coach, air and train service. Whistler will host Alpine and Nordic skiing, ski jumping, biathlon, luge, skeleton, bobsled, sledge ice hockey and curling. Snowboarding, freestyle skiing and the opening and closing ceremonies will be celebrated in Vancouver.
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