... In Whistler, however the entire area is skiable. There are vast areas of untouched powder snow, gladed runs that take you James Bond style through the trees as well as a huge variety of marked runs that offer something for people of all abilities. There are wide-sweeping pistes ideal for ... Read review
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Advantages: The accommodation, the skiing, the nightlife... everything. Disadvantages: More costly than europe... but worth it!
...always a worry. In Whistler, however the entire area is skiable. There are vast areas of untouched powder snow, gladed runs that take you James Bond style through the trees as well as a huge variety of marked runs that offer something for people of all abilities. There are wide-sweeping pistes ideal for the beginner, harder diamond black runs for the more experienced and double diamond blacks involving 2 to 5 metre drop-ins just to get onto the run ... ...myself in this category).
Added to the fantastic range of skiing available, the snow is now widely thought of as the most reliable in North America, and the conditions over the last few years have always been good during the regular season (usually late November to late April). Other things of note in regard to skiing:-
- The equipment for hire is very high quality – usually last only one or two seasons old. more
INTRODUCTION
Whistler – Blackcombe is a ski resort situated about two hours bus journey north of Vancouver in Canada and is quite simply the most incredible ski resort I’ve ever had the fortune of skiing in. Before I begin to wax lyrically about its virtues a little background on myself as regards skiing. I’ve been skiing now for about 15 years having started at the tender age of 7 and until travelling to Whistler I’ve only ever-skied in Europe. In this time I’ve been all over Europe in all the major skiing countries as well as the less well known Andorra, Bulgaria, Finland and Sweden. I say all this not in an attempt to show off but to show that I think I have the credentials to comment on ski resorts.
I actually went to Whistler for two weeks in Easter ‘99 to visit my brother who was working in the resort, I spent the first week in a hotel with family and the second sleeping on my brothers floor in staff accommodation. This allowed me to see a lot more of the resort than on a usual package holiday affair and the added freedom made a pleasant change. For example, after getting off the plane more than a little inebriated (got to love those free drinks) I collected my bags, booked on a coach to Whistler and headed to the bar. Not a bright-jacketed ski-rep jacket in sight. Anyway on to the facts n’figures…
TRAVEL
I suppose that the first thing you need to know about a holiday is getting to the resort. For me it involved slightly over a nine-hour flight to Vancouver from Heathrow. As Vancouver is nine hours behind GMT this means you actually arrive at around the same time you took off which is a bit strange and does make the journey very different from a quick flight to the Alps. On arriving in Vancouver there is a bus that will take you straight from the airport to the resort in about two hours. So the travelling, whilst long and tiring, is not particularly difficult and if like me you take advantage of the free alcohol on the flight passes fairly quickly and painlessly… well until the hangover.
ACCOMMODATION
So you get to the resort and get to your hotel or chalet that you have booked into… obviously I only stayed in one hotel so I can’t comment on the others. Firstly there’s a choice to make as the resort essentially comprises of two different mountains Whistler and Blackcombe and the accommodation is split between the two. The lifts up the two mountains are only separated by a 5-minute walk, but more on that later. The hotel, the Glacier Lodge I stayed in was absolutely fantastic.
The rooms were, compared to European hotels, massive and in our case comprised of a master double bedroom and a lounge with walk-in kitchen and a good-sized bathroom. The lounge area has a comfortable sofa bed and was equipped with a massive TV… one of the channels showed nothing but Friends, ER, Frasier and select other American sit-coms/ dramas… which makes a pleasant change from dodgy french/italian TV. Also in the hotel were a heated outdoor swimming pool and a hot tub that was simply sublime after a day on the slopes.
From what I have seen the other hotels and chalets are all of a similar standard and for a closer look visit the Whistler web site that has a plethora of photos from all the hotels… www.whistler-blackcomb.com
SKIING
Well quite enough of that onto the most important aspect of the holiday…the skiing (or snowboarding). As I have mentioned there are in fact two mountains that make up the resort and one ski pass gives you access to both. First a few facts …the total ski area is a massive 7000 acres which is over 10 times the area on Aspen mountain… there are over 200 marked runs and 33 lifts.
The first thing I noticed about skiing in Whistler is the difference between the skiing area when compared to European resorts. In Europe there are pistes that are ‘groomed’ by the piste-bashers and the vast majority of skiers stick to the piste, leaving the piste generally leads to problems getting back to lifts or falling off cliffs etc… which is always a worry. In Whistler, however the entire area is skiable. There are vast areas of untouched powder snow, gladed runs that take you James Bond style through the trees as well as a huge variety of marked runs that offer something for people of all abilities. There are wide-sweeping pistes ideal for the beginner, harder diamond black runs for the more experienced and double diamond blacks involving 2 to 5 metre drop-ins just to get onto the run for the truly insane (yes before you ask I include myself in this category).
Added to the fantastic range of skiing available, the snow is now widely thought of as the most reliable in North America, and the conditions over the last few years have always been good during the regular season (usually late November to late April). Other things of note in regard to skiing:-
- The equipment for hire is very high quality – usually last only one or two seasons old. - The lift pass is more expensive than in many European resorts, weighing in at around £150 for a six-day pass. My advice would be set it up to be billed to your credit card so if you only use your pass in the afternoon you only get charged for a half-day skiing. - It can be cold, very cold… those of you going over January- February time take plenty of layers as temperatures significantly below freezing (-10 to –20c) are not uncommon. - There is none of the European queue barging waiting for the lifts… everything is organised by the courteous and polite employees who ensure every chair is filled to reduce waiting time – this makes a very pleasant change.
NIGHTLIFE
So after an amazing days skiing, obviously you are going to want to partake in a little apres-ski and Whistler has a fine selection of bars/pubs/clubs in which to wile away until the wee hours. In Whistler village at the bottom of the lift is the Garibaldi Lift Co. Bar and Grill which is always packed and great fun and an Irish bar (no surprise) Dubh Linn Gate Old Irish Pub that has a fine selection of beers and whiskies. At the bottom of Blackcombe, Merlins is the place to be… with a four-pint (approx) pitcher of beer for about six quid it’s great fun… to be honest my memory is a little hazy after consuming far too many of them. Also someone to watch out for is Guitaaar Doug who seems to make a circuit of the bars and appears to be get paid in beer, his sets are usually fun to watch especially the strip limbo… I’ll say no more.
Away from the alcohol fuelled activities there is plenty of other things to keep you entertained… a cinema, some great restuarants including a Hard Rock Café that is far better than any others I’ve been to, as well as a host of shops. There are also various sports facilities for those fit or crazy enough to still have any energy. Unfortunately as I was predominately partaking in the apres-ski I didn’t find out all that much about the other things on offer so I’ll move on.
CONCLUSION
I know that I’ve missed out a lot of things but this opinion is getting essay length already. If anybody wants any more information the official web site (address already given) probably has the necessary info or send me an email and I’ll be happy to try and answer any queries. I can’t advise this resort enough as it beats every other resort that I’ve been to hands down. The hotel was amazing, the skiing unbelievable and the nightlife great fun. Perhaps the only downside other than cost is that having skied here no where else seems as good. If you want to go skiing in the best resort in the world Whistler is definitely the place to go.
Advantages: Fantastic terrain, beautiful scenery. Disadvantages: Can be expensive and is a longway from the UK
Whistler is one of the most famous ski resorts in North America and so it should be! It offers some of the most varied and high quality terrain in the world. I've spent a few months snowboarding there over the last couple of years and thought I'd share a bit of info about the place.
HOW TO GET THERE
Whistler is a two to three hour drive from Vancouver along the gorgeous Highway 99. This journey is a treat in itself - hugging the shoreline of Puget ... ...before heading into the mountains and through small logging communities.
There are regular buses from Vancouver airport and from downtown Vancouver. The airport bus, the Perimeter Whistler Express is quite pricey - about £25 each way - but it does drop you off at your hotel. You should book this in advance by phone or on their website. However, if there are a few of you, it may be cheaper to get a stretch limo to take you Whistler - a very popular ...
lula153 19.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Whistler, Ski Resort
Advantages: Two excellent mountains, plenty of snow, night life, wonderful people, wonderful food, excellent accomidation, plently of room on the slopes Disadvantages: Expensive, very long distance and traveling time
Went to Whistler originally as one of my mates decided to do a year out there and then another decided to go out and meet him. From the feedback i was getting while they were there i thought what a fantastic place and i really couldn't belive that it could possibly be that good.
I thought about it for a good long time and eventually decided to take the risk and book my flight, all the way there i was wondering if i had done the right thing. the ... ...along with me traveling by myself. Gave me plenty of time to think about things but got there late at night and every one i met seemed to be really nice. went out for a quick drink and with a snowbase of 3M+ and average snow fall of 20cm it looked just like a winter wonderland and this was March by the way. A few nice beers later, this is now around six in the morning by the way, for my body clock that is! then a trip back to the house were i met ...
sonyduo 21.05.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Whistler, Ski Resort
Advantages: You'll look good. Disadvantages: It hurts
...between the ski resort of Whistler, and snowboarding in general. Both of them are mint.
Whistler
Whistler is located in British Columbia, Canada. Thats on the West Coast, about 2 hours from Vancouver, along the spectacular 'Sea to Sky' Highway. It is a purpose built resort, split into two halves, Whistler and Blackcomb, which used to be separately owned and run but have since been amalgamated into a single world class resort. The skiing and snow ... ...the runs is unsurpassed, from groomed blues to unpisted glacier runs, open snow at the top to winding tree runs lower down. The area is serviced by a fabulous lift system, so there are few queues. The town itself can only be described as quaint yet functional - it has traditional style buildings but all are close to the lifts - you can see how the bult-up area is extending up the mountain. I stayed in the Marriott, which for a reasonable price was ...
Dawson 23.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Whistler, Ski Resort
Advantages: Tons of Snow, fresh powder in April, scenery Disadvantages: Too far, too commercial, Rain in April
Just returned from Whistler. Skied there for the first time after hearing lots of people talk about it as the greatest resort. When I checked this forum last year I was surprised that not more people had written about Whistler. Since then no one else has contributed so I'll now add my bit. We actually did not fly directly from the UK since we spent several days before and after in Philadelphia but even from Philly it was a treck. Travel duration ... ...Lula153 has written a lot of useful stuff in in her op so I will not repeat any of it here, except that she is spot on with her description of the drive from Vancouver, etc. I will just give an update and my view on several issues. I booked the flight and hotel with expedia.com (using my US address) and that worked fine. I booked the bus, ski rental, ski tickets and ski lessons for the kids using the phone number given in the great www.whistler-blackcomb.com ...
gritmuncher 28.04.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Whistler, Ski Resort
Advantages: World beating conditions, terrain, and riders Disadvantages: Expensive and crowded
...of the previous season in Whistler, and had come back for three weeks (all I could spare) to visit friends and hit the slopes again. I got lucky with the snow, especially on the second weekend of my trip. It started snowing on the Saturday, and snowed all Saturday night. Sunday was a good day, but with flat light and snow flurries we rode through the trees for most of the day. Sunday night it was snowing when we left the pubs and still snowing when ... ...at 6am flushed 4 of us out to the lifts for an "early bird" start - a special pass whereby you get access to the lifts at 7am, a breakfast on the mountain and first tracks when the ropes go up an hour before all the other punters.
Well, we weren't the first out of the restaurant, but I was watching as the powder hounds and speed merchants set off down the red slope as soon as the rope went up. It was immediately apparent, however, that something ...
jimh1 06.07.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Whistler, Ski Resort
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Advantages: Friendly, informative, good snow, excellent skiing, cheap meals, quick moving queues Disadvantages: long journey and price of flight, we had to get a bus to the lifts
I started going out with my boyfriend in Whistler, so I may be slightly biased!
I went to Whistler a group of friends, we stayed in a chalet with a hot tub. This was my first time skiing out of Europe.
I have been to several skiresorts in Europe and to Vail in Colorado but none of them compare with Whistler.
There was fantastic snow, lovely light fluffy power and excellent off-piste and gladed routes, as well as fun parks, adding much more variety to the skiing.
The people were fantastic, not like France where every one seems to want to push in lift queues. All the people were really laid back and friendly on the lifts. There were plenty of piste maps about on the slopes, so no need to worry when you have a bit of a fall and your map gets buried in a drift. The lifties went out of their way to help you if you asked them ...
Advantages: Excellent resturants, outdoor activities Disadvantages: A bit busy in the village
Summary
Whistler is a purpose built resort for having fun, lots of summer activities are avaliable in August and the hotels are of a good quality. Resturants are sparse, but the quality is very good. I highly recommend the 'Araxi', but if you are on a budget 'The Spaghetti factory' is the place for you. Just remmber to book either before you go.
General information
I had heard about Whistler as a skiresort, so when my wife and I where planning our honeymoon to Canada in the summer we missed out Whistler. However our travel agent said our journey from Clearwater to Vancouver would be a killer so we should stop off at Whistler. We agreed and I think we had the best two days of the hoilday here.
Whistler is situated about a two hour drive north of Vancouver, nestled into the mountains it is mainly a resort for skiing. The dude ...
Advantages: Beautiful, affordable, great skiing snow Disadvantages: Not a lot else outside of the village
Goodlooking people, Breathtaking vistas, World class runs and a night life to boot. Now there is no reason for ski buffs not to make a trip to Whistler to discover a new favourite resort. Only one and a half hours out of gorgeous Vancouver, Whistler makes an ideal three day getaway in both the summer and winter months.
In the summer the ski runs are opened to mountain bikers and hikers and the glacial lakes are absolutely stunning and refreshing to swim in. Accomadation prices are lower in the summer at all of the hotels and lodges and there are often group rates available.
The winter months are what really make Whistler come alive. Set at the base of Blackcombe mountain, skiers can enjoy a dual mountain pass for as little as $62 a day which gives unlimited access to some of the most stunning and challenging runs in ...
