Ski Whistler
Listed under Skiing in Whistler, Canada.
Re-named Whistler Mountain in 1965 (after the cry of the ubiquitous western hoary marmot, or Whistle Pig) the pleasantly car-free village centre was purpose-built, quite attractively, on the site of an old garbage tip, a favourite haunt of bears. It is now an attractive but sprawling village, dominated in the Upper Village by the imposing neo-gothic structure of the splendid Fairmont Chateau Whistler hotel, and some truly terrific skiing on Whistler and Blackcomb mountains which have the largest vertical drop in North America: both are about a mile high.
Vancouver, the gateway city, is one of the most beautiful in the world. Then comes the two hour "Sea-to-Sky Highway" (99 North) drive, the early stages along the magnificent Strait of Georgia coastline, with misty views of Vancouver Island.
One of Whistler's few snags is its low elevation. At 675 metres (2,214 feet), close to the maritime influence of the Pacific seaboard, it tends to attract more than its fair share of rain. Although this nearly always results in fresh snowfalls higher up the mountain, the prospect of going out in the rain to start a day's skiing puts a slight dampener on things. But keen skiers and boarders will hardly give it a moment's thought. Superficially, the two mountains are quite similar. Each has more than 100 trails, many of them long cruising runs through pine forests. But Whistler has more bowls (Symphony, Glacier, Whistler, Harmony and West Bowls) while Blackcomb has glaciers: Blackcomb and Horstman. It also has more couloirs, such as Couloir Extreme and Pakalolo.
Written by 
Arnie Wilson.
Other expert and press reviews
“Snowboarding in Whistler”
Whistler is probably the biggest resort I’ve ever been to and it’s got three big parks and lots of guys who really know what they’re doing to go with it. It’s got a reputation for heavy powder and when I was there it was definitely living up to it’s rep… Read more...
Written by 
Sally James.
“Whistler”
Whistler is undoubtedly one of the world's top ski resorts, offering a variety of superb skiing as well as fantastic facilities away from the slopes. Whistler is North America's biggest resort, with the greatest vertical rise -5,279 feet- and a ski area… Read more...
Written by 
David Holyoak.
“The World's Longest Ski Lift”
By Sean Newsom for The Sunday Times. First published 14th December 2008. Usually, the only time skiers or snowboarders notice the lifts in a mountain resort is when one of them doesn’t work. Otherwise, we take them for granted. We jump on, swap news a… Read more...
Written by press. See the full article in The Sunday Times, 14th December 2008.
Comments, reviews and questions by other travellers
is it open in november 09 for snow boarding... HELP!
there are 3 of us wishing to learn how to snow board, we've got 10 days off in nov, and i'm finding it impossible to find anywhere available... is everywhere closed til dec, or are we too late to book?
any advice is welcome,
leighanne
Heli-skiing in Whistler
Heli-skiing takes the thrill of winter sports to a whole new level, and high above the pristine, sugar-dusted pines and snowy valleys of Whistler, those in search of the purest powder can gaze down on the twisting ski tracks and tiny people miles below and ski the best untouched terrain imaginable. Heli-skiing does involve flying to the most inaccessible slopes by helicopter, and being left alone amongst the overwhelming glory of Canada's highest peaks, but intermediate-level skiers and snowboarders can have as full an experience here as the experts, due to the great variety of slopes on offer. Organised heli-skiing groups of differing abilities are regularly organised, so plenty of guidance is on offer for those who require help in choosing suitable sites. There are hundreds of enormous, sweeping glacier slopes and sheltered, zig-zagging tree runs of varying lengths and levels of steepness, and so few skiers use these slopes compared to the official resort options that every day is almost guaranteed to offer a new stretch of perfect snow.
Who's been here
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Related links
- Whistler travel guide
- British Columbia travel guide
- Canada travel guide
- Canada travel specialists
- The best Skiing
There really are few places in the world like Whistler.
There really are few places in the world like Whistler. This truly is a majestic mountain, with awe-inspiring slopes. I would recommend it to anybody in this part of the world. I'd also like to point out that there are many things to do in Banff when you take a trip over to Alberta. My favorite is taking a ride on the Banff Gondola.