San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Hit the slopes or ride the rails in snowy Western Canada.
Whistler’s ski mecca is warming up.
The largest ski resort in North America is a place to behold. Flanked by mountains and abutted by an sprawling prefab “village” at its base, the 8,171-acre Whistler Blackcomb ski area feels like an insulated snow globe — a vestige of Euro ski nostalgia out of time.
Disneyland for skiers
If the mob bosses who built Las Vegas had taken up downhill skiing and financed a winter getaway, it would look and feel a lot like Whistler Village.
It’s actually two resorts — Whistler Mountain to the west Blackcomb Mountain to the east — in one powder-dusted package, tied together neatly by a cable-fed gondola strung between peaks. There’s more than 5,000 feet of vert on each mountain (by comparison, Squaw Valley counts 2,800 feet), with backside bowls, oodles of groves, back- and side-country access, and looming glaciers that curl over side saddles to inbounds areas. Also, the resort’s location in the northern latitudes ensures it gets reliable snow — even though its base is only 2,000 feet above sea level.
If you love skiing, Whistler needs to be on your bucket list. And now is actually a great time to go given the U.S. dollar’s strength against the Canadian dollar. Plus, it’s getting late in the season, when lift ticket prices typically drop. Here are all the tips and information you need to navigate your way through a perfect Whistler ski trip.
Getting there
During the winter, it’s well understood that U.S. travelers flying into Vancouver have their eyes on the slopes to the north, and the transportation infrastructure is designed to get you there as seamlessly as possible. Air Canada offers affordable direct flights from the Bay Area to Vancouver (roughly 2½ hours). The downside is that Air Canada charges extra for checked ski luggage. (Come on, Canada!)
Renting a car isn’t a bad idea, but parking around Whistler can be scarce and expensive. Hotels and condos often charge add-on parking fees.
If you’re not renting or ride-sharing, you’ll need to hop a shuttle from Vancouver Airport. Google will tell
you it’s a two-hour drive from Vancouver Airport to Whistler Village, but that’s optimistic, normal-car drive time. A shuttle picking up and dropping off travelers at the front doors of their hotels and condos will take a lot longer — expect a 3 to 3½-hour drive. That might not be a big deal on the way up to Whistler, but on the way back to the airport you need to give yourself a fivehour cushion between your pickup time and flight departure. RideBooker ($55 USD each way) is a great option. Shuttles from Vancouver Airport leave sporadically, based on travelers’ arrival times. The trick here is that you may get booked on a shuttle set to leave the airport hours after your flight arrives. The benefit here is that you might be able to hop an earlier shuttle if it has space. When I went to book my shuttle for a 12:40 p.m. flight arrival, the next available slot was 3:30 p.m., but I was able to land a seat on a shuttle that left earlier, at 1 p.m. Just make sure when you land you ask the shuttle concierges nicely.
Getting around Whistler Village is simple: Free public buses run most hours, in roughly 10-minute increments, all winter and into spring.
Pro tip: The drive between Vancouver and Whistler takes you along the Howe Sound, a glassy fjord off the Strait of Georgia, and features gorgeous views of steep, wooded mountains for most of the trip. Snag a seat on the left (driver’s) side of the shuttle on the way up to Whistler (and on the right side on the return trip) to get the full experience.
Lodging
The great thing about Whistler Village, even if it feels like a labyrinthine strip mall designed for Ken and Barbie, is that there’s no shortage of rooms, and every one is a short walk from the lifts. Here you’ll find plenty of $300-and-up-per-night hotel rooms, but there are budget options, too.
Depending on the weather and time of year, you can find decent hotel deals. For discounts at the larger chains like Four Seasons and the Westin, check Booking.com and Expedia. For discounts at specific lodges, call them directly and inquire. For last-minute deals, check Tourism Whistler, the local visitor’s bureau.
If you need more space, look into renting a condo straight from the owner — there are hundreds around Whistler. Browse them on Allura-Direct. Most come with amenities you’ll want, like ski lockers, hot tubs and clothes driers. Lodging options on Airbnb and VRBO are few and far between.
If you’re ski-bumming it, the local hostel occupies the former athlete housing from the 2010 Winter Olympics. Note: This place is a short drive from the lifts. Also check for availability at the UBC Whistler Lodge, which offers dorm bunks. Prices at the lodge and hostel start at about $35 per night.
Pro tip: Keep in mind: You’re here to ski. Does it really matter whether your room has cable TV and a mini-fridge? The amenities I look for in a place — the ones that truly enhance my ski trip — are a hot tub for post-ski thawing and a location that is “ski-in” so you don’t have to stand around waiting for the bus to take you home.
Lift Tickets
Do not — repeat, do not — walk up to the ticket window the day you want to ski. That ensures you’ll pay max price, which can easily set you back $180. If you’re not on the Epic Pass (which gets you up to 10 days at Whistler Blackcomb), book online in advance. Even paying through the resort website can save you about one-third the window ticket price. Plus, when you arrive at the kiosk to get your pass, you’ll wait in a shorter line than the poor suckers who are buying day of.
Skiing
With more than 8,100 acres of terrain and upward of 200 runs, Whistler has whatever you’re looking for, whatever your level. Want to ski a glacier? Whistler has marked runs on three of them. Like hunting powder stashes in bowls? There are 16 to explore. Park rats, observe Whistler’s 150 features, including an 18-foot halfpipe.
Here are a few classic runs to take note of before you go:
BEGINNER
Burnt-Stew Trail to Lower Olympic, Whistler Mountain: One of the cool things about Whistler is the prevalence of long, beautiful green runs that meander from the peaks down and across the mountains, and have incredible views. Burnt-Stew starts off the Harmony 6 Express lift and unfurls over mellow terrain all the way back down to the village. If you want to shorten it, stop mid-way down at Olympic Station.
INTERMEDIATE
Peak to Creek, Whistler Mountain: The ultimate medium run starts near the summit of Whistler Mountain, off the Peak Express lift, and trails a mile to the base at Creekside. It traces along a front-side ridge, above several black-diamond bowls, then twists into a thoroughfare that wends through the trees near the ski boundary all the way down.
ADVANCED
Spanky’s Ladder, Blackcomb Mountain: Even a short boot pack can get you separation from the masses, and such is the case with the 50-foot hike off Glacier Chair to Spanky’s. From there you can pick among three bowls — Sapphire, Diamond and Ruby — which offer some of the sweetest steeps at Whistler.
Pro Tip: For precise weather forecasts, check OpenSnow’s daily reports. For minute-by-minute mobile notification updates on lift openings/closures and other mountain conditions, subscribe to the mobile chat-bot Whistler, Bro.