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Whistler Village
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End of the Day Chat
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Blackcomb and Fairmont Hotel
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Evening Diner
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Amsterdam Pub
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Whistler Plaza
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Whistler is actually Whistler Blackcomb, a pair of ski areas that individually
would be world-class destination resorts. Combined, the side-by-side hills offer
a bouillabaise selection of ski terrain over a combined 8,171 acres with a vertical
rise of more than 5,200-feet. The longest run on each mountain is seven miles.
The areas have 38 lifts, from T-bars to high-speed quads, and more than 200
runs for first-time beginners to experts seeking adrenalin-rush bowls, cliffs
and jumps. The area is so large that the usual trail map is, appropriately,
termed a “Mountain Atlas.”
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Blackcomb Powder
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Whistling Slopes
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Big Air Boarder
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Neon Inspiration
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Whistler’s mind-boggling offerings aren’t exactly a secret. More
than two million visitors make yearly pilgrimages. Just two driving hours north
of Vancouver, B.C., it attracts skiers and snowboarders from the Pacific Northwest
and, with easy air connections, around the globe. As I learned, Whistler is
cosmopolitan, with accents and languages from all over. Whistler Blackcomb annually
rates at the top of the charts as one of the world’s most-favored destinations
for skiers and snowboarders and, in summer, golfers, hikers, mountain bikers
and vacationers.
That buzz is intensifying because Whistler will serve as the host mountain resort
for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Unusually, most of venues
are already in place at Whistler, Vancouver and other nearby sites. Whistler
will host several Alpine events - the downhill, super G, giant slalom and combined
– plus the Nordic events - the biathlon, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined
– along with such sliding events as ski jumping, bobsleigh, luge and skelton.
During the Games, nightly medal ceremonies will be held in the village’s
Celebration Plaza. And, as officials like to brag, more than 90 percent of the
terrain on Whistler and Blackcomb will be open to skiers and riders throughout
the games.
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Grooming Whistler
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Last Run
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Checking the Map
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Evening Light
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The statistics and facts about Whistler are incredible, but what genuinely
matters, as I learned, is the experience.
John Paulson, an experienced Whistler visitor, guided photographer Larry Turner,
another Whistler first-timer, along the maze of lifts and runs. Good thing.
That first day, partly because of fog and low clouds, John focused on Blackcomb,
which has more runs in the shelter of trees and, conviently, was easily accessed
via the Wizards Express, the chairlift reached by Lower Cruiser, an intermediate
run located just outside our slope-side lodging.
We moved as the skies briefly cleared and the upper mountain chairs opened.
We began with runs off the Excelerator, Jersey Cream and Crystal chairs, then
joined the throng to fluffy runs off the 7th Heaven Express. After lunch in
cozy Horstman Hut, we skied through a tunnel to the Blackcomb Glacier, loaded
on the Showcase T-bar and eventually worked our way to the Glacier Express until
polishing off the afternoon, and our putty-like legs, on runs from the Solar
Coaster Express.
The next morning, under falling snow, we joined others for the pre-dawn ride
up the Whistler Village Gondola, up and up to the 6.069-foot elevation Roundhouse
Lodge for the Fresh Tracks Breakfast. The runs opened before we’d packed
away the last of the scrambled eggs, so we scrambled outside. Like gerbils we
skied non-stop to the Big Red, Emerald and Harmony Express chairs, jumped in
line, rode to the top and zipped back down, searching for, and finding, pockets
of untouched or lightly skied powder. Back at Whistler Village we rode the Blackcomb
Excalibur Gondola back to Blackcomb and readied for an afternoon zipline tour.
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Zipline Bridge
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John Zipping
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la bosca café
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Blackcomb
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Marriott Hotel
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Longhorn Saloon
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Whistler Village
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Dining at the Irish Pub
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Irish Pub
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I’ve zipped elsewhere, but Whistler’s is a ripping zip-trip. Ziplining,
for the uninitiated, involves flying across valleys and rivers while harnessed
and clipped onto a steel cable. John set the standard on the first of five lines,
tilting on his side. At the final line, which parallels a lower mountain ski
run, John, Larry and I took turns stepping backwards off the platform, leaning
back, kicking our feet in the air, and – zip-beedy-day - flying upside
down with arms spread through the trees and past shocked skiers.
Maybe it was the upside-down zip, or maybe the great dinner, and possibly the
Murphy’s on-tap at the Irish pub. However, whatever, on Day 3 my legs kicked
in and the skiing was truly spectacular. It didn’t hurt that the grooming
had smoothed uneven surfaces, or that the sun was shining, or that the rental
boots that had cramped my feet mysteriously seemed to fit. Like a yo-yo I rode
lifts up, then zip-zoomed back down, mixing runs and terrain. Focusing on Blackcomb,
I explored new territory. Ironically, that morning I had misplaced my pass and
been left behind while John and Larry took off without me. When we eventually
regrouped that evening both were genuinely concerned that I’d missed a
great day on the slopes. And both were equally delighted to learn that, magically,
I had found the pass and, with it, one of the most joyous skiing days of my
life.
When You Go
Whistler Blackcomb is located in the Coast Mountains north of Vancouver, British
Columbia, about a two-hour drive on the visually spectacular Sea to Sky Highway.
Scheduled bus service runs from Vancouver and Vancouver Airport. Vancouver is
a cosmopolitan city with air service from around the world. The two cities will
be host cities for the 2010 Olympics, which run February 12 to 28, followed
by the Paralympics March 12 to 21.
Construction-wise, the big news for Whistler Blackcomb is the $52 million Peak
to Peak Gondola that will unite the two areas, with opening set for December
2008. The gondola will transport winter and summer guests 2.73 miles from Whistler’s
Roundhouse Lodge to Blackcomb’s Rendezvous Lodge in 11 minutes. Along with
allowing winter skiers and snowboarders easy access to the two mountains, it
will transport summer hikers, backpackers and sightseers to the mountains expansive
and high alpine terrain.
Whistler Village and the neighboring region have 115 hotels, condos and bed
and breakfasts with more than 5,800 rooms, 230 hostel beds and 172 campsites.
There are more than 90 restaurants and bars and more than 200 retail shops.
About 48 percent of Whistler’s 2.1 million annual visitors come during
the winter with 52 percent in the summer.
About the authors
Lee Juillerat writes for the Klamath Falls Herald and News in Southern Oregon
and is a freelance writer-photographer for several magazines, including Northwest
Travel, Oregon Coast and in-flight magazines for Horizon and Alaska Airlines.
He can be contacted at lee337@cvc.net.
Larry Turner is a freelance photographer. His award-winning photography has
appeared in numerous magazines, books, calendars and newspapers. Information
on purchasing his photographs is available by emailing him at skiturn789@yahoo.com.