Best For: Skiers and snowboarders who want the biggest of everything
Executive summary by darmansjah
Whistler Blackcomb is North America's mega-mountain. A gargantuan ski resort
in British
Columbia’s Coast Mountains, and a two-hour drive from Vancouver’s
international airport, it hosts two conjoined areas—Whistler and Blackcomb. It
gets the most snow, has some of the longest vertical drops, the largest terrain
parks, the steepest steeps, the most runs, and the greatest acreage of any ski
area on the continent. In other words, it’s large. Ski magazines routinely
anoint it the finest ski area in North America.
Which is why it makes this list, even if the "town" at its base
was only developed in the decades following the ski area’s opening in 1966
(Blackcomb opened in 1980). It has since mushroomed into a sprawling resort
village that may lack the charm of a historic mountain town, but with over
20,000 beds, 3,000 hard-partying ski bums, er, “seasonal workers,” and untold
thousands of visiting skiers from all over the world, it doesn't lack
excitement. There are several quieter sub-villages, but Whistler Village is the
area's epicenter. Wisely developed with car-free streets and plazas, it's a
buzzing hive of condos, restaurants, and nightclubs, with gondolas leaving
directly from the village up either mountain. Whistler Blackcomb’s popularity
does come at a price—everything here is expensive, lift lines can be long, and
you’ll need reservations for dinner—but with 8,171 acres of skiing and around
5,000 feet of vertical (on each of two separate mountains) most people are too
busy swimming in endorphins to complain.
Ask a Local
Leslie Anthony is one of the world’s top ski writers and
author of White Planet: A Mad Dash Through Modern Global Ski Culture.
He was drawn to Whistler in 1999 by its “glaciated alpine terrain, relentless
powder, big-city feel, and the fact that it was the center of the big-mountain
freeski universe.” Here are his recommendations.
Best Digs
Budget: If you don’t want to stay at a hostel (of which there are several),
the Aava Whistler Hotel is the best.
Swank: Fairmont Chateau Whistler
Best Eats
Cheap: Pasta Lupino
Gourmet: Umberto's Trattoria
Best After-Ski Party Spot
There are three separate base areas, so here's one for each: Dusty's Bar
& BBQ in Creekside, GLC in Whistler Village, and Merlin's Bar & Grill
at Blackcomb Base.
Best Rest-Day Activity
Bobsledding, the tube park, Scandinave Spa Whistler
Whistler Blackcomb’s Classic Ski Run
Blackcomb Glacier on Blackcomb Mountain or Peak to Creek on Whistler
Mountain
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