Whistler Blackcomb: Fitzsimmons Mountain Range, British Columbia

Welcome back to Skiing Through Life! This week we’ll be looking at the ski resort Whistler Blackcomb! I’m super excited to talk about this resort because it’s been consistently named one of the best ski resorts in the world and is a mountain many professional skiers call home. Whistler Blackcomb is located north of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It’s the largest ski resort in North America and offers guests 2 different mountains with a gondola that travels between the two peaks. This mountain gets super busy throughout the year, accommodating more than 2 million visitors.

Level of Difficulty

Considering that Whistler Blackcomb is the largest ski resort in North America, it has a lot of terrain to offer guests. Whistler Blackcomb offers 200 plus trails in addition to 37 ski lifts. The majority of trails (55%) are intermediate or blue trails on both Whistler mountain and Blackcomb mountain. Around 20% are beginner trails and about 30% are advanced trails. These percentages give a good perspective on the difficulty of the mountain, pointing to the fact that it’s a great place for any type of skier. With 55% being intermediate trails, this is perfect for those who have skied before but may be just starting out again, or for seasoned skiers who want to ease back into the season. Blackcomb and Whistler also both have 4 terrain parks for skiers interested n features. Overall, the advanced terrain at Whistler Blackcomb is certainly challenging in addition to its back country skiing, but the beginning and intermediate terrain can definitely cater to any type of skier.

Family-Friendliness

One of the outstanding amenities that Whistler offers is childcare and baby-sitting for those that come to the mountain with children too young to start skiing or for those that want to skiing without the kids. Whistler offers a Holiday Experience and Family Apres program in the winter with many different activities for families with children. Whistler also offers a scavenger hunt each season tailored to kids that are visiting. In addition to these opportunities, Whistler has 4 different programs for ski/snowboard lessons. They offer adult group ski/snowboard programs, programs specifically for teens, and 5 day lessons with a lift ticket included just for the kids. Whistler also offers private ski lessons for any age/level. One major attraction of their private lesson program is that they offer ski/ride with an olympian for a full day!

Apres Ski Activities

In 2010 Whistler Blackcomb hosted the Winter Olympics, housing the alpine skiing events, Paralympic alpine skiing events, Super-G, slalom, giant slalom, and super combined. After a day on the mountain, visitors are definitely encouraged to explore Whistler’s Olympic Plaza. With multiple facilities, Whistler offers skeleton, bob sleighing, Heli skiing and snowboarding, twilight ziplining, winter bungee jumping, and snowmobiling. All of these activities are designed around giving guests a huge adrenaline rush! On a different note, Whistler offers almost every kind of dining experience imaginable. From rustic pubs serving craft beer to dance pubs, Whistler has got it all. If guests are looking for a more refined dining experience, Whistler also has restaurants such as Araxi and Basalt for fine dining. After dining for the night, Whistler also offers Canadian craft tours which will transport people to British Columbia craft beer tours in areas around the mountain.

Weather/Snowfall

Considering how far north Whistler is, they received 1239 cm of snow last year with their snowiest month being January collecting 379 cm. Their snowiest winter was that of 2010/2011 with a Toal of 1579 cm of snow! December-February, guests should expect average temperatures of around 30 degrees. The temperatures will rarely dip below 10 degrees which makes for some great crisp, sunny skiing days. On their website Whistler even offers a comprehensive review of the kind of apparel guests should be bringing with them.

Accessibility

In order to get to Whistler, most people will fly into Vancouver if they’re not within driving distance of the mountain. From Vancouver its about a 2 hour drive to the resort along the Sea to Sky Highway. This has been ranked as one of the best coastal drives in the world because you’re driving right between the ocean and the mountains! If driving the 2 hours doesn’t suit you, you can also fly from Vancouver to Whistler. Once at the mountain, most visitors park their car and will not use it again until they leave because the village is extremely pedestrian friendly and there are buses that will drive from certain hotels to the actual mountain.

Overall, if you’re looking for a mountain that offers literally everything this is definitely it. From olympians who regularly ski here to 4 year olds just starting out, Whistler Blackcomb truly offers something for everyone!