WHISTLER BLACKCOMB
Ski & Snowboard Resort Review
Whistler Blackcomb, CANADA, is an epic skiing and snowboarding resort with terrain covering over 8,000+ acres with a vertical drop of 5,280 feet.
Whistler and Blackcomb Mountain's combined ski and snowboard terrain consist of endless long linked trails, wide open bowls, treed runs, cliffs, double black chutes, glaciers, moguls, terrain parks and kids only learning zones. Both mountains are well laid out with only 33 efficient lifts servicing the entire area, this results in only having to catch one or two lifts to get to most parts of the resort.
Whistler Skiing and Snowboarding Terrain
Whistler Mountain has 7 powder filled black diamond bowls, steep double black chutes in the upper areas, fantastic tree skiing and snowboarding, exciting mogul fields, leg burning tree lined carving trails as well as linked groomed intermediate and beginner trails.
Advanced
Whistler Mountain is a fantastic free riders mountain, the steep and deep West Bowls are awesome after good powder falls as is the terrain around the Garbonzo Chair for glade skiing and snowboarding.
The Symphony Amphitheatre, which is one of Whistler Mountain's favourite inbounds back country terrain spots was previously only accessible by hiking. The 2006/2007 winter season saw a new chairlift installed, the Symphony Express, giving high speed access to over 1000 acres of intermediate and advanced terrain! Named for the area's natural theatre like setting the new trails have been named accordingly; Rhapsody Bowl, Encore Ridge, Adagio and Flute Bowl!
Intermediate
Every Chair and Lift going up Whistler Mountain has a minium of 2 long intermediate corduroy trails coming back down. It is an excellent mountain to work on your skill levels. The Harmony Express Chair leading to Little Whistler Peak services the long Harmony Ridge Trail as well as the small bowls leading down from the ridge, after a snowfall give the bowls a try.
Beginner
The Olympic Station above the Village is the best place for beginners and first timers to start. From the top of the Whistler Village Gondola green easy trails wind their way around Whistler Mountain, try the long Bear Cub Trail before cruising all the way down the Express Way back to the Village.
Blackcomb Mountain Skiing and Snowboarding
Blackcomb Mountain is a steeper mountain than Whistler Mountain with 4 steep challenging back bowls, open powder fields, fast chutes, heavily treed areas and long linked trails.
Advanced
The Blackcomb back bowls leading onto the Blackcomb Glacier, the Garnet, Diamond, Ruby and Sapphire Bowls are steep and the place to find fresh powder. The famous Double Black ‘Couloir Extreme’ off the Hortsman Glacier is a test of nerve and skill as is the equally famous ‘Wind Lip’ one of the world’s most photographed natural hits providing enormous air opportunities. After fresh powder the open terrain around the 7th Heaven Express is just right for full throttle carving turns.
Intermediate
Intermediates will find Blackcomb Mountain’s long cruising runs thrilling, while some are easy others provide a bit of a steeper challenge. The trails to the right of the 7th Heaven Express Lift, Upper Could Nine and Upper Southern Comfort are long and wide while the trails leading down to the Gondola from the Jersey Cream Express Chairlift are steep and fast. The 5 trails to the left of the Crystal Chair are impressively long eventually linking to the Blackcomb Glacier Road leading to the bottom of the Excellerator Chair.
Beginner
The best thing about Blackcomb Mountain are the beginner ‘green line’ trails enabling less confident skiers and snowboarders access to the upper mountain terrain. A lot of other resorts restrict beginners to the lower slopes, not Blackcomb. From the top of the 7th Heaven Chair there is a ‘green line’ trail leading all the way down to the base area, just use caution when the trail crosses other runs. The 2006/2007 winter season saw the widening of the Blackcomb home trails which makes them safer for beginner skiers and snowboarders and helps ease traffic congestion at the end of the day when everyone is heading home.
Whistler Blackcomb Ski and Snowboard School
The Whistler Blackcomb Ski and Snowboard School has programs suited for all levels and ages of skiers and snowboarders with highly experienced instructors. There are private classes, multi adventure Camps for children aged 3 – 12 years, daily group lessons, terrain park lessons, women’s only programs, backcountry lessons and free skiing clinics enhancing your off piste skills.
Whistler Blackcomb Terrain Park and Halfpipe
The world class Nintendo Terrain Park situated along the Catskinner Chair on Blackcomb Mountain is 3,480 feet in length with a vertical drop of 1,007 feet. It has huge table tops, hip jumps, spines, step up jumps, banks, rails, and fun boxes as well as two superbly maintained superpipes.
Whistler Blackcomb Fresh Tracks Breakfast
For those who just can’t wait for the lifts to open make sure you take advantage of Fresh Tracks. From 7am each morning 650 snow riders meet at the Whistler Village Gondola to head up to the Roundhouse Lodge to enjoy a hearty breakfast then, once the snow patrol gives the all clear, make fresh tracks on the trails around both the Emerald Express and Big Red Express.
Whistler Blackcomb Heli Skiing and Snowboarding
Whistler Blackcomb has just acquired Whistler Heli-Skiing resulting in over half a million acres of helicopter accessed terrain available to powder lovers! The inbounds acreage at Whistler Blackcomb is 8,171 acres, adding the 494,000 acres of heli- skiing terrain brings the total acreage to an awesome 502,171 acres! (785 square miles).
Whistler Heli-Skiing experienced mountain guides take groups of intermediate, advanced or expert skiers and snowboarders into the mountainous terrain surrounding Whistler Blackcomb for day long adventures. You do not need previous heli skiing or heli boarding experience to take part.
Whistler Blackcomb Snowcat Skiing and Snowboarding
Powder Mountain Cat skiing have day long cat skiing tours through the Whistler backcountry lead by certified guides. The average day consists of a 7,000 to 10,000 vertical foot drop through deep untracked powder!
Whistler Blackcomb On Mountain Dining
Whistler Blackcomb has excellent on mountain dining facilities with17 restaurants all with spectacular views. The Roundhouse on Whistler Mountain has market style eateries while Christine’s on Blackcomb Mountain has fine dining and great service.
Other Activities at Whistler Blackcomb
Some of the many activities available off the pistes include; rock climbing walls, mountain snow biking, snow tubing at Blackcomb, horse drawn sleigh rides, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, dog sledding and indoor tennis. Those looking for less strenuous activities can take a tour of the Brewhouse, try glass blowing, go to the cinema or be pampered at one of the day spas!
Shopping at Whistler Village
The shops in the Whistler Village will satisfy even the fussiest shopper! It is full of sports and equipment shops, fashion boutiques, art galleries, antique stores, souvenir shops and day spas.
Can-Ski supplies the latest ski boots, bindings and skis, the North Face Shop stocks the full collection of clothing and equipment all year round while Westbeach caters for snowboarders and skaters as does Showcase which is the longest running snowboard store in the Whistler Valley with the widest variety of equipment.
The Whistler Valley Signature Store has a wide variety of fashionable Whistler Blackcomb logo wear to ensure you don’t forget your trip to Whistler Blackcomb!
Whistler Village Restaurants
Whistler Village has an abundance of dining options in restaurants, cafes, grills, pizzerias and bistros serving cuisine ranging from European, Asian, Mediterranean, seafood, American and Irish.
Bearfoot Bistro is one of the top restaurants in Whistler serving French cuisine. The Amsterdam Café is really family friendly and serves pub fare as does the reasonably priced Buffalo Bills Bar & Grill. .
Whistler Nightlife
Whistler Village has plenty of bars and pubs catering for all ages and tastes. The long running nightclub, Tommy Africa's, is a local favourite and always packed to the rafters. On Thursday nights go to Garfinkel's for dancing they have funky classics as well as the latest dance tracks.
For live bands head to the Boot Pub, established bands and all sorts of up and coming bands play regularly. For a good drop go to the Dubh Linn Gate Irish Pub, it’s got a friendly atmosphere and has the largest variety of fine whiskey and draught beer in the Village.
For the older crowd Buffalo Bill's has regular comedy nights and the Savage Beagle has lounge seating in the cigar bar upstairs and dancing downstairs.
New for 2007/2008 at Whistler Blackcomb
New Peak to Peak Gondola connecting Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain is currently under construction. The Peak to Peak Gondola will cover 4.4 kilometres in eleven minutes with 28 cabins carrying up to 28 passengers. The terminal on Whistler Mountain will be located next to the Roundhouse Lodge and on Blackcomb Mountain will be located next to the Rendezvous Lodge. When finished at the end of 2008 the gondola will be the longest unsupported free spanning gondola in the world with the distance between the two furthest towers being 3.024 kilometres (1.88 miles) in length. The new gondola will double the amount of terrain able to be accessed by skiers and snowboarders in just one day.
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Your Whistler Blackcomb Ski & Snowboard Resort Reviews
Michelle Turner, Vancouver, March 2006 Fabulous. Every person in the world should go to Whistler BC before they die, they have the best snow on earth, and the largest and best terrain to enjoy it on. The Whistler Bowl has to be the best bowl on the planet, when it fills with powder I could stay there forever. I also love to play around the Glacier Express Chair and the Horstman T-Bar, they offer a bit of everything, carpet groomed trails, double diamond chutes and the start of the long long way back down the mountain. And don't get me started on the back country! Why wouldn't you want to go to Whistler.
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Statistics |
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Elevation |
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Average
Snowfall |
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360
inches |
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Lifts |
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38 |
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Trails
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map |
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Terrain
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Halfpipe |
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2
super pipes |
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Terrain
Park |
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4 |
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Resort
Website |
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