Resort information for Whistler

Whistler sits at the foot of its two mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb, with Whistler Village and Upper Village spread respectively around the base of each. The village centres are all traffic-free. The architecture is varied and, for a purpose-built resort, quite tasteful – but it is all a bit urban, with lots of blocks approaching 10 storeys high. The most convenient place to stay is Whistler Village, as you can access either mountain by gondola.

Whistler and Blackcomb together form the biggest area of slopes, with the longest runs, in North America. Many reporters enthuse about the mountain host service and the ‘go slow’ patrol – some find the latter ‘over zealous’, but crowded slopes, especially on the runs home, mean they’re often needed. Snow conditions at the top are usually excellent – the place gets around 360 inches of snow a year, on average. Because the resort is low and close to the Pacific, the bottom slopes can be wet, icy or unskiable – leading people to ‘download’ from the mid-stations, especially in late season. Queues are an ever-increasing problem, with Whistler having become a victim of its own success. Even with 17 fast lifts – more than any other resort in North America – the mountains are queue-prone, especially at weekends when people pour in from Vancouver.

The main mountain restaurants sell decent, good-value food but are charmless self-service stops with long queues. They’re huge, but not huge enough – you may have to resort to eating about 11am, or just surviving on breakfast. Reporters are enthusiastic about the range, quality and value of places for eating out in Whistler itself, but we and they find it simply doesn’t have enough restaurant seats to meet demand. In terms of après-ski, Whistler is very lively, with something for most tastes.