Whistler is North America’s most famous mountain resort, and for once the fame is fully earned. Two great mountains — Whistler and Blackcomb — rise above a purpose-built pedestrian village, offering the largest ski area on the continent in winter and, in summer, world-class mountain biking, hiking, and alpine sightseeing. It hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics, it is barely two hours from Vancouver along one of the world’s most beautiful highways, and it has grown into a year-round destination that draws people who have never strapped on a ski. Slick, scenic, and very well organised, Whistler does mountain holidays about as well as anywhere on earth.
A road trip from Vancouver to Calgary took us through Whistler where we stayed for a couple of nights. It was summer and the drive on the sea to sky highway was spectacular. The Peak 2 Peak gondola gave amazing views. We stuck to the gondola; some people chose to mountain bike back down the mountain.
A Little Background
The valley is the shared traditional territory of the Squamish and Lil’wat Nations, who travelled and used these mountains and valleys for thousands of years, meeting and trading at villages such as Spo7ez near the present-day town. The land was a corridor between the coast and the interior long before any road existed.
The area was originally known as Alta Lake, and was renamed for the hoary marmots whose whistling alarm calls echo across the slopes. Its transformation began in the 1960s, when Whistler Mountain was identified as a possible site for the Winter Olympics; the first ski lifts opened in 1966. The neighbouring Blackcomb Mountain followed, the two operations merged in 1997, and the pedestrian village grew up between them. Whistler finally got its Olympics in 2010, co-hosting the Vancouver Winter Games, which cemented its global reputation. In 2008 the Squamish and Lil’wat Nations opened the Cultural Centre in the village, sharing their heritage with the millions who now pass through.
What to See and Do
In winter, the draw is the skiing and snowboarding: Whistler Blackcomb is the largest ski resort in North America, with a huge range of terrain for every level, reliable snow, and a long season. But the resort has worked hard to be a year-round destination, and the summer is now nearly as busy — the slopes become one of the world’s premier lift-served mountain-biking parks, and the alpine opens up for hiking with the lifts running.
The single must-do in any season is the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola, which links the tops of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains in a record-breaking span — the longest unsupported cable-car span in the world, more than three kilometres across the valley, with some cars glass-bottomed. The views over the peaks and glaciers are sensational, and in summer it gives easy access to high-alpine walking trails and the Peak Suspension Bridge.
Down in the village — entirely pedestrian, ringed by the mountains — the après-ski, dining, and shopping are a major part of the appeal. The Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre is well worth an hour for an introduction to the First Nations whose land this is, told in their own voice. And the journey itself is an attraction: the Sea to Sky Highway from Vancouver passes Shannon Falls, the Stawamus Chief monolith, and a string of viewpoints over Howe Sound.
Getting There
Whistler is about a two-hour drive from Vancouver along the Sea to Sky Highway (Highway 99) — one of the most scenic drives in Canada and an experience in its own right. There is no airport at Whistler; visitors fly into Vancouver and continue by hire car or one of the frequent shuttle and coach services from the city and the airport. Within the resort the village is entirely walkable, and a free shuttle connects the outlying areas, so a car is not needed once you arrive.
Weather
Whistler has a mountain climate with abundant snow. Winter (December–April) is the long ski season — cold, snowy, and reliable, the resort’s headline act. Summer (June–September) is warm and pleasant in the valley, with the high alpine open for biking and hiking once the snow clears. The shoulder seasons (late spring and autumn) are quieter and can be wet, with some lifts closed between seasons. Come in winter for snow, summer for the alpine — the resort is built for both.
The Bottom Line
Whistler is expensive, especially in peak ski season and the holidays: mid-range hotels run roughly CAD$220–450 a night, swinging high in winter and lower in the shoulder seasons. Three or four days lets you make the most of the mountains in either season; it also makes an easy and spectacular two- or three-day add-on to a Vancouver trip. Whether or not you ski, the PEAK 2 PEAK ride and the drive up alone justify the trip.