Whistler in Winter
British Columbia, Canada
Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort, British Columbia, Canada
By Randy Lincks
Getting to Whistler | Vancouver | British Columbia in summer | Banff, Alberta Photos | Canada Map
Whistler resort town and its award-winning pedestrian-friendly village is consistently voted as one of the top winter sports resorts on the North American continent, not only home to a superb balance of slopes and accommodation but also easily accessible by Americans by road from Vancouver or Seattle.
Whistler is blessed with an altitude and location that ensures almost certain good snowfall (over the last few winters anyway), while the number and variety of pistes (316kms) suits everyone from wild, off-piste daredevils to beginners and young families.
The main winter activities are downhill skiing and snowboarding but there is a fine variety of alternatives including cross country skiing, snow shoeing, heli-skiing, zip-line eco-tours, snowmobiling, sleigh rides and spas. Whistler ski resort guide.
In the summer the focus is on mountain biking...more
Whistler Weather:
Winter temperatures range from just above zero to -6C (-21F) while average summer temperatures run from lows of about 7C (45F) to highs of 22C (72F).
WhistlerBlackcomb skiing
by Toshi Kawano
Winter sports at Whistler involve more than just fine snowboarding or skiing. There's also snowmobiling, horse-drawn sleigh rides, dog sledding,...
Whistler Snowshoes
by CTC
...snowshoeing, helicopter tours, snowcat tours, ziptrek ecotours, an icy Tube Park that is of particular interest to kids, a Squamish Lil'wat Culture Centre, shopping, fine dining and even...
Whistler-style ice windsurfing
by Thomas Quine
...wind-ice-surfing (is there no end to this sport-morph madness?). And after all that exercise it's time to loosen up in a hot spa.
Steaming in a Canadian Rockies winter.
by David Gluns.
Black bears too are all in favour of WhistlerBlackcomb as they have learned to open car doors and locked garbage bins to 'borrow' food, but residents are tolerant of the mostly docile creatures so the two species live together with equanimity.
Whistler town seen from Whistlerblackcomb. Next, Whistler in summer.
by Mogodore
From Vancouver: Just two hours drive (76 miles/123 kms) from Vancouver on the jaw-dropping Sea-to-Sky Highway (Highway 99), one of the best drives on the North American continent.
Also accessible from Vancouver by Sea-to-Sky Climb Train (3 hours) and various bus services including Pacific Coaches, Whistler Buses and the uber-cool Snowbus.
International/from Seattle:
This
is a low-cost option as many discount flights, such as Frontier, Southwest and Virgin Airlines, land in Seattle but not in Vancouver and the drive from Seattle to Whistler-Blackcomb is a pleasant and scenic 4/5 hours. Seattle to Vancouver takes about 3 hours.
Avoid arriving at the border in the middle of the day (say, 11am- 5pm winter and summer) as that's when the immigration lines become big and sluggish. And remember to take your passport if you're American!
Canadian Border Traffic.
Note that Whistler is very foot-oriented and a vehicle will NOT be necessary with most hotels near lifts and a good bus service for the rest.
Whistler Tourism | WhistlerBlackcomb.
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