whistlerblackcomb.name - Tourist Information On Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort & Whistler Village in Whistler, B.C. Canada.

Whistler Blackcomb

Whistler Blackcomb has been rated North America's #1 ski destination for 4 years running! The Whistler Blackcomb mountains have over 7000 acres of ski and snowboard terrain, with 12 alpine bowls, 3 glaciers, 200+ marked trails and 33 lifts. Surrounded by pristine nature and some of the best shopping and restaurants around, Whistler Blackcomb is hard to resist and many fall in love with the Whistler lifestyle and decide to stay. Some residents have lived there for generations.

(Click on the Whistler Limousine for your  Whistler ride)

Whistler Blackcomb is a ski resort located in Whistler, British Columbia which comprises a village with several large hotels, eateries and bars, condominiums, and expensive homes. The village is 675 metres (2,214 feet) above sea level, and is located approximately 126 kilometres from Vancouver, and Vancouver International Airport.

There are two mountains developed for skiing, Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain. The highest lift elevation, on Blackcomb, is 2284 metres (7,494 feet), and the terrain is accessed by 24 major lifts. The vertical drop of 1609 metres (5,280 feet, or one mile) at Blackcomb is the highest of any ski resort in North America. Whistler Blackcomb, the largest ski area in North America, has a ski able area of 8,171 acres (33 km²), over 50% larger than that of Vail, the runner-up, with 5,289 acres (21 km²). By some reports, Whistler Blackcomb is the largest ski area in the world, but because of the practice of many European ski resorts (the largest are in France, Austria, and Switzerland) of measuring total trail length rather than total area, a definitive answer isn't currently available. Blackcomb has a glacier that allows for summer skiing from June until August. Whistler Blackcomb will host events for the 2010 Winter Games, including the men's and women's slalom and GS, and the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton events.
 

Blackcomb Mountain opened in 1980, under the ownership of the Aspen Skiing Company with four triple chairlifts (the Cruiser, Stoker, Catskinner and Fitzsimmons lifts), supplied by Lift Engineering. The mountain was not initially appreciated. Indeed, the mountain was considered “new kid on the block” into the early 1990s.

Even so, the mountain began quick development, beginning with the development of the Blackcomb Bench lands with homes. In 1984, the Jersey Cream lift opened, expanding the mountain down into Glacier Creek and adding more terrain.

Things really began to pick up in 1986 when the mountain was bought by newly-formed Intrawest Corp, which resulted in the addition of the 7th Heaven T-Bar, making Blackcomb North America’s first, and so far only, mountain with a skiable height change of one mile (1600 m).

The next year, in 1987, the first high-speed chairlifts at Whistler opened. The Wizard and Solar Coaster quad lifts cut the lift ride time from base to alpine from 45 minutes to 15. As well, the Rendezvous lodge at the top of the Solar Coaster opened, as well as two T-bars on Hoarstman Glacier, allowing for summer skiing.

In 1989, the Jersey Cream lift was replaced with a high-speed quad.

In 1992, the Glacier Express opened, which runs from the bottom of Glacier Creek to the Horstman Glacier.

In 1994, Blackcomb made its last major expansion to date, the replacement of the Stoker, Cruiser, and Fitzsimmons lifts with the high-speed Excelerator Quad Chair and Excalibur Gondola.

Whistler Blackcomb Transportation

Highway 99 from Vancouver to Whistler Blackcomb - commonly known as the Sea to Sky - has been voted the most romantic road in the world. Whistler Blackcomb is about 2 to 3 hours from Vancouver Airport. Transportation options are many and varied, including limousines, buses, private sedans, vans or even helicopters. Travelling from Seattle to Whistler takes about 6 hours by limousine from SeaTac. Travelling to Whistler Blackcomb by limousine is a great way to see the land and is actually not that expensive. The ride along the Sea to Sky highway will take your breath away with unique views of the ocean and mountains. This area is world renowned for ancient temperate rainforests, with towering Douglas Firs, rugged mountains and exquisite animals such as whales, bears, hawks and cougars.

Whistler Village

At the base of the Whistler and Blackcomb mountains are Whistler Village , Village North (also called Marketplace), and Upper Village -- a rapidly expanding, interconnected community of lodgings, restaurants , pubs, gift shops, and boutiques. Locals generally refer to the entire area as Whistler Village. Whistler Village is a pedestrian-only community. With dozens of hotels and condos within a five-minute walk of the mountains, the site is a hub of activity. Culinary options in the resort range from burgers to French food and from Japanese fare to deli cuisine. Anywhere you want to go within the resort is at most five minutes away, and parking lots are just outside the village. In fact, the bases of the Whistler and Blackcomb mountains are so close to the village edge that you can ski right into the lower level of the Chateau Whistler Hotel. In winter, the village buzzes with skiers and snowboarders from all over the world; in summer the pace is more relaxed, as the focus shifts to cycling, hiking, and boating around the Whistler Blackcomb Valley.

Blackcomb Magic Bike Park

At the base of Blackcomb is the Magic Park, two downhill trails designed to give beginners an introduction to downhill biking. The first of these trails, "Easy Rider" was open on June 18, 2005. The two trails and wide and smooth, forgiving for beginners. The park is accessed from the Magic Chair, a short triple chairlift that only gains 94m of vertical. Compare this to the 1,200m of vertical in the Whistler Bike Park.

Whistler Blackcomb Tourist Information

Currently, the Whistler Chamber of Commerce operates a year-round, seven day a week Visitor Information Centre in Whistler Creek side. The Whistler Visitor Info Centre, 2097 Lake Placid Rd. (Tel. 604-932-5528), is open daily from 9am to 5pm. Information kiosks on Village Gate Boulevard at the entry to Whistler Village , at the main bus stop, and at other locations are open from mid-May to early September during the same hours. Tourism Whistler at the Whistler Conference Centre, 4010 Whistler Way, Whistler (Tel. 604-932-3928; www.tourismwhistler.com), is open daily from 9am to 5pm to provide information and assist with event tickets and last-minute accommodation bookings.

Below are some links to other information sites:

Whistler Blackcomb Information Ltd.
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Contact Robert Maley at whistlerblackcomb@shaw.ca for information on this site.