canada-whistler travel wintersports Virgin Media
Whistler is Canada's biggest and most famous ski resort and is one hour north of Vancouver, nestled in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia.
The resort, made up of Whistler Village and Blackcomb, boasts some of the world's most breath-taking scenery and is highly regarded worldwide as an all-encompassing skiing experience. Like any prestigious resort of its kind, the Whistler experience doesn't come cheap, though there are plenty of seasonal deals available.
Peak season is always jam-packed, but it's easy to understand why when you consider what is available for the skier at Whistler: A total 3,657 acres of skiable terrain, with over 100 runs of all levels (216 including Blackcomb), attracts first-timers to experienced masters of the sport.
To put into perspective just how good some of the more difficult slopes are, it is significant to note that Whistler recently won the bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2010. The mountains offer 12 alpine bowls, three glaciers, and more than 200 marked trails while a 33 high-speed lift network takes you right back up. Eight and ten person gondolas take skiers from the resort up 1000m, providing fantastic and easy access to the runs.
For snowboarders, there are the main parks on Blackcomb and there's an additional small halfpipe on Whistler.
There are a host of things to do in the snow other than ski during winter - cat skiing, dog sledding, snowmobiling and heli skiing to name but a few. For the adrenalin-junkie, there's also bungee-jumping and ziplining (flying over the resort and its environs on zip lines) to get the heart racing.
In short, Whistler has it all. The only criticism of it may be that it lacks the intimacy of a smaller resort, with crowds and queues a potential irritation. What that also means is that whether you're careering down one of North America's best ski slopes, touring the Rockies in a helicopter or just relaxing in a base-camp sauna, you'll never be at a loss for something to do.
Lively nightlife includes over 100 restaurants and dozens of bars, including The Amsterdam, the Savage Beagle and the Longhorn Saloon.
Getting to Whistler is easily done, with established transport links to and from Vancouver. Accommodation is plentiful, though prior booking is essential.
Tourism Whistler website
Address: P.O.Box 930, Whistler, BC, V0N 1B0, Canada
Telephone: 0808 180 0606
Fax: 00 1 604 932 0204
Email: info@whistler.com
You could be jetting off on an amazing trip to the Caribbean, China, Ireland or the Med. Enter now!
