WHISTLER

THINGS TO DO IN VANCOUVER-
WHISTLER
A fantastic place to visit whilst in Vancouver is the famous, world class ski resort of Whistler.

Whistler first opened in 1980 and has enjoyed huge success ever since. Whistler plays host to world class events, in December it is the Snowboard FIS World Cup and April sees the World Ski and Snowboard Festival. These are just some of the reasons why it is going to be home to the 2010 Winter Olympics and once you have visited this area you can see why.

Winter is obviously the most popular time for people to visit Whistler Canada. As the winter months approach, people flock here staying in Whistler hotels to enjoy one of the world's top ski resorts. Skiing and snowboarding are primary here at this time of year, as the sales for the ski lifts show. Over two million ski lift passes are sold each year in winter and this figure is rising. However as Whistler ski resort is one of the largest on the continent with over two hundred trails and twelve Alpine bowls there is enough room for all visitors without it feeling too overcrowded.

Whistler has two mountains for excellent skiing, which are Whistler Mountain at 2182 meters, with the longest run being eleven kilometers and Whistler Blackcomb Mountain at 2284 meters. Ticket passes purchased provide lift and chair systems to both mountains from five bases located at the center of Whistler Village. The village was purpose built and is mainly pedestrianized and provides an array of Whistler lodgings, Whistler hotels and Whistler chalets. There are also plenty of restaurants, shops and apres ski activities to keep you entertained when not enjoying the skiing and snowboarding on the mountains.

The skiing and snowboarding season on Whistler mountain and Whistler Blackcomb mountain starts in late November. Whistler mountain stays open until the end of June, where as Whistler Blackcomb mountain closes in April and re opens in June for the Horstman glacier skiing, which is one of the reasons Whistler is still popular throughout the summer months.

Whistler village also has two neighbours, Upper Village Whistler Blackcomb which is about a kilometer to the northeast of Whistler and Whistler Creekside which is about six kilometers to the south of Whistler village. The latter has just had a $50 million redevelopment which hopes to give it's neighbour a little competition.

For more information on Whistler and for upcoming events and activities, please see the Whistler Blackcomb site here.