The sensory overload that is Whistler begins right outside Vancouver, British Columbia, when you steer onto the sinuous Sea-to-Sky Highway and start threading your way up a deepening seam in the Coast Range. To your left, the whale-filled waters of Howe Sound tunnel into deep, fjord-like bays. To your right, a coastal rain forest canopy of spruce and cedar and fern rises high above, shrouded in mist by waterfalls hurtling off high rocky ledges.
In about an hour or two (winter weather can slow the 72-mile trip), the ski resort of Whistler appears, gabled roofs and Tyrolean facades erupting out of the snowy forest below a mountainside striped with ski runs. The village will be hosting many events for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games taking place in Vancouver, and clearly, cosmopolitan Whistler is already at home in the spotlight. Its cobblestone walkways swirl with busy sidewalk cafés and outfitters that entice passersby with everything from heli-skiing to eagle viewing. Oh yes, and skiing. Whistler’s famed alpine terrain, it seems, is only one draw in what has become not just Canada’s but North America’s most vibrant winter resort.
For skiers and snowboarders, the stats of side-by-side Whistler and Blackcomb peaks are legendary. A 5,280-foot vertical rise and more than 8,000 in-bounds acres make Whistler-Blackcomb the largest ski area on the continent, with a varied terrain—ranging from gentle cruisers to vertiginous chutes to a vast amphitheater of treeless bowls—that appeals to every ability. You can access it all right from the village, where twin gondolas depart from a broad plaza to connect with a network of chairlifts above. A third “peak-to-peak” gondola, slated for completion in December 2008, will provide an upper-mountain link between the two, serving a triangle of terrain that would take an entire season to tackle.
“It reminds me so much of skiing in Europe,” says Christine Hueber of Truckee, California, as the Crystal chairlift carries her up through the treeless, upper alpine terrain of Blackcomb. “I like the fact that Whistler has outstanding skiing and outstanding dining. You can’t say that about many places in North America.” As she speaks, a mountain breeze floats by carrying the enticing scent of Belgian waffles and melted chocolate from the mid-mountain Crystal Hut.
OFF THE TRAILS
Much of Whistler-Blackcomb’s clientele, it seems, comes for the vertical—and comes back for the Veuve Clicquot. Several of British Columbia’s hottest tables and wine lists can be found here in this small village. Menus emphasize a Pacific Rim theme of just-pulled-from-the-sea fish and shellfish, with a strong Asian influence.
The daily celebration begins in early afternoon, when skiing ends and “après” (a noun in party-happy Whistler) begins. All along the Village Stroll, visitors and locals crowd into bars and gather on outdoor patios under dry eaves and the warm cocoon of propane heaters. Order up a Canadian lager at Citta (604-932-4177) or tapas and martinis at The Mix (604-932-6499). The rowdy beer taverns are at the foot of the mountain: Garibaldi Lift Company (604-905-2220) and Longhorn Saloon (604-932-5999). Dance clubs like Buffalo Bill’s (604-932-6613) and the Savage Beagle (604-938-3337) start up later and keep thirtysomethings hopping until the wee hours.
INTO THE WOODS
Sure, the skiing is incredible. But there are dozens of other outdoor winter options. For starters there’s Ziptrek Ecotours. High in the coastal hemlocks between Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains, a network of steel zip-lines stretches out across the Fitzsimmons Creek valley. Within seconds of clipping harness to cable, you’re accelerating to 40 mph or more, soaring like Tarzan through the treetops. The 2 1/2-hour tours are made up of five different zip-line crossings and run year-round. (ZipTrek EcoTours; 604-935-0001; ziptrek.com; $98.)
If zipping’s not your thing, a guided snowmobile tour through the Callaghan Valley backcountry is available. You might try Canadian Snowmobile Adventures (604-938-1616; canadiansnowmobile.com; from $189 for a three-hour tour).
For a more rustic trip, consider dog sledding. Outdoor Adventures keeps a kennel of 300 Alaskan racing huskies near the Soo River valley just north of the village. After a lesson, some history and an introduction to your team of dogs, you’re off on a five-mile trail through old growth forest. Forget “mush” and bark out “hup.” (Outdoor Adventures; adventureswhistler.com; 604-932-0647; $159 for three-hour tour.) Blackcomb Snowmobile runs dog-sledding trips in the Brandywine area, 10 minutes south of the village. (Blackcomb Snowmobile; 604-932-8484; $310 for two adults on a sled.)
It’s not just ski hounds that flock here at this time of year. The Squamish River, 45 minutes south of town, provides a winter home to thousands of bald eagles. Whistler Eco Tours gets you up close to watch the majestic predators swoop in for a salmon dinner. (Whistler Eco Tours; 604-935-4900; whistlerecotours.com; $107 for a three-hour tour.)
RELAX ALREADY
At last count, Whistler had 19 full-service day spas. Three to get you started: Vida Wellness Spa in the Fairmont Chateau Whistler for Ayurvedic treatments like the Swedana, a massage followed by a steam in a cedar cabinet (604-938-2086; $230 for 90 minutes) and either of the two Solarice Wellness Spas for organic body treatments like the carrot vitamin body wrap (604-966-0888; $215 for 90 minutes).
THE WHITE STUFF, UNTOUCHED
For some skiers and snowboarders, the pristine powder that cloaks the backcountry is an irresistible draw. Powder Mountain Catskiing (604-932-0169; day trip, $479 per person) offers easy access via the same tank-treaded machines used to groom the ski slopes. With a permit area that covers 4,300 acres of public land less than a half-hour from Whistler, Powder Mountain guides know where to go for the goods.
Anticipation builds as you and 11 other guests rumble uphill in the snowcat, the machine grinding against the steepening slope. Outside the steamy window, the snows grow deeper, smothering evergreen boughs and piling up on boulders like stovepipe hats. Powder Mountain’s terrain typically enjoys 40 percent more snow than Whistler-Blackcomb, which hardly suffers from a dearth of the white stuff. (Last winter the resort got 46 feet of snow.) Nonetheless, the snowcat provides good insurance against the wild card of Whistler’s wet coastal weather patterns.
Hopping out of the ’cat feels like stepping into a skier’s Oz, a wilderness of white hemmed in by a horizon of serrated peaks. Your guides will provide the parameters (“stay to the right of my tracks and the left of those trees”), then one by one, you’re free to succumb to the holy grail of the sport—virtually endless untracked powder. Your quads are sure to give out long before the terrain does, as you porpoise through billowing clouds of dry-as-dust snow to the waiting ’cat, tiny as a child’s toy more than a thousand feet below. Best of all, you get to hop in the vehicle and do it again and again, in what just may be the best ski or snowboard day of your life.
And you’ll still be back to Whistler in time for après.
EAT
21 Steps
Come here for delicious small plates like fried goat cheese with rosemary-scented honey, smoked sockeye salmon with red-onion relish, and bacon-wrapped filets with horseradish aioli. St. Andrew’s House, Main Village; 604-966-2121; dinner for two, $60*
Araxi Restaurant
Fresh seafood from Vancouver’s docks is the star here, paired with organic veggies and artisan cheeses. 4222 Village Sq.; 604-932-4540; dinner for two, $145
Rimrock Café
Artfully prepared fish and game have given the Rimrock 20 years of staying power. 2117 Whistler Rd.; 604-932-5565; dinner for two, $115
Bearfoot Bistro
The 2,000-label wine cellar and seasonal Pacific Rim menu generate a buzz, as does the showy presentation—like lopping the lip off your champagne bottle with a saber. 4121 Village Stroll; 604-932-3433; five-course tasting menu for two, $190
Sushi Village
One of the best this side of the Pacific. Try house specialties like the mango caterpillar roll (mango, shrimp tempura and unagi). 4272 Mountain Sq.; 604-932-3330; dinner for two, $50
*Prices are in U.S. dollars and cover a three-course meal for two, not including drinks, tax or tip.
STAY
Fairmont Chateau Whistler
In the Upper Village, right at the base of Blackcomb, with 550 luxurious rooms. 4599 Chateau Blvd.; 604-938-8000; fairmont.com; doubles from $220
Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside
This 121-room all-suite hotel has the best location, right near the gondolas. 4320 Sundial Crescent; 604-905-2999; panpacific.com; doubles from $193
Delta Whistler Village Suites
Quality Canadian hotel brand in the heart of the village; 205 suites with kitchens and fireplaces. 4308 Main St.; 888-299-3987; deltahotels.com; doubles from $96
Crystal Lodge
In the heart of Whistler Village. Many of the 132 rooms have kitchens. 4154 Village Green; 800-667-3363; crystal-lodge.com; doubles from $154
Durlacher Hof Alpine Country Inn
An eight-room Tyrolean farmhouse–style B&B that serves an old-world Austrian breakfast. 7055 Nesters Rd.; 877-932-1924 or 604-932-1924; durlacherhof.com; doubles from $174